This is the eleventh Integrated Programme (IP) of work proposed for funding by the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG).The Integrated Programme gives intellectual consistency to the research work of HPG, helping to ensure HPG’s effectiveness and providing a clear basis for the mobilisation of funds.

The projects constitute the core of HPG’s research work in 2013–15, combining policy-relevant research and engagement, humanitarian practice, academic engagement and a vigorous and extensive public affairs programme of events, conferences and media work.

In 2013–15, HPG’s research addresses one of the most crucial systemic challenges facing humanitarian action today: the common perception that the ‘humanitarian landscape’ as traditionally understood is undergoing significant change. While in the aftermath of the Cold War stakeholders in the ‘humanitarian system’ were confronted with what became known as ‘new wars’ and ‘complex political emergencies’, today commentators speak of the rise of ‘new’ or ‘different’ actors and the emergence of new forms and modalities of assistance.

Whether these changes are viewed by more established actors as welcome or threatening, genuinely new or an extension of patterns and trends long under way, it is clear that the concepts, traditions and practices that have underpinned the humanitarian system for years are no longer as dominant as they were. The research that HPG will undertake in the period 2013–15 will engage with these issues through four major focus areas:

• Zones of engagement: regional action and humanitarian response.

• A global history of modern humanitarian action.

• Markets and resilience in crises and transitions.

• Approaches and innovations reshaping the humanitarian landscape: opportunities and challenges for protection work.

  The non-research dimensions of the Integrated Programme are crucial elements of our strategy and communication work. In particular the Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN) represents our most important link with practitioners, and is widely recognised as an invaluable asset for the sector as whole. Our Advanced Course on Conflict, Crisis and Transitions, held annually in York, and the Advanced Course on Crisis, Recovery and Transitions, held for the first time in 2012 in Beijing, continues to attract international policy-makers and practitioners. As part of the Integrated Programme, HPG continues its advisory work wtih policy makers and donors and its extensive public affairs engagement.