What is the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW)?

The HNPW provides a unique forum for humanitarian networks and partnerships to meet and address key humanitarian issues. One of the largest humanitarian events of its kind, it gathers participants from the UN, NGOs, Member States, the private sector, the military, academia and beyond to discuss and solve common challenges in humanitarian affairs. During the event, networks and partnerships hold their annual meetings and consultations, share their expertise and collaborate on best practices to address shared problems.

The HNPW was first held in 2015, following a recommendation from Member States to hold their annual network meetings at the same venue at the same time. Between 2013 and 2014, key stakeholders of several humanitarian networks created the “Consultative Group for Emergency Preparedness and Response”, which agreed that the HNPW should be the platform for inter-network collaboration in areas of common concern to improve humanitarian preparedness and response. In 2017, the Consultative Group was renamed the “Leading Edge Programme.”

What is the Leading-Edge Programme (LEP)?

The Leading-Edge Programme (LEP) is a year-round collaborative platform for humanitarian networks and partnerships with the aim of developing sustainable solutions to recurring, cross-cutting issues in emergency preparedness and response. The LEP is governed by a Strategic Group comprising representative of humanitarian networks and partnerships that attend the HNPW. The Strategic Group is co-chaired by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and OCHA.