Geneva Technical Hub
Geneva Technical Hub
It draws on specialists from several donors and organizations, while driving locally led solutions and scaling them across the wider humanitarian system.
Background and context
Funded by ECHO and SDC, and with contributions from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Swedish Civil Defense and Resilience Agency (MCF) and the Veolia Foundation, the Geneva Technical Hub brings together technical experts, field practitioners, local entities and affected communities to tackle complex technical problems, share learnings, and find solutions that can be applied in diverse operational humanitarian contexts.
Between 2021 and 2025, the pilot phase of the Hub was run by UNHCR and SDC. It brought together Swiss academia and expert practitioners to tackle complex technical problems, share learnings, and find solutions that were deployed in more than 40 operational contexts. In addition, over 200 professionals were trained and received hands-on support.
Building on this successful pilot, in the second phase, GTH 2.0 is scaling up its support to the broader humanitarian community and now includes the following partners: Global WASH Cluster; Global Platform for Action; ICRC; IFRC; IOM; UNICEF; UN-Habitat; and UNHCR.
Support offered by the Geneva Technical Hub
Field support
In a targeted and time-bound way, both directly and remotely.
Operational guidance
Tools and best practices developed and operationalized.
Research partnerships
Research projects implemented in collaboration with academic and applied research partners to explore, develop and test new methods, products and solutions.
Capacity sharing
Joint learning and strengthening staff capacity through in-person as well as virtual knowledge sharing programmes.
What technical issues will be tackled?
Support profiling and planning for sustainable settlements that are resilient to climate change, with a specific focus on flood risk mitigation analyses.
Improve water safety planning, supporting hydrogeological assessments, feasibility studies on solarization of boreholes and water network designs.
Improve safe and reliable access to renewable energy for community infrastructures such as schools and health centres.
Mainstream environmental considerations and improve sustainable procurement throughout humanitarian responses.
Localisation at the core
GTH 2.0's focus on localization ensures that local stakeholders play a central role in identifying critical issues, ensuring coordination with local actors and adapting technical solutions to address those challenges. This strengthens their preparedness capacities and promotes long-term resilience by reducing reliance on external support.
Field-based country teams from the partner organisations (Global WASH Cluster; Global Platform for Action; ICRC; IFRC; IOM; UNICEF; UN-Habitat; UNHCR) can apply for expert support.
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Please get in touch with us for more information on the support we provide.
Operational guidance, tools and best practices
Among other support, the Geneva Technical Hub supports the provision of operational guidance, tools and best practices contributing to the enhancement of technical programming in the following areas:
- Public services and facilities | also available in French
- Efficient circulation networks | also available in French
- Appropriate communal open spaces | also available in French
- Community infrastructure catalogue | also available in French
- Nature-based solutions (NbS) in humanitarian settlements: Guidelines for integrating NbS in settlement planning | also available in French
- Flood risk mitigation in humanitarian settlements | also available in French
Guidelines for the safe disposal of solid waste in humanitarian contexts
Options to progressively upgrade sanitation from emergency response to stabilization
Case study: Optimized household toilet construction process, Tongogara, Zimbabwe
Deep row entrenchment: a simple solution for faecal sludge disposal
Further resources and materials from GTH 1.0
Fostering humanitarian-academic partnerships
The Geneva Technical Hub facilitated collaboration between UNHCR and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) to develop innovative solutions to technical programming challenges. Explore the videos below to learn more about the diverse tools and guidance resulting from this partnership.
