Together We Stand

[ 161 ] Embedding good governance in the World Humanitarian Summit Synthesis Report: a spotlight on the evidence Lance Croffoot-Suede, Head; Ulysses Smith, Attorney; and Menaka Nayar, Attorney, Linklaters, International Governance and Development Practices Data visualization Source: Linklaters Documents uploaded to the Kira database Source: Linklaters A mong the significant achievements of the World Humanitarian Summit process has been the gathering of a body of evidence and perspectives on humanitarian aid from all corners of the globe and all walks of life. This body of evidence is unprecedented in its scale and rich- ness. It is a unique and remarkably compelling collection of voices, experiences and perspectives – consisting of consul- tations with over 23,000 people through eight regional gatherings, more than 400 textual submissions and 5,500 comments received online, and 19 consultations with the private sector – that reflects the broad range of individuals impacted by humanitarian action in the twenty-first century. Among the chal lenges confront ing the Wor ld Humanitarian Summit Secretariat was to prepare a report that synthesized this body of evidence in a systematic and impartial way, while remaining true to the multitude of voices heard during the process. As part of its efforts to meet this challenge, the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat engaged the International Governance and Development Practices of the global law firm Linklaters to conduct an independent review and analysis of the evidence gathered, with a view to helping ensure the integrity of the evidence base for, and foster the legitimacy of, the World Humanitarian Summit Synthesis Report. Given the vast amount of information gathered during the World Humanitarian Summit consultations, it was crucial to ensure that this information would be analysed and incorporated into the synthesis report in a transparent, accountable and carefully evidenced manner. Linklaters’ expertise in governance made it a natural partner for the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat in ensuring that the synthesis report was a true reflection of its underlying evidence base. In support of this effort, Linklaters developed a tailored methodology to address the governance challenges of this project. We identified a new software capable of hosting and processing information in a variety of formats, from one-page submissions from affected individuals, to lengthy thought pieces by international non-governmental organizations. We created a novel methodology for reviewing documents which T ogether W e S tand