ODI is initiating this project to contribute to an understanding of the role of international fora and bodies in the provision of global public goods.

Failure to progress at the multilateral level has led to a major concern that the international community underprovides much needed global public goods crucial for development. Recognising this stalemate, it is necessary to revisit what can be done to progress towards more effective and adequate provision of global public goods.

This project, carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Harvard University and the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG), ODI, seeks to carry out an evidence review on research for health in humanitarian crises. HPG's role in this project is of general advisor and translating the findings of the study into the global humanitarian context.

A focus on seeking alternatives to refugee camps, and the increasingly urban nature of displacement crises, require effective ways of reaching out to those in need of protection and assistance. In this context, UNHCR has adopted a pro-active approach to the use and scaling-up of cash-based interventions in its operations, and published “An Introduction to Cash-based Interventions in UNHCR Operations”.

The Indo-Gangetic plains comprise of large floodplains of the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra river systems. They are home to approximately 1 billion people and encompass northern and eastern India, much of Bangladesh, parts of southern Nepal and the most populous parts of Pakistan.

The aim of this project is to improve understanding of how resilient groundwater resources in the Indo-Gangetic Basin are to changes in climate and abstraction and to provide a robust scientific base to help guide policy development for groundwater development and management.