Research-Aid Networks (RAN) was created in 2019 with a mission to deliver more effective humanitarian aid and long-term sustainable community development through collaborations between researchers, aid organizations and local communities.

The vision for RAN came during the 2014-2016 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, where it was clear that there was not only a communication gap between researchers, humanitarian aid organizations and local communities, but that this gap resulted in wasted effort, lost opportunities and that it significantly disadvantaged the community. Thus, RAN was designed to help bridge that gap between research, aid organizations and communities.

As a larger and longer term perspective, we saw that the need for all types of humanitarian aid is at an unprecedented level that far outstrips the current capacity to provide aid. In response to this need there has been a global effort to provide aid and address the underlying issues that caused these humanitarian crises. Many aid organizations are able to successfully provide short-term relief, yet due to limitations of resources and expertise, they are not able to support the development of a sustainable community environment that is resilient to future humanitarian crises. In contrast, researchers may have expertise and funding that could facilitate long-term development but are oftentimes unable to provide rapid aid. The impact of both research and humanitarian aid is further limited due to poor connections between aid organizations, researchers and local communities. As a result, we are unable to meet the need for aid and the aid provided is frequently insufficient for long-term relief and sustainable community development. 

Through Research-Aid Networks we work to create interdisciplinary partnerships between researchers, aid organizations and communities, facilitating collaborative, community-centric, evidence-based approaches for assessing need, delivering aid, evaluating effectiveness and achieving sustainable long-term relief.