Transition in the humanitarian sector involves the deliberate and strategic process of shifting leadership, coordination, and service delivery from internationally led clusters to nationally led systems, including government institutions and local organizations. This process ensures that as emergency needs decrease or evolve, national actors are empowered to sustainably manage and coordinate response efforts, improving long-term resilience and ownership. Transition is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it requires context-specific planning, strong collaboration, and capacity strengthening to ensure continuity and effectiveness in humanitarian response.
Below are a range of resources and guidance to support countries in preparing for and managing cluster transition. These tools are designed to help national actors, humanitarian coordinators, and partners plan effectively, strengthen local capacity, and ensure a smooth and sustainable transition.
General Resources
- Terms of Reference (ToR): Humanitarian Reset/ Transition Coordinator
- Cluster Transition and Deactivation eLearning module on the Humanitarian Coordination Learning Channel
- Cluster Simplification presentation (UNICEF, August 2025)
- Webinar series from GCCS on Cluster Transition - the first webinar of this series took place in May and the recording, Q&A session notes and presentation are available on this link
- Humanitarian Reset - Cluster Simplification final proposal
- Q&A - the process of cluster simplification within the Humanitarian Reset
- Humanitarian Reset - Empowering Humanitarian Leadership
- IASC Bi-Annual meeting summary (17 June)
