Illustrative: migration and displacement corridors, between generated places

Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Hazards, Disasters and Resilience

Humanitarian action and displacement

Humanitarian action is principled, coordinated and assessed against standards.

Map humanitarian action and displacement on a real place

01Model

The model, step by step

The model

From a displaced population to a funded response: how litres per person, a minimum standard and appeal coverage meet in a camp

DataModelGateDecisionStandard it teachesStandard it relies onNeighbouring discipline

7 steps
People without the full package
33,000
Water per person per day
10.0 L
Shortfall against the 15 litre benchmark
5.0 L
Supply needed to reach the benchmark
900 m³/day
/

The model From a displaced population to a funded response: how litres per person, a minimum standard and appeal coverage meet in a camp

02Scope

What the discipline covers

The subtopics its courses and labs teach.

Humanitarian action and displacement: 0 primary courses open, 3 in preparation and 1 also taught here, across 8 subtopics and 2 connected disciplines. Courses: RAF-114 L1 in preparation, RAN-348 L2 in preparation, RAT-259 L2 in preparation, RAF-118 L1 also taught here.
Humanitarian action and displacement at a glance
  • Open, 0
  • In preparation, 3
  • Also taught here, 1
  • Subtopics, 8
Course codes from the curriculum; study levels L1 to L4.
Courses
In development
Levels
L1 Introductory
Labs
Map lab
  • Humanitarian principles
  • Coordination and the cluster approach
  • Sphere minimum standards
  • Needs assessment and response planning
  • Cash and voucher assistance
  • Forced displacement and durable solutions
  • Disaster displacement and planned relocation
  • Humanitarian-development-peace nexus

Courses in development extend the scope to further subjects: Humanitarian needs analysis, cash and accountability; Forced displacement and durable solutions.

03The discipline

The field and its scope

For humanitarian programme staff, coordinators, government counterparts and analysts who plan and deliver assistance to people affected by disasters and conflict, including those displaced from their homes.

04Measures

Quantities and units

05Methods

Methods and their limits

Each method is listed with what it assumes and where it fails.

06Debates

What the field debates

07Bodies and data

Bodies that set practice, and the data they publish

Bodies and standards are named so learners can find and apply their published work; the Academy teaches their use and links to the publisher, and no affiliation is implied.

08Simulator

Run the discipline's simulator

Humanitarian action and displacement's own model runs in the scene at the top of this page: set its parameters there and play the steps. The separate chart simulator is left off this page so that it stays within its size budget.

09Maps

Build a twin of any place

Search any place or open the world; the layers and generators follow humanitarian action and displacement on the planet map, the globe and in 3D.

The Kahramanmaras earthquake sequence of 2023: a flat plan of the faculty twin. Terrain 59 to 3,044 m; 2 reference earthquakes, M7.5 to M7.8; 3,643,786 people in the box, 2020; Earthquakes M4.5 and above, past week: read live when the 3D twin opens; USGS ShakeMap intensity contours: read live when the 3D twin opens. Contours every 500 metres from the elevation grid; population count 2020, worldpop 1 km as four classes per cell (edges 11, 47, 405); reference earthquakes as marks.
The Kahramanmaras earthquake sequence of 2023, Turkiye. Flat plan of the same data: relief, the two epicentres with magnitude and depth, the WorldPop count grid and the numbers below. The 3D twin opens on devices with WebGL once its data and library have been checked.
  • Terrain 59 to 3,044 m
  • 2 reference earthquakes, M7.5 to M7.8
  • 3,643,786 people in the box, 2020
  • Earthquakes M4.5 and above, past week: read live when the 3D twin opens
  • USGS ShakeMap intensity contours: read live when the 3D twin opens
Credits and dates per layer are listed under the stage. Relief in the twin is exaggerated ×1.5 for legibility.

Drag to move, right drag or Shift with a drag to turn and tilt, Ctrl with the wheel to zoom. Keyboard: arrows move, Shift with arrows turn and tilt, + and - zoom, 0 resets, V steps through the views, Escape clears.

Flat plan of the same data: relief, the two epicentres with magnitude and depth, the WorldPop count grid and the numbers below. The 3D twin opens on devices with WebGL once its data and library have been checked.

The boundaries, names and designations shown do not imply any judgement on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Countries: Natural Earth (public domain).

10Nexus Standards

Nexus Standards it teaches and relies on

The Nexus Standards the discipline teaches toward, grouped by master standard, with the disciplines that teach each.

11Research hub

Research hub: papers, preprints and datasets

Open scholarly sources searched with the subject terms of Humanitarian action and displacement.

Search termsHumanitarian action and displacement; Humanitarian principles; Coordination and the cluster approach; Sphere minimum standards; Needs assessment and response planning; Cash and voucher assistanceDerived from the Risk Academy page on Humanitarian action and displacement.

  • OpenAlexlisted for reference; not queried
  • Crossreflisted for reference; not queried
  • DataCitelisted for reference; not queried
  • Zenodolisted for reference; not queried
  • arXivlisted for reference; not queried
  • Europe PMClisted for reference; not queried
  • OpenAIRE Graphlisted for reference; not queried

No source is enabled for live display on this site yet: the sources are listed for reference and none is queried. Once the publisher of record enables a source after its terms are reviewed, recent works are listed here. Metadata and links only: title, authors, venue, year, type, open-access status and licence as each source records them; works are listed for orientation, not reviewed or endorsed.

12Hub

Research and tools

Research and preprints as they are published, by discipline, with the faculty's other tools.

The hub lists the newest research and preprints for Humanitarian action and displacement, each with its source and date. Open the research hub

13Methods and standards

Methods, frameworks and hazards

From the Academy's risk taxonomy: the discipline's own entries and those of its primary courses, with how many courses teach each.

Hazard families

  1. Armed conflict and violence1 course
  2. Forced displacement1 course

Frameworks and standards

  1. Sphere Handbook1 course
14What is changing now

What is changing now

Recent developments in humanitarian action and displacement, each with its source; sources checked on 16 October 2026.

15Courses

Courses in this discipline

Courses for this discipline are in development; until they open, study it through the connected courses and open lessons below.

Courses with this primary disciplineIn development

  1. RAF-114The Humanitarian System and Crisis ResponseIn developmentFoundation, L1 Introductory, 8 hours (estimate)
16Also taught here

Courses from connected disciplines that also teach this field

Each course has its primary discipline elsewhere and teaches this field as part of its scope.

From connected disciplinesIn development

  1. RAF-118Conflict, Fragility and Disaster RiskIn developmentFoundation, L1 Introductory, 8 hours (estimate), primary discipline: Conflict, fragility and security
17Labs

How the subject is practised in labs

LabWhat you do in itCourses using it
Map labRead hazard, exposure and boundaries on real maps2
18Technology in this area

How technology helps and what risk it brings

19Achievements

Achievements in this discipline

21Where this is practised

Where the subject is practised

  • The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI Canada)Society and Human DevelopmentHumanitarian and displacement, Humanitarian risk
  • The Global Risks Forum (GRF)Diplomacy NexusHumanitarian cooperation, Migration and displacement

Field platforms of the ecosystem where the subject is studied and applied.

22Practised in

The three Nexus Foundry systems where it is practised

  • Nexus FoundryNorthStar systemField coordination of a humanitarian responseFieldOps room
  • AAP systemAnticipatory humanitarian actionReadiness room
  • GRIx systemDisplacement and needs dataData room

Nexus Foundry system pages describe what each system and its rooms are designed to do; the courses teach the methods these systems apply.

24Across the ecosystem

Across the ecosystem

26References

Core references and where to begin

Start with Pictet, then Sphere Association, then Barnett.

NRNexus Reports gateway · GW-ACADEMY

Contribute to Nexus Reports from this page.

Nexus Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

Risk Academy
Humanitarian action and displacement

Prepare with a related course

Open courses in connected disciplines teach the methods this discipline will build on.

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