Updated October 2026: this post was first published in January 2019 to share our strategy to 2020. We have expanded it with a summary drawn from the strategy document.
The search for durable solutions to protracted displacement in East Africa and the Horn of Africa is a major humanitarian and development concern. It is a regional and cross-border issue with a strong political dimension, and it demands a multi-sector response that goes beyond the existing humanitarian agenda. No single agency can deliver solutions alone, which is why coordination, shared evidence and joint learning matter to anyone working on displacement in the region.
ReDSS was created in 2015 to maintain focused momentum and stakeholder engagement towards durable solutions for displacement-affected communities in the region. At the time of this strategy it comprised 13 NGOs: ACTED, CARE International, Concern Worldwide, DRC, IRC, INTERSOS, Mercy Corps, NRC, Oxfam, the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, Save the Children, World Vision and LWF, with DRC, IRC and NRC forming the steering committee. ReDSS is a coordination and information hub and does not implement programmes itself; its value lies in helping others plan and act together.
Goal and vision
The goal is improved durable solutions programming and policies that increase the potential for displacement-affected communities to integrate sustainably and to live safe, dignified and productive lives. The vision is that durable solutions are achieved through the sustained commitment and collective efforts of diverse actors in East Africa and the Horn of Africa.
Four pillars
The strategy rests on four mutually reinforcing objectives, each with a three-year outcome. Research, analysis and knowledge management aims to increase the availability, accessibility and use of timely analysis on durable solutions, through a shared research agenda carried out with and by members, area-based solutions analysis, and amplifying the priorities and voices of displacement-affected people. Programme support and capacity development offers tools that help members find and close gaps, a neutral forum for real-time learning across sectors, and training on mainstreaming durable solutions and monitoring collective outcomes. Policy dialogue engages national and regional policy actors with evidence-based advice, so that priority policy processes are informed by ReDSS analysis and by the priorities of displacement-affected communities, and are underpinned by strong funding and commitment. Internal and external coordination strengthens ReDSS as an inclusive hub for information, analysis and learning, builds partnerships with other coordination platforms, and improves performance and collective accountability.
How we work
Guided by four principles (collaborative, adaptive, iterative and locally led), the strategy commits us to multi-stakeholder, rights- and needs-based programming; collective action across mandates; support to national, regional and local authorities, which hold primary responsibility for solutions; area-based approaches that serve host and displaced populations together; and a displacement-affected communities approach that covers refugees, returnees, internally displaced people and host communities. It pays attention to gender, age and diversity, with a particular focus on women and youth, and to coherence between humanitarian, development, peace and state-building programming. Priority themes include local integration, self-reliance and resilience, social cohesion, housing, land and property, early solutions, protection, urban solutions, private sector engagement and accountability to affected populations.
Where we work and how we measure progress
The strategy focuses on Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda, with phased expansion through country units that replicate the regional learning hub model in Ethiopia and Somalia, and with cross-border and cross-country learning to maximise regional impact. Its guiding principle for monitoring is to measure contribution, not attribution, towards collective outcomes, backed by a review of monitoring and evaluation tools and stronger collective accountability. This will enable ReDSS to show how joint work changes programming and policy, and to adapt as the region’s needs evolve.
Read the full strategy.
References
ReDSS (n.d.). ReDSS 2020 strategy. https://www.regionaldss.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/REDSS-2020-STRATEGY.pdf
