“The Power of Local Action summarizes the discussions and examples shared during Oxfam-hosted Local Humanitarian Leadership (LHL) Learning Events and global meetings in 2019, and seeks to weave them together with current research and thinking on LHL. It is structured around the following key areas, which were identified and prioritized in consultation with Oxfam staff and partners:

• Shifting power to transform the system.
• The importance of equitable partnering.
• Supporting capacity ‘sharing’ not ‘building’.
• Closing the funding gap to enable local humanitarian action.

The paper also discusses three emergent areas for Oxfam:

• Taking a feminist approach to local humanitarian leadership.
• Local humanitarian leadership in fragile and conflict contexts.
• Local humanitarian leadership and resilience building.

While this paper is based primarily on reflections from Oxfam-supported work with local and national humanitarian actors, and is therefore a learning document for us, we hope the information within it is relevant and helpful for a wide range of stakeholders. It has given rise to a ‘call to action’ which we hope will act as a point of reference not just for Oxfam but for the wider humanitarian community. As this paper argues, the need for local humanitarian action and leadership has never been greater.”