Localizing humanitarian aid: A rapid response entrepreneurship model

Abstract

This rapid response research develops the localized aid model—a distinct approach pioneered by new entrants in the humanitarian aid sector—for the problem owner Field Ready, an entrepreneurial NGO innovating the humanitarian supply chain and empowering local social infrastructure. Unlike traditional aid organizations and spontaneous venturing, the localized aid model embeds entrepreneurship as an organizing logic to address crisis needs through local manufacturing, human-centered design, partnerships, and capacity-building. We position the localized aid model as a third approach in the entrepreneurship literature on humanitarian response. Drawing on social enterprise, organizational resilience, and crowdsourcing research, we advance the model theoretically and show how it can support localized decision-making, integrate with civic infrastructure, and garner acceptance in differing institutional contexts. By equipping aid ventures to measure the degree of localization—defined as agency and ownership of local actors—we highlight how entrepreneurial organizing can foster community resilience as a civic outcome. This research helps Field Ready and similar ventures articulate their innovative model to stakeholders while offering a framework for system-level change in the aid sector.