About

think ahead is an association founded by a group of long-term scholars of humanitarian and development studies with a broad professional experience in the aid sector. Its core objective is to carry out research on aid policy and practice in situations of conflict, natural disaster, social inequality and injustice. Through knowledge transfer, it makes topical debates and reflections accessible to aid organizations and professionals.

Humanitarian stakeholders have joined efforts in what has been called an “accountability revolution,” and equal attention has been put on improving the effectiveness and sustainability of international development. Calls for evidence-based action are paired with a focus on participation. However, beyond improving performance and promoting people-centred approaches, there is a need for a more thorough understanding of the local and transnational dynamics through which humanitarian assistance and development programmes unfold.

think ahead was born to meet this need. On the one hand, it embraces a vocation for theoretically sound and empirically grounded analysis, and vows to facilitate learning experiences in interaction with the people who are the targets of aid. On the other, as a research organization, it promotes a deeper context and political awareness in the regions of intervention, integrating expert knowledge with broader reflections and academic debates on current affairs in international development.

With these objectives, think ahead aims to bridge the gap between professional expertise and academic knowledge. We envision humanitarian action and development to be ‘accountable’ in the sense that they take into consideration not only aid categories of need and vulnerability, but also the effective social, economic and political dynamics through which inequality is produced and people’s interests are addressed in constant negotiation with the aid sector.

Based on this broader perspective on the development world, our network of researchers offers also technical assistance to organizations and agencies that operate in the sector. In fact, we believe that acknowledging the systemic complexity of international aid is a precondition to strategic planning.

With its struggles and achievements, international assistance promises to shape global governance in the years to come. Hence, our commitment to inform the strategies, operations and programme implementation of local and international stakeholders, to help them address contemporary global challenges.

The very idea of 'think ahead’ carries a call for reflection before action. This is not limited to performing aid responsibly. Reflection here is meant at once as an opportunity for the aid industry to plan thoughtfully and also, literally, to look in the mirror. It is an urge for a deeper empirical and theoretical understanding of humanitarian action and development aid.

In French: penser l’action humanitaire et l’aide au développement = think ahead.