By Claire Finas, Global Coordinator, Rapid Response Fund, ACT Alliance
When a humanitarian crisis strikes, local organisations are usually already there. They know the communities, understand the context and have the relationships needed to identify urgent needs and organise a response.
What they often lack are the financial resources to act at the scale required.
This remains one of the persistent contradictions of the humanitarian system. Local and national organisations play a central role in emergency response, yet they continue to face significant barriers to funding and have too little influence over the decisions that shape humanitarian action.
For years, the humanitarian sector has committed to changing this imbalance. But localisation cannot simply mean giving local organisations more responsibility for delivering assistance. It must also mean giving them greater control over resources, priorities and decisions.
The ACT Alliance Rapid Response Fund (RRF) offers a practical example of how this can work.
Local leadership makes a difference
Local organisations bring knowledge and relationships that cannot easily be replicated by international humanitarian actors. They understand the social, political and cultural dynamics of the communities where they work, including the vulnerabilities that may not be immediately visible to outsiders.
In remote, insecure or politically sensitive areas, their networks can make the difference between reaching people in need and leaving them without assistance.
Their role also extends well beyond the immediate emergency. Unlike organisations that arrive in response to a crisis and leave when funding ends, local actors are often present before, during and long after a disaster. They support recovery, help communities prepare for future shocks and maintain relationships that are essential to building resilience.
Yet this local presence and expertise are not always reflected in how humanitarian resources are distributed.
Local organisations are frequently required to navigate complex funding procedures, meet demanding compliance requirements and absorb significant operational risks, often with limited institutional support.
They may carry much of the responsibility for delivering humanitarian assistance while having relatively little say in how programmes are designed or resources allocated.
This is where localisation needs to go further. Shifting implementation to local organisations without also sharing funding, authority and responsibility does little to change the underlying imbalance.
Who gets funding determines who gets help
Funding decisions have consequences that go beyond the organisations receiving grants. They influence which emergencies attract attention, where humanitarian programmes operate and, ultimately, which communities receive assistance.
Reaching people in remote or insecure areas is often more expensive and operationally complex. It may require additional investment in security, transport, community engagement and staff capacity.
These costs are sometimes treated as obstacles to efficiency.
But if funding decisions are driven primarily by what is easiest or least expensive to deliver, there is a risk that people facing the greatest barriers to assistance will be overlooked.
A humanitarian response should be guided by need, including in places where reaching people requires more time, resources and effort.
This is particularly important for smaller emergencies that receive limited international attention. Floods, displacement, localised conflict and other crises can have devastating consequences for affected communities without generating the visibility or funding associated with major humanitarian emergencies.
National and local organisations are often best placed to respond to these situations. The challenge is ensuring that they have access to funding when it is needed.
The Rapid Response Fund: Supporting local action
The ACT Alliance Rapid Response Fund was established to help national ACT Alliance members respond quickly to small- and medium-scale humanitarian emergencies.
While larger appeals mobilise resources for major crises, the RRF helps fill a critical gap by providing funding for emergencies that may not attract substantial international support.
In 2026 alone, the Fund has already supported 30 responses across 26 countries, enabling national members to mobilise assistance in response to urgent humanitarian needs.
The value of the RRF lies not only in the speed of its funding, but also in who leads the response.
National members can build on their existing relationships, knowledge and operational presence to identify priorities and organise assistance that reflects the realities of the communities affected.
This matters because humanitarian access is about more than reaching a particular location. People must also be able to receive assistance safely, without discrimination and in ways that respect their dignity. Local organisations, through their established community relationships, can help address barriers that might otherwise prevent assistance from reaching those who need it.
At the same time, local leadership should never become an excuse to transfer risks from international actors to national organisations. Those working on the front lines need adequate resources to protect staff, manage security concerns and deliver programmes responsibly.
Accountability is equally important. Funding must be managed transparently and in accordance with humanitarian standards. But accountability systems also need to be accessible and proportionate, rather than creating unnecessary barriers for organisations with fewer administrative resources.
The RRF’s approach to due diligence and capacity strengthening is part of this effort. Alongside ensuring that funds are managed responsibly, the process can help identify areas where organisations would benefit from additional support.
The objective should be to strengthen local organisations’ ability to access and manage humanitarian funding, rather than simply determining which organisations already meet the requirements.
Beyond emergency funding
Rapid financing can make an immediate difference during a crisis, but meaningful localisation requires longer-term investment.
Local organisations need the capacity to prepare for emergencies, retain experienced staff, manage risks and maintain the systems that allow them to respond effectively. They also need a stronger voice in the structures where humanitarian priorities and funding decisions are made.
ACT Alliance has committed to increasing the RRF’s annual turnover to at least US$10 million by 2028, alongside broader efforts to strengthen local capacity and integrate gender considerations into humanitarian action.
Meeting this ambition will depend on sustained cooperation between national and international ACT Alliance members, as well as donors willing to support more accessible and equitable funding arrangements.
It also requires recognising that local leadership has real costs. Investing in organisational systems, staff safety, preparedness and community engagement is not separate from delivering humanitarian assistance. It is part of what makes that assistance possible.
The RRF cannot resolve every structural inequality in the humanitarian system. But it can demonstrate what happens when funding mechanisms are designed around the ability of national organisations to act, rather than treating them primarily as implementing partners.
Making localisation count
The humanitarian sector has spent years discussing the importance of localisation. The challenge now is to translate those commitments into changes that local organisations and affected communities can actually experience.
The amount of funding reaching national organisations is one important measure of progress. But it is not enough on its own.
We also need to look at who sets priorities, who makes decisions, who carries the risks and whether local organisations have the resources and institutional support to sustain their work.
For donors, this means making funding more accessible and recognising the real costs of reaching communities in difficult circumstances. For international organisations, it means being prepared to share authority and responsibility, not only implementation tasks.
Through the Rapid Response Fund, ACT Alliance is helping national members access resources and lead humanitarian responses rooted in their own communities.
Ultimately, localisation is about recognising that those closest to a crisis should have a meaningful say in how it is addressed, and the resources to act on those decisions.
Local organisations have long demonstrated their ability to lead humanitarian responses. What needs to change is the system around them.
