Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG) brings fresh thinking to challenge the status quo of humanitarian aid. As an ethically driven business, we combine humanitarian passion with entrepreneurial agility to think and do things differently.
We wanted to move away from working within the assumptions of the aid business to challenging the status quo. HAG was created to ask (and answer) hard questions, explore contentious issues and support hard-working teams to improve humanitarian action with new perspectives and networks.
We want to be part of a story that tracks humanitarian action from its current conundrum – humanitarian need outstripping the capacity and agility of the sector – to one that realises its future potential: a sector that challenges power structures and transforms the way that people are treated in crisis around the world.
Our role in that story is to ask and answer tough questions, provide evidence for transformative action, and connect people and ideas. Central to this are our values, our partnerships and the work we choose to do.
We recognise that it’s not just what we do that counts, but how we do business. Our values drive our work decisions and behaviours. That’s why we operate as a social enterprise, meaning we generate income from services, the work we do has a social purpose and we give away at least 50% of our profits.
That’s also why independently supporting the humanitarian sector and its emerging practitioners by giving generously of our time and resources is a core part of our identity.
To uphold our purpose, we: maintain our ethical certifications (B Corporation and Social Traders, invest our time and money, reduce our environmental impact, purchase ethically and support local partners
Brave
We ask the hard questions to challenge the status quo and inspire others to do the same.
We explore contentious issues bravely and authentically because we believe the best solutions emerge through honest discussions and respectful debate.
We accept we must be open to making mistakes and have the courage to learn and adapt.
Curious
We constantly test our own assumptions and those of the humanitarian world.
We foster creativity to shed new light on current thinking; we explore the why, the how and what could be.
We are focused on listening and learning and recognise that knowledge and wisdom often come from unexpected places.
Generous
We give generously of our ideas, energy, time, expertise, and networks.
We take an enabling approach to our work through starting from a position of ‘how?’
We make space for learning, reflection, dreaming and growth.
Nimble
We deliver big results without big bureaucracy.
We are ridiculously flexible as we navigate evolving goals and competing priorities.
We work on serious issues but don’t take ourselves too seriously.
Embracing
We believe in the centrality of equitable and inclusive approaches, both in what we do, and how we do it.
We aim to do the right thing in the right way and hold ourselves accountable to our ethical commitments and standards.
We are working towards a shared future in which the planet and all its people are respected and protected.
