Evidence Brief: Key takeaways from HDP Nexus partnerships supporting displaced populations and host communities

Since the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have strengthened their strategic and operational partnership working across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus in contexts of forced displacement. This evidence brief is based on a multi-year evaluation commissioned by the UNHCR Evaluation Office, as well as on emerging findings from a forthcoming Joint Study for the UNHCR, BMZ and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. This Joint Study examines the best practices and learnings from HDP Nexus cooperation in the context of forced displacement, through the GIZ-UNHCR Global Programme ‘Support to UNHCR in Facilitating the Operationalisation of the GCR in the HDP Nexus’ – a programme testing various HDP Nexus approaches in eleven countries worldwide. While the evaluation and the joint study are broader in scope, the evidence brief zooms in on three aspects highlighted in the Global Compact on Refugees that contribute to its’ objectives of reducing pressure on host communities and enhancing refugee self-reliance.

The brief spotlights key policy take-aways - underscored with selected examples on:

1. lessons and good practices on programming across the HDP nexus,
2. self-reliance and employment of displaced populations and host communities,
3. access to public services and inclusion of refugees in national systems.