Concerns have been raised about an “increasingly conservative and bureaucratic” culture at the Disasters Emergency Committee, a new report reveals.

The charity, which brings together 15 major aid charities to respond to humanitarian crises, published its strategic review of 2019 to 2024 in partnership with the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance, a global body working to advance humanitarian learning.

The review looks at lessons learned based on the six appeals the DEC launched during the period, identifying strengths, best practices and areas for improvement.

“These findings will inform the approach for the upcoming strategic period (2024-2029),” the report says.

The review was produced from interviews with 11 humanitarian directors from DEC member agencies and two DEC consultants, as well as insights drawn from other global reports.

“Some humanitarian directors felt that over time, DEC internal culture had become increasingly conservative and bureaucratic, with complaints about the high level of questioning and back-and-forth when agencies submitted project proposals,” the review found.

“This was felt by some to be disrespectful given the competencies and experience in member agencies.”

It says the DEC’s procedures are likely to become even more rigorous because of the scale and “very high levels” of funding for the Ukraine crisis which have created “higher expectations for accountable donorship” and an “increased need for scrutiny”. 

The charity has had to hire additional staff to cope with rising demand, the review says.

Further concerns about the DEC’s risk-aversion were raised, centred on the charity’s “perceived reluctance” to experiment with new ideas and innovation due to fear of failure.

But it says a new strategy "may be a significant first step in raising the risk threshold".

During the last strategic period, the DEC’s funding direction largely mirrored the global trend of being subject to political preferences of donor states, geopolitical dynamics, the global economy and media attention, the review says.

The charity launched appeals for Cyclone Idai, coronavirus, the Afghanistan and Ukraine crises, Pakistan floods and Turkey-Syria earthquake crisis.

The DEC has been contacted for comment.