Strategic push: Promoting self-reliance

Promoting self-reliance through DRC's alliances and expertise so that communities affected by displacement can rebuild their lives.

For communities affected by displacement, from those who can work to the most marginalised with few opportunities, restoring dignity means providing a path to self-reliance.

This in turn can reduce aid dependency over time, even as displacement situations remain protracted and budgets shrink, while also benefiting host communities.

We will push:

Through our entire organisation: DRC will invest in the partnerships and alliances that are essential to achieve self-reliance. We will expand our work with local authorities, civil society, the private sector, and financial institutions to make the systems people depend on more
inclusive of displacement-affected populations.

Through our programme offering: DRC will prioritise self-reliance as a core outcome for displaced people and the communities that host them. We will enhance programme models that help people restore and strengthen their ability to earn an income, access social protection and financial services, and make autonomous decisions about their lives.

We will significantly increase impact investing and financial inclusion opportunities for displacement affected populations to support economic growth in fragile contexts through strategic partnerships. And by investing in productive land use and climate-resilient livelihoods, we will reduce aid dependency, strengthen selfreliance, and create the conditions for long-term stability and solutions.

Through our data, collaborations, and influence: With established frameworks and analysis tools embedded in DRC, we will propel deeper data use and understanding about self-reliance for displaced populations across the organisation and with partners.

This includes better use of the Self-Reliance Index and durable solutions assessment tools, to map, track and report on selfreliance outcomes.  In relevant contexts, we will set ambitious targets to strengthen local ownership and ensure that displaced people are better able to access services, markets, and opportunities through the systems around them.

I have gained leadership skills, learned how to save, and trained as a business skills officer,” a woman leading a group of 15 women overcoming financial hardship describes. As a professional nurse, she supports less-literate members, ensuring every woman progresses with the group. “Today, we are not just a group, but a movement that is uplifting the entire community.”

DRC Kenya

We will track how people affected by displacement are increasingly self-reliant, whether local markets and social systems targeted by our contributions are more inclusive, and whether our partnerships are helping communities move from aid dependency towards stable, secure lives and livelihoods.

DRC’s and partners’ expertise and capacity to scale inclusive programs across sectors supports real pathways to independence for displaced populations. Self-reliance support starts early with our emergency work and advances through our solutions work, enabling opportunity and creating hope even if new shocks occur.