Understand a funding or policy shock
Rapid crisis analysis for funding changes, policy shocks, economic transmission, and operating model decisions.
Systems. Strategy. Safety.
Practitioner-led consulting at the intersection of humanitarian analysis, AI adoption, and digital systems.
We combine 15 years of frontline humanitarian experience with AI capability that lets us deliver at a speed no traditional consultancy can match. Our crisis analysis reaches the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. Our training programme has been delivered to staff from WHO, UNFPA, NRC, ECHO, ACAPS, and 15+ other organisations. Our newsletter reaches 9,000+ humanitarian professionals.
Delivered to:
NRC Caritas Switzerland ACF UK IRC WHO GIZ
Practitioners First. Consultants Second.
Crisis analysis, AI training, digital systems, and humanitarian payments.
Crisis analysis
Publication-ready updates in hours, not weeks
Responsible AI training
AidGPT cohorts and private team training
Digital systems and payments
Tools, registries, interoperability, and treasury rails
Ready to transform your operations?
Get in TouchFind the right next step
What are you trying to work out?
Start from the decision in front of you, then move into the service, report, or conversation that fits.
Plan safe AI adoption
Use SAFE AI, AidGPT, and practical workflow design to move from policy intent to safe daily practice.
Improve finance and operations
Assess treasury rails, payment risks, stablecoin options, liquidity, safeguarding, and operational controls.
Review a programme or portfolio
Use evaluation, learning, and review support to connect findings with accountable follow-through.
Build team AI fluency
Train teams through AidGPT, with 60+ professionals trained across open cohorts and private sessions.
Delivered to
ACF UK
WHO
UNFPA
ECHO
ACAPS
IOM
Mercy Corps
HelpAge
Korean Red Cross
Elrha
Concern
FAO
15+
Years
20+
Countries
60+
Professionals Trained
9,000+
Newsletter Subscribers
Practitioners First.
Consultants Second.
We're not just consultants who read about humanitarian work. We've lived it. Our team has spent years in the field, navigating the same challenges you face every day.
Field-Tested Solutions
Every recommendation we make has been validated in real crisis contexts. We know what works when connectivity is poor, security is tight, and resources are limited.
Protection at the Core
We never lose sight of the people we serve. Data protection, ethical AI use, and do-no-harm principles are embedded in everything we design.
Rapid, Adaptive Delivery
Humanitarian contexts change fast. We deliver solutions that are flexible, scalable, and can be adapted as situations evolve.
"This training helped our teams understand AI in a practical, responsible way. People came out with real workflows they can use immediately, clearer safeguards, and the confidence to work safely with these tools. It was one of the most relevant and useful trainings we've had this year."
Gaurav Singh Basnyat
Digital Programme Development Manager
Norwegian Refugee Council, Sudan
"What made this training stand out was the balance between innovation and responsibility. Our team gained practical skills, but more importantly, a clear understanding of how to use AI in ways that respect our values."
Wael Darwish
Country Director, Syria Crisis Response
Caritas Switzerland
Four Service Areas
Consulting, training, analysis, and systems work reinforce each other. The same practitioner judgement sits underneath each service.
Crisis Analysis and Strategic Advisory
Crisis economicsSituation updatesDecision support
Rapid, sourced analysis for organisations that need to understand a fast-moving situation before it is out of date. AI-augmented production at a speed traditional consultancy models cannot match, with editorial judgement applied by a senior humanitarian practitioner.
Recent work includes the Mercy Corps From Hormuz to the Frontlines of Hunger series and situation updates shared with the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator office.
What we deliver
- Situation updates
- Transmission analysis
- Strategic briefings
AI Training for Humanitarian Professionals
AidGPTVerificationProtection-first practice
Practical, responsible AI training built around verification discipline, structured workflows, and protection-first practice. Open cohorts, private team training, and self-guided introductory courses.
Delivered to NRC, Caritas Switzerland, ACF UK, IRC, Action Against Hunger, and others. Participants have joined from WHO, UNFPA, ECHO, ACAPS, GIZ, IOM, Korean Red Cross, Elrha, Concern, FAO, and Caritas Internationalis.
Evaluation, Review, and Advisory
EvaluationsDonor mappingLearning exercises
Programme evaluations, donor mapping, strategic reviews, and learning exercises led by senior consultants with direct field experience in cash programming, protection, emergency response, and humanitarian operations.
The work is strongest when findings need to survive operational scrutiny and move quickly into a decision, not sit in a report.
Digital Systems and Humanitarian Payments
RegistriesInteroperabilityStablecoin treasury
Integrated beneficiary registry architecture, social protection system design, data interoperability, and stablecoin treasury infrastructure for humanitarian transfers.
Member of the Algorand Foundation Humanitarian Payments Council. GIZ Digital Convergence Initiative consultant.
Humanitarian Payments Council Member
Humanitarian Payments & Treasury Rails
We assess payment rails, treasury risk, stablecoin use cases, and last-mile constraints for humanitarian teams working in fragile, sanctioned, cash-constrained, or high-volatility contexts.
Council Member
Algorand Foundation Humanitarian Payments Council
Handbook Underway
Currently authoring the Treasurers Stablecoin Handbook
Context Checks
Liquidity, custody, cash-out, sanctions, and safeguarding
Field-Informed
Grounded in cash, markets, and crisis operations experience
Treasury Rails Model
Donor Funding
Traditional bank transfer
Stablecoin Conversion
Centralised liquidity pool
Instant Distribution
Direct to beneficiaries
Council membership
Powered by MarketImpact
Responsible AI in Practice
Practical, responsible AI training for aid and development professionals who need useful workflows, verification discipline, and protection-first practice.
60+ Professionals Trained
Across open cohorts and private teams
Delivered to Current Teams
NRC, Caritas Switzerland, ACF UK, IRC, Action Against Hunger
Sector Participation
WHO, UNFPA, ECHO, ACAPS, GIZ, IOM, Elrha, FAO, Concern, UQAM
July 2026 Open Cohort
June 2026 cohort full. Next open cohort: July 2026.
AidGPT offers open cohorts, private team training, and a self-guided introductory course. The method is built around source logs, workflow cards, and verification cycles that fit real humanitarian work.
Explore AidGPT TrainingAI Workflow Card Example
Role
Humanitarian Analyst - Crisis Review
Rules
- • Never share beneficiary PII with AI
- • Source every claim before it reaches a decision-maker
- • Separate facts, inferences, and open questions
Use Cases
Situation updates Desk reviews Policy analysis Translation
Aid and Dev Dispatches
Expert analysis for humanitarian professionals.
Published on LinkedIn by Thomas Byrnes, Aid and Dev Dispatches covers humanitarian reform, AI adoption, crisis economics, and the politics of aid.
The newsletter is one of MarketImpact's most important credibility platforms. It turns fast-moving field, funding, and policy signals into clear analysis for people making real operational decisions.
Subscribe on LinkedIn9,000+
Subscribers
Humanitarian and development professionals.
41%
Open rate
Strong engagement for a specialist audience.
Top Readership
UNHCR, WFP, OCHA
Top organisational readership.
Top Locations
Geneva, Washington DC, Nairobi
Where the reader base clusters.
Production-Ready Solutions
Applied Software and Digital Tools
We build the tools our analysis and training depend on. The point is not to be a software house. It is to turn hard-won operational judgement into systems that teams can actually use.
Applied Tooling
Built around live humanitarian workflows
AI Integration
Used where it improves judgement and speed
Domain Logic Encoded
Humanitarian rules made explicit
Enterprise Quality
Tests, audit trails, and maintainable code
Featured: NRC Sudan Cash Tool
12
Decision Options
87
Business Rules
10+
Integrated Modules
Live
In Production
Tech Stack
Django PostgreSQL Google Gemini Auth0 AWS
Test Coverage 85-90%
CI Pipeline ~11 seconds
Meet The Team
Our leadership brings decades of combined experience from the world's leading humanitarian organisations. We have been in the field, and we understand your challenges.
Thomas Byrnes
CEO and Founder
Humanitarian analyst and technical practitioner with over 15 years of frontline experience across 20+ countries. Founded the Cash Consortium of Yemen. Scaled IFRC Greece from a EUR 60K pilot to a EUR 30M programme. Served as economic adviser in the HC Office in Yemen. Deployed to Kyiv at the start of the Ukraine war for UNICEF, then embedded in the HC Office. Author of the Mercy Corps From Hormuz to the Frontlines of Hunger crisis analysis series. Publishes Aid and Dev Dispatches to 9,000+ subscribers. Runs the AidGPT responsible AI training programme. Member of the Algorand Foundation Humanitarian Payments Council.
Crisis AnalysisAI TrainingDigital Social ProtectionCash and Voucher AssistanceHumanitarian Payments
Connect on LinkedIn
Avril James
Director of Global Operations
Experienced aid professional with significant knowledge of programme design and implementation, remote management, partner-led implementation, MPCA, and emergency response. Professional experience in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Greece, Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine.
Field OperationsCVA Programme DesignEmergency ResponseAI Evaluation
Connect on LinkedIn
Marie-Josée Hamel
Senior Consultant
Experienced humanitarian worker with expertise in programme management, strategy, emergency and early recovery responses, humanitarian disarmament and peacebuilding. Worked across the Middle East, West Africa, and South America.
Programme StrategyMine ActionEmergency ResponseAI Evaluation
Latest Insights
Recent Aid and Dev Dispatches on crisis economics, AI-assisted research, and responsible AI governance.
Crisis Analysis
The damage is already in the ground
Lead consultant and author of the Mercy Corps From Hormuz to the Frontlines of Hunger series, with country papers on Pakistan, Myanmar, and Lebanon plus the six-economy synthesis.
3 June 2026 4 min read
Responsible AI
SAFE AI is live. Here are its core ideas, and the part no framework can do for you
A governance framework review focused on what SAFE AI helps humanitarian teams decide, and why staff capability still matters at the keyboard.
2 June 2026 4 min read
AI Methodology
I asked AI about my great-grandfather's war. It found my great-grandmother's.
A desk-review methodology piece on how structured AI-assisted research can widen the question, follow sources, and reveal the hidden systems behind formal actors.
25 May 2026 4 min read
Request a Detailed Consultation
Share your specific challenges and requirements for a tailored response and comprehensive consultation proposal.
Why choose the detailed approach?
We'll analyse your specific situation, research your sector context, and prepare a focused consultation tailored to your organisation's challenges and opportunities.
Prepared Response
Tailored consultation proposal within 24 hours
Research & Analysis
We'll research your sector and specific challenges
Global Expertise
Experience across 20+ countries and complex operating contexts
What you'll receive in your consultation proposal:
- Detailed analysis of your current situation
- Specific AI implementation recommendations
- Budget estimates and timeline planning
- Follow-up consultation scheduling
Tell Us About Your Project
The more details you provide, the better we can tailor our consultation to your specific needs.