Once Removed: Lessons and challenges in remote management of humanitarian operations for insecure areas

'As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments, international humanitarian agencies have increasingly adopted remote management arrangements as a way to continue assisting civilian populations while removing portions of their staff from harm’s way. This report, prepared in collaboration with the Center on International Cooperation for the Australian Government, provides a focused examination of the practice of remote management in humanitarian assistance; its benefits, deficits, and risks; and ways it could be improved. In particular, it draws on case-based field research in Afghanistan in November and December 2009 and provides case comparisons from other insecure aid contexts to identify common patterns and lessons in practice.'