Global demand for humanitarian assistance surges as the aid sector faces increased volatility. Disasters are recorded more frequently, escalating human and economic costs. The number of refugees worldwide more than tripled in the last decade. At the same time, the complexity of aid delivery compounds as governments restrict international help and large-scale contracts draw public scrutiny. These pressures call for greater adaptability and new forms of collaboration. One promising response is the localized aid model, an entrepreneurial approach that complements existing crisis response systems by prioritizing the agency and ownership of affected communities.
Our recent article in Journal of Business Venturing Insights develops a model of “localized humanitarian aid” based on Field Ready, an aid innovator that brings manufacturing directly to the point of need. The model complements and contrasts with both traditional aid (centralized, logistics-heavy, top-down) and spontaneous venturing (ad hoc, improvised, short-lived). Localized aid instead uses an entrepreneurial organizing logic to embed ventures in local systems, mobilize community assets, and co-create context-specific solutions in real time. Traditional international aid organizations face mounting financial strain, with logistics consuming 60–80% of total humanitarian expenditures. Long global supply chains, warehousing, and procurement systems are designed for scale but often fail to deliver timely, cost-effective relief at the local level. In this climate, localization not only improves contextual fit but also offers a path to reduce costs and waste.
Four distinctive features of the localized aid model
Partnering for Local System Sustainability: Localized ventures prioritize partnerships with local markets, governments, and civil society actors from the start. In Vanuatu, Field Ready collaborated with local businesses, donors, and agencies to create a procurement platform for reusable sanitary pads and soap in response to supply chain barriers during COVID-era cyclone recovery.
Human-Centered Problem-Solving: Instead of shipping ready-made goods, localized aid begins with local needs assessment and co-design. Field Ready’s training emphasizes understanding and mapping community needs (e.g., shelter, medical, nutrition, security, water, sanitation, and hygiene) before prototyping solutions.
Matching High and Low Tech to Local Capabilities: The localized aid model embraces bricolage and frugal innovation. In Haiti, Field Ready identified that local workshops had injection molding machines but lacked mold-making capacity, a gap they filled with portable CNC and 3D-printing tools.
Developing Enduring, Adaptive Organizations: Rather than organizing temporarily, localized aid processes remain locally embedded, grow capabilities over time, and evolve as local conditions change. Field Ready’s distributed model, including partnerships with grassroots humanitarian makers, enables local teams to crowdsource open-source designs and rapidly modify them to fit crisis conditions.
Implications for practitioners and policymakers
In today’s volatile aid landscape, the localized model offers more than project innovation. It provides a system-level alternative. To legitimize this model and expand its reach and impact, the sector can:
Fund localization-first ventures that embed in communities, not just subcontract to them.
Reform procurement and donor reporting to accommodate distributed, small-batch, locally sourced and manufactured goods.
Our article frames localization not just as a geographic shift, but as a question of agency and ownership: Who defines the problem? Who makes solutions? Who holds the knowledge when the crisis ends?
In a time of mounting volatility and strain on traditional aid, the case for innovative approaches is more urgent than ever. Localized humanitarian aid offers a grounded, entrepreneurial pathway to deliver timely, resilient solutions that bridge the gap between traditional systems and spontaneous venturing.
Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673425000290
Author Bios
Russ Browder is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Oklahoma. His research explores how people collectively organize and interact with technology to create value amid uncertainty, complexity, and urgency. He studies entrepreneurial resource mobilization in contexts such as digital innovation, the maker movement, and crisis response.
Eric James is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Field Ready, an organization transforming how humanitarian aid is delivered. With a career spanning more than two decades and twenty countries, he brings extensive experience from NGOs, the UN, and USAID in crisis response and aid innovation. He teaches on humanitarian leadership and disaster response.
Todd Moss is the Michael F. Price Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Oklahoma. His research examines the intersection of entrepreneurship, sustainability, and social responsibility. He is interested in how entrepreneurs navigate and shape institutional environments to create impact.
Matt Wood is the Michael F. Price Chair in Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the University of Oklahoma. His research focuses on the cognitive foundations of entrepreneurial action, particularly how entrepreneurs identify, evaluate, and pursue new venture opportunities.
Justin Canova is a doctoral student in Entrepreneurship at the University of Oklahoma. His research focuses on strategy and entrepreneurship in small business contexts, with interests in hybrid, transitional, social, and family entrepreneurship. He brings industry experience in professional services and consulting to his academic work.
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