​This paper reviews the quality of evidence available today to support humanitarian action. It focuses primarily on evidence generated by the ‘formal international humanitarian system’ through early warning, needs assessment, monitoring and feedback, evaluation and impact assessment. It also considers the degree to which actors in the humanitarian system actually use evidence to guide their operational decisions and policy formulation. 

The paper is aimed at humanitarian policy-makers, humanitarian decision-makers (at strategic and operational levels), and those involved in information collection and analysis in humanitarian organisations. It is also intended to be read by academics and students of humanitarian action, as a contribution to the larger debate and discussion on this topic.

Paul Knox-Clarke and James Darcy