About the CLIP

Launched in 2020, the Community-Led Innovation Partnership (CLIP) is a collaborative programme that brings together a group of like-minded humanitarian innovation actors to explore how communities can be placed at the heart of humanitarian response.

The partnership is made up of eight organisations around the world who share a vision of supporting community-led innovation. These organisations are: Elrha, Start Network, Asia Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN), Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) in Indonesia, the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) in the Philippines, and Asociación de Servicios Comunitarios de Salud (ASECSA) in Guatemala. Following ‘Phase 1’ we expanded the programme to South Sudan, and welcomed new partners Titi Foundation and CAFOD and Trócaire in Partnership (CTP) to the consortium.

The Evaluation

In 2023, the CLIP commissioned an independent evaluation, led by Start Network. Conducted by Catalystas Consulting, the evaluation reviewed ‘Phase 1’ of the programme (2020–2023), providing insights into the successes achieved, and the challenges faced, during its first three years. These insights have been used as an evidence base to further develop the second phase of our work.

Our evaluators investigated the added value of the programme, its overall effectiveness and impact, and the key factors enabling or hindering the success of implementation in each country, from local context to cost efficiency. Through collaboration with global and country partners, they examined three research questions:

1. What is the added value of the partnership?
2. To what extent have country initiatives been effective in supporting local community leadership and providing appropriate support to innovators?
3. What have community innovations achieved to date, what is the impact to date on targeted communities (evaluated via 2-3 targeted case studies per country)?

The evaluation found a range of areas in which the programme effectively combined humanitarian innovation with localised approaches and laid a strong foundation of – both between CLIP organisations, and between country partners, local innovators and national stakeholders. This enabled each country partner to approach innovation in the way that was most appropriate and effective for their own unique contexts, needs and realities. These varied successes, along with recommendations for ‘Phase 2’ of the CLIP (2023–2025), are presented in the full evaluation.

Our Response

In response to the programme evaluation, the six organisations involved in the delivery of the first phase of the CLIP (Elrha, Start Network, ADRRN, ASECSA, CDP, YEU) have collectively written a response, detailing our reflections to each recommendation, and offering an overview of our plan as we move into the next phase We will use this evaluation as a foundation for learning and growth in the coming years, as we continue to support innovative, community-led approaches to addressing humanitarian problems.