There is no one-size-fits-all way to help refugees. As the world becomes increasingly complex new systems, technologies and innovations can help challenge the status quo.
Handled responsibly and creatively, innovations in data and technology can unlock insights and solutions for global displacement challenges and help improve humanitarian interventions, connecting services to the people who need them most.
USA for UNHCR supports innovative programming by UNHCR’s Innovation Service and through The Hive, USA for UNHCR’s Data Science Innovation Lab.
"In Syria we were used to a particular lifestyle, and then we were disconnected from it when we became refugees . . . For someone who is used to having electricity, you cannot imagine how difficult it is to live without it."
- Syrian refugee, Azraq camp, Jordan
UNHCR’s Innovation Service and The Hive – USA for UNHCR’s innovation lab are working closely together to drive forward the ethical and responsible use of exponential technologies in humanitarian response.
Together, these two teams are supporting diverse initiatives that seek to bring an equitable and human rights-based approach to new data sources and technologies, ensuring UNHCR has the information it needs to deliver a more effective, context-specific and people-centered response.
The Innovation Service is committed to creating an environment for innovation to flourish at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR’s Innovation Service provides critical support to test, iterate and upscale new initiatives that will enable the agency to better deliver on the mandate to protect and support refugees now and in the future.
The Service works to realize this goal through five key workstreams – Data Innovation, Digital Innovation, Environment and Resilience, Refugee-led Innovation and Innovation Learning. These programs engage UNHCR colleagues, partners, and forcibly displaced and stateless communities to champion innovative approaches and projects that tackle some of the most complex challenges facing displaced communities around the world.
The kinds of projects supported by the four Innovation Funds include improving community-based protection monitoring in Afghanistan, devising an address system for informal tented settlements in Lebanon and developing a global early warning system for forced displacement. These projects are working with new tools in innovative ways to support the wellbeing and inclusion of displaced communities.
Announcing 2024 Members of USA for UNHCR’s Hive Advisory Board
USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is pleased to announce members of the 2024 Hive Advisory Board, comprised of technology and data experts and leaders in business, government, philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
Learn MoreEvidence Based Interventions: Programa de Integración en México
USA for UNHCR partnered with Georgetown University’s Institute for International Migration to measure the impact of Programa de Integración, a program that helps relocates asylum seekers and refugees in Mexico.
Learn More#Innovate4Refugees explores how data and technology help meet the needs of forcibly displaced communities
The Hive at USA for UNHCR hosted its inaugural #Innovate4Refugees: Data and Tech Forum to explore how data and technology innovations can support the legal and digital protection of refugees.
Learn MoreOther Programs
Help Refugee Families
War, violence and persecution have forced millions of families from their homes. They urgently need shelter, protection and safety. You can help rush critical supplies like medicine, clean water, food and tents to desperate children and families. You can provide refugees with emergency support, long-term care and hope for the future.
