This project, led by the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI, focuses on the apparent trend towards greater involvement of the private sector in humanitarian action. So far, this has involved examining the growing diversity of commercial enterprises engaged in disaster relief and service delivery in crisis-affected countries and the policy ramifications of increased private financing of humanitarian action. Two background papers have been completed, the first by Andrea Binder and Jan Martin Witte of the Global Public Policy Institute, and the second by Laura Altinger and Virginia Tortella of DARA International.

An HPG Policy Brief will be published in July 2009 sythesising key findings.