Public sector partnerships have emerged as an innovative avenue for addressing the global displaced people crisis. This report provides insights on both conceptual and practical aspects of partnerships benefiting refugees, introduces a conceptual framework on the variety of options available to partners, and offers recommendations for organizing win-win partnerships in the future.

As the Syrian refugee crisis enters its eighth year, leveraging the private sector’s financial capital and capacity for innovation has emerged as an attractive solution to protracted displacement. But little evidence exists on the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach. This case study highlights a unique type of private-sector engagement in which mainstream business interests align with the needs of refugees and host communities. 

The world is in the midst of an unprecedented refugee crisis, and Uganda’s response to the influx of asylum-seekers from South-Sudan is a valuable target for study and replication. This case study examines the official government and humanitarian agency response to increased refugee numbers, focuses on telecommunication access and humanitarian cash transfers (HCTs), and analyzes the partnership between Danish Church Aid and Airtel Uganda.