Grey literature is of particular relevance to research concerning humanitarian activities and conflict. A range of key materials are produced by governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations, and think-tanks.
A range of key sources for grey literature are listed below:
- ReliefWeb: A Humanitarian information service provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). ReliefWeb editors select, classify, curate and deliver the content that is most relevant to global humanitarian workers and decision-makers on a 24/7 basis, enabling them to make informed decisions and to plan effective response. Key content, including the latest reports, maps and infographics from trusted sources, is delivered through various channels - the reliefweb.int website, social media networks, subscription services, and other specialized OCHA platforms such as ReliefWeb Response, and OCHA corporate site through API or RSS - so that humanitarian workers can access a range of latest humanitarian information anywhere, any time (from website).
- ALNAP: ALNAP are the global network for advancing humanitarian learning. Their goal is for all humanitarians to benefit from the sector's collective experience. ALNAP stands for Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in humanitarian action. ALNAP support humanitarians everywhere to improve humanitarian action by exchanging evidence, experience and practical ideas (from website).
- The New Humanitarian: An independent, non-profit newsroom that believes in journalism as a force for good. The New Humanitarian produces fact-based journalism from the heart of conflicts and disasters to build understanding of how to improve the lives of the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world (from website).
- Global Public Policy Institute: The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) is an independent non-profit think tank based in Berlin. Their mission is to improve global governance through research, policy advice and debate (from website).
- Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX): The Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) is an open platform for sharing data across crises and organisations. Launched in July 2014, the goal of HDX is to make humanitarian data easy to find and use for analysis. Our growing collection of datasets has been accessed by users in over 250 countries and territories. HDX is managed by OCHA's Centre for Humanitarian Data, which is located in The Hague, the Netherlands. OCHA is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. The HDX team includes OCHA staff and a number of consultants, based in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
- ACAPS: An independent analytical voice helping humanitarian workers, influencers, fundraisers, and donors make better-informed decisions and respond more effectively to disasters. ACAPS aim to reshape the humanitarian narrative by providing timely and independent needs analysis, data, training, and methodological tools while advocating a more evidence-based response to crises.
- Armed Conflict Location & Events Data (ACLED): The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project. ACLED collects information on the dates, actors, locations, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events around the world. The ACLED team conducts analysis to describe, explore, and test conflict scenarios, and makes both data and analysis open for free use by the public.
- Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC): The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world's leading source of data and analysis on internal displacement. Since their establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), they have offered a rigorous, independent and trusted service to the international community. IDMC's work informs policy and operational decisions that improve the lives of the millions of people living in internal displacement, or at risk of becoming displaced in the future. IDMC provides verified, consolidated and multi-sourced estimates of the number of people internally displaced or at risk of becoming displaced by conflict, violence, disasters and development projects across the world.
Many of the resources featured in our Database Directory also provide access to grey literature.
