Humanitarian NGOs Domain
The Humanitarian NGOs domain creates a bridge between scholarly research and the needs of NGO leaders working across national boundaries to reduce long-term poverty and provide humanitarian aid in developing countries. A defining characteristic of these NGOs is their global reach, with a certain segment comprised of international federations or alliances, such as Oxfam International and Save the Children. Although the leaders engaged with the Hauser Center through this domain are based in the US, scholarly attention extends beyond the US context.

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J. Bryan Hehir, Parker Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, Harvard Kennedy School, and Peter Bell, Chair NGO Forum and Hauser Center Senior Research Fellow present at the panel "Are NGOs Changing World Politics?”

Current initiatives in this domain include:

International Development and Humanitarian NGO Blog, which tracks the latest developments relevant to reducing global poverty and comments on the implications for the NGO community.

NGO Leaders Seminar Series

Study Group on NGOs and Development
Policy Panel: “The Obama Administration’s Global Development Policy: Enhancing Coherence and Effectiveness”

“Leadership and Effectiveness of Transnational NGOs: Research Perspectives on Development, Human Rights and Environmental NGOs”

Critical Issues in Humanitarian Response Discussion Group


The NGO Leaders Forum, a retreat series for the chief executives of the major U.S.-based international development and relief NGOs that pairs them with policy leaders and scholarly experts, who provide fresh and thought-provoking perspectives on pressing issues.