Monich Alex, Holm-Nielsen Pablo V, Raju Emmanuel
Global Health Section and COPE-Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Building 22, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, African Centre for Disaster Studies, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
J Int Humanit Action. 2023;8(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s41018-023-00136-3. Epub 2023 Mar 17.
Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) has been gaining traction among humanitarian organizations as the preferred aid modality in disaster relief and complex emergencies. While the advantages of cash are well documented, the ongoing digitalization of cash and the emergence of innovative financial instruments can be associated with new operational challenges and a stagnation in innovation. This paper reflects on the changing environment in CVA as a result of technological breakthroughs in the global financial system. The concept of humanitarian innovation is introduced to differentiate it from a similar process in the private sector and to investigate factors, contributing to a slower pace of acceptance, a reluctant implementation, or a complete rejection of innovative approaches in the humanitarian organization. The purpose of the study is to conceptualize the challenges of new technology adoption and scaling, as well as to analyze the direction and current stage of the diffusion of innovation in the humanitarian sphere. Ten interviews with informants representing humanitarian agencies and the private sector were conducted to discuss their experiences with new CVA tools and perspectives on innovation in cash and voucher assistance. The results demonstrate that there is no uniform perception of innovation across the field, and the challenges of diffusion can be associated with several domains, including internal and external capacities, inherent characteristics of new financial technology (fintech), and a wider social, political, and regulatory context. According to the cyclical model of technological change, the innovative CVA fintech is currently at the ferment stage characterized by a high level of uncertainty and competition. The subsequent emergence of several dominant designs followed by incremental innovation is plausible in the future.
现金和凭证援助（CVA）在人道主义组织中越来越受到关注，成为救灾和复杂紧急情况中首选的援助方式。虽然现金的优势已有充分记录，但现金的持续数字化以及创新金融工具的出现可能带来新的运营挑战和创新停滞。本文反思了全球金融体系技术突破导致的CVA环境变化。引入人道主义创新概念以将其与私营部门的类似过程区分开来，并调查导致人道主义组织对创新方法接受速度较慢、实施不情愿或完全拒绝的因素。该研究的目的是将新技术采用和推广的挑战概念化，并分析人道主义领域创新扩散的方向和当前阶段。对代表人道主义机构和私营部门的信息提供者进行了十次访谈，以讨论他们在新CVA工具方面的经验以及对现金和凭证援助创新的看法。结果表明，该领域对创新没有统一的认识，扩散挑战可能与几个领域相关，包括内部和外部能力、新金融技术（金融科技）的固有特征以及更广泛的社会、政治和监管背景。根据技术变革的循环模型，创新的CVA金融科技目前处于高度不确定性和竞争特征的发酵阶段。未来可能会出现几种主导设计，随后是渐进式创新。
