To overcome the slowness of its hierarchical structure, the UN agency shifted decision-making away from its Geneva headquarters. Empowering local teams who are closest to refugees allows for faster, more relevant responses, fostering a "whole-of-agency" approach rather than a top-down one.
When resources contract dramatically, the typical mantra of "doing more with less" becomes unrealistic. The UN Refugee Agency candidly accepted the need to "do less with less," forcing a ruthless prioritization of which activities to stop entirely, acknowledging that efficiency alone cannot bridge a massive funding gap.
The UN Refugee Agency systematized innovation by creating an office to source ideas directly from its 550+ field operations. By establishing an accelerator to test, fund, and scale these ground-level solutions, the organization turns localized ingenuity into global impact, avoiding the trap of purely top-down directives.
Counter to the image of international teams swooping in, the UN Refugee Agency's strategy is to support, not supplant, local community responders. Recognizing that local actors are the first to help and will remain after the crisis abates, the most effective aid strengthens their capacity rather than creating parallel systems.
The UN Refugee Agency moved from distributing physical items to providing cash assistance, sometimes using blockchain. This approach is more efficient, reduces fraud, and grants refugees the dignity and autonomy to purchase what their families need most, rather than receiving pre-determined supplies.
To maintain morale during painful budget cuts, the UN agency's leadership adopted a strategy of extreme transparency. This meant constant communication, not only to share updates but also to be honest about uncertainties. Acknowledging what you don't know builds more trust than projecting false confidence.