Empowering Tomorrow’s Humanitarian Leaders: Visionary and Transformative Philanthropy
About CHL
The Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (CHL), an innovative, award-winning joint venture between Save the Children and Deakin University, is uniquely poised to transform the humanitarian sector.
CHL is working to transform the humanitarian sector long term. Our mission is to lead and influence change within the humanitarian system through critical analysis, transformational and disruptive education and research, and meaningful contributions to policy and practice.
With your support we can extend our leadership training and reach many more humanitarian workers.
Click here or on the above image to hear more about the CHL’s work from our Director, Mary Ana McGlasson.
Why support CHL ?
CHL is dedicated to providing humanitarian leadership* training to the personnel of local and international NGOs as well as UN organisations, who work with the most vulnerable, underserved communities, as well as in conflict zones and regions impacted by humanitarian crises.
With a commitment to the humanitarian principles, the CHL is a catalyst for social change.
Click here or on the image below to find out more about the CHL.
By supporting CHL and aligning your corporate values with ours, you will:
- Impact Lives: Your support will directly contribute to providing effective and highly acclaimed leadership training to professionals working in humanitarian crises.
- Shape Future Leaders: Contribute to the development of leaders who possess the knowledge, empathy, and strategic thinking required to address complex humanitarian challenges.
- Build Resilient Communities: Humanitarian leaders play a pivotal role in fostering resilience within communities. Your support will contribute to building communities that can withstand and recover from adversity.
- Enhance your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): By investing in CHL and aligning your CSR initiatives with a focus on leadership development, your company will demonstrate a commitment to creating positive, lasting impacts beyond the bottom line.
* What is Humanitarian Leadership and how does it differ from other forms of leadership?
- Develop strategic thinking;
- Communicate a vision and purpose;
- Demonstrate managerial courage;
- Building high-performing teams;
- Lead change and transformation;
- Produce results.
In addition to the above criteria, which apply to all forms of leadership, whether corporate or humanitarian, humanitarian leadership also involves:
- a firm of understanding of – and ability to work in – complex, dynamic contexts;
- the ability to understand and deal with the serious consequences of decisions;
- working with people in need of life-saving assistance and in distress, often in dangerous environments;
- the importance of well-being for oneself and others;
- handling dilemmas without compromising on ethical obligations;
- the ability to meet KPIs and be accountable, despite there being no easy measure of success.
Courses: the DESLH, CLP and PLC
To meet the increasingly complex humanitarian challenges brought about by disasters and multiple, protracted conflicts that are creating unprecedented needs for affected populations, CHL has partnered with Action Contre la Faim to offer French-speaking humanitarian and development workers a Graduate Diploma in Humanitarian Leadership: the Diplôme d’Études Supérieures en Leadership Humanitaire (DESLH). The course focuses on high-level leadership behaviours, personal development and current academic knowledge of the sector. The course duration is 9 months with four distinct online and in-person units.
The Crisis Leadership Program (CLP) and French language equivalent, the Programme de Leadership en situations de Crise (PLC) offer hands-on short courses with flexible delivery models to meet the needs of first responders working in crisis response and recovery. Participants gain insights to better understand and navigate the disaster response system, as well as build their own leadership skills. The course duration varies depending on the level of experience of course participants, ranging from 5-day courses for the most experienced humanitarian professionals to 8 weeks for those new to working in the sector.
Philanthropic Opportunities
Demonstrate your commitment to humanitarian leadership by donating to specific training programs, workshops, or events.
Women Scholarships: Establish a scholarship fund to support female students in pursuing their humanitarian leadership training and achieving their career goals. The humanitarian sector is made up of 43% women[1]. However, women are still under-represented among senior management in the sector due to cultural bias. Scholarship funding for women will promote greater inclusivity among course participants and help break down the barriers to their professional advancement.
Mentorship Trainings Grants: Our mentoring workshops are designed for those currently working in humanitarian aid or crisis response who wish to build their knowledge and skills as a mentor. Designed specifically with the humanitarian sector in mind, this practical program enables participants to fully understand their role as a mentor. Participants build self-awareness as well as their core mentoring skills, capabilities, and mindset to enable them to bring the most to their mentoring relationships as they support and engage with colleagues in a crisis context.
Logistics Support: The DESLH, CLP and PLC training programs involve complex logistics and require a dedicated team for each training to manage the organisational aspects of the course. Travel to and from the in-person unit training for course academics, coaches and other support staff, as well as accommodation, subsistence and IT infrastructure generate significant costs for the program. Financial support or support-in-kind enables the CHL to allocate resources to develop further training programs, covering a larger geographical area.
Research Support: CHL coordinates multiple research programs across three distinct ‘Research Pillars’. These represent three distinct, yet interrelated fields of knowledge or evidence bases, which inform the Centre’s strategic direction and research, monitoring, and evaluation activities: Pedagogy, Leadership and Systems Transformation. Your support of our Research Pillars will enable CHL to continuously refresh the learning material and course content in line with the latest humanitarian crises contexts and priorities.
The CHL is seeking philanthropic support from individual and corporate benefactors and foundations who wish to commit to supporting the cause for a minimum of three years, to ensure a more impactful long-term influence on leadership education.
Donations to the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership have a direct long-term impact on the humanitarian leaders operating with communities impacted by conflict, crisis and disasters as well as on the lives of the beneficiaries of humanitarian support. All donors benefit from a comprehensive impact report for internal CSR monitoring, evaluation and accountability.
Contact us to find out more about supporting the CHL on any of the above programs : philanthropy@cfhl.org.au.
