Supervisor: Dr Ismail Abushaikha
Humanitarian warehousing is a vital component of disaster response and recovery, ensuring the efficient storage, management, and distribution of essential supplies. Unlike commercial warehousing, humanitarian logistics involves complex multi-stakeholder interactions, requiring collaboration between NGOs, governments, private sector actors, and local communities. Effective governance structures, strategic partnerships, and sustainable infrastructure are critical in enhancing the resilience and efficiency of humanitarian supply networks.
This research will explore key governance and collaboration aspects of humanitarian warehousing, with potential investigation into the following questions:
- How do NGOs, governments, the private sector, and local communities interact in the management of humanitarian warehouses?
- How do power dynamics and institutional structures shape decision-making in humanitarian warehousing?
- How can public-private partnerships enhance resource availability and logistics capacity in humanitarian warehousing?
- What are the key barriers and facilitators to successful partnerships between humanitarian organisations and commercial logistics providers for improved warehousing?
Candidate Details
Candidates should ideally have experience in logistics, supply chain management, disaster response, or humanitarian relief. A background in governance, international development, or public-private partnerships is also relevant. A Master’s degree is desirable but not essential.
Interested candidates should contact Dr Ismail Abushaikha (ismail.abushaikha@cranfield.ac.uk) with a preliminary research proposal and details of relevant literature reviewed.
