Background

Humanitarian information systems rely on a simple but mistaken belief: that formal evidence – reports, indicators, assessments -
drives good decisions. In crises contexts, many of the most important judgements are shaped by tacit knowledge and tacit learning – experience-based understanding held and used by people closest to unfolding events. Tacit knowledge is iterative, contextual and real-time – qualities essential for operating in volatile setting – yet remains largely invisible in formal systems.

If we want better decisions, we need to rethink how we understand evidence itself to inform decision-making and effective response. Despite significant investment in mechanisms such as the IPC, cluster reporting mechanisms and evaluations, humanitarian information systems capture a partial view of reality. They prioritise codified data over lived experience, distant analysis over situated judgement. Meanwhile, tacit knowledge - harnessed by practitioners to interpret unfolding events and transform experience into action - built through lived experience and daily practice, is often more insightful, guiding much of what actually happens on the ground.

Purpose of Session

This session draws on practical research and facilitation work conducted across two phases in Somalia and Sudan. Phase 1 explored how humanitarian decision-makers acquire, share, and act on tacit knowledge in fluid operational contexts. Phase 2 is testing participatory methods for surfacing this knowledge collectively and integrating it into reflective decision-making spaces. Together, this work provides an empirical foundation for rethinking what “evidence” means in humanitarian response. This session will explore:

• How tacit knowledge and tacit learning works in real humanitarian decision-making.
• How tacit knowledge differs from formal knowledge systems.
• Why the knowledge and expertise of those closest to the crisis - including affected populations, their representatives and local humanitarian managers - must sit at the centre of adaptive humanitarian decision-making.
• What elevating tacit knowledge means for legitimacy, power and the deeper work of decolonising humanitarian information systems.

The facilitators will draw directly on their most recent tacit knowledge and learning in Somalia and Sudan, shaped by years of working
inside and outside formal information systems, to help develop these ideas with participants.

Expected Outcomes

Participants will not only discuss tacit knowledge and learning - they will practise it. Through shared reflection, peer dialogue and shared judgement, they will explore what transformations are required in humanitarian information systems so they better reflect lived experiences. Participants will leave with:

• Clearer understanding of how tacit knowledge and learning strengthens real-time adaptation.
• Practical insight into how collective reflection can complement formal evidence.
• Appreciation of why these shifts matter in a period of defunding, operational fragmentation and contested narratives

This session will move beyond efficiency. It will centre around strengthening the legitimacy of decisions by understanding whose knowledge counts, whose judgement is trusted and whose experience shapes humanitarian response.

Target Audience

This session is for humanitarian practitioners, analysts, evaluators, and managers who recognise that current information models are
failing to keep pace with complex crises - and who want to explore a fundamentally different approach to learning, evidence and decision-making.