Nine months after the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,000 people and injured 21,000, six of the world’s most prestigious humanitarian organisations came together under the Hilton Prize Coalition Storytelling Program to reflect on their unique roles in the world’s response to the disaster. Operating in Nepal before, during and after the earthquake, these organisations leveraged their longstanding history and relationships in the impacted communities to achieve uniquely localised relief efforts, which helped to mitigate long-term damage and loss of life.

The resulting documentary, “On Shifting Ground”, provides a first-hand appraisal of the way these best-in-class organisations stood up to the disaster, offering lessons learned around community collaboration for greater preparedness and resiliency through stories told by the staff of these six organizations – BRAC, Handicap International, Heifer International, HelpAge International, Operation Smile and SOS Children’s Villages.

Building on ODI’s work on making the humanitarian system fit for the modern era and the work of the Hilton Prize Coalition, this documentary film screening and discussion provides an opportunity for the humanitarian and development communities to rethink conventional approaches to disaster relief and offer next steps on the collaboration necessary to respond efficiently and effectively.