Michel Maietta

Michel Maietta is a humanitarian strategist and author with more than 20 years of experience in the humanitarian and development sectors. His work has emphasized strategic planning, aid localization, and integrating foresight into humanitarian responses. He co-authored Strategic Planning in the Humanitarian Sector: A Manual to Foresight and Futures-Focused Thinking, which provides tools for applying foresight in humanitarian contexts to improve organizational resilience and adaptability... He co-founded the Inter-Agency Research and Analysis Network (IARAN) and has held senior positions at international organizations including Action Against Hunger and Save the Children International. His contributions extend to organizational design, crisis management, and strategic foresight.
 
====Early Life and Education====
Maietta’s humanitarian engagement began in 1997 when he co-founded La Ronda del Cuore di Napoli with Paolo Coccheri, a grassroots initiative aimed at supporting the homeless community in Naples. This experience laid the foundation for Maietta's focus on community-based approaches and localization in humanitarian strategies.
Maietta studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Toulouse (IEP), France, and holds a Dottore ex Laurea in Political Science from the Università Federico II in Italy.
====Career====
=====Inter-Agency Research and Analysis Network (IARAN)=====
Founded in 2012, IARAN aimed to incorporate strategic foresight into the humanitarian sector, providing scenario planning and research-based insights to aid organizations. The network produced influential reports such as The Future of Aid: INGOs in 2030, which analyzed key drivers of change and suggested strategies for NGOs to adapt to evolving global conditions. IARAN's work has focused on advancing proactive, sustainable solutions in humanitarian action, including climate change mitigation and community resilience initiatives. The network collaborates with academic institutions to develop leadership programs in strategic planning.
=====Action Against Hunger=====
Maietta was the Director of Strategy at Action Against Hunger from 2014 to 2018, where he led strategic planning and oversaw the organization's response to major crises, including the 2014 Ebola outbreak. His efforts aimed to shift the organization toward long-term resilience strategies in communities impacted by emergencies.
=====Save the Children International=====
From 2012 to 2014, Michel Maietta held the position of Deputy Humanitarian Director at Save the Children International, where he significantly contributed to enhancing the organization's strategic foresight and anticipatory action efforts. His work focused on bolstering the organization’s readiness for potential crises by incorporating risk analysis, early warning mechanisms, and proactive planning into decision-making frameworks.
=====Sidaction and Earlier Roles=====
Before his involvement with IARAN, Michel Maietta served as the International Program Manager at Sidaction from 2008 to 2012, where he coordinated HIV/AIDS initiatives in Francophone Africa, focusing on capacity-building for local organizations. His role involved enhancing the response to the epidemic in the region, emphasizing sustainable and community-driven approaches to health challenges. Earlier in his career, he held various country director roles with Action Against Hunger in countries such as Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, and Indonesia, transitioning from emergency relief to sustainable development initiatives.
====Contributions to Humanitarian Strategy====
Michel Maietta has been involved in efforts to promote aid localization, which emphasizes empowering local actors to take a central role in crisis response. His work includes advocating for more equitable partnerships between international organizations and local entities, stressing the importance of local actors' unique expertise and understanding of community needs. During the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, he has supported initiatives to empower Ukrainian civil society and local organizations to play a more significant role in delivering aid and shaping humanitarian strategies, thereby enhancing sustainability and effectiveness in humanitarian interventions.
Maietta also calls for a redefinition of the international framework for refugee protection, proposing an expanded view that includes economic and climate migrants. He contends that the current legal definitions are outdated and do not reflect the complex realities faced by displaced populations today.
His work in the humanitarian sector includes efforts to address the exclusion of marginalized groups, such as the LGBTI community, during crises. Maietta has described this exclusion as a "protracted humanitarian crisis" that demands specific interventions. In his report *A Global Outlook on LGBTI Social Exclusion through 2030*, he used strategic foresight to identify key drivers of exclusion—such as stigma, political scapegoating, and criminalization—and examined their likely evolution by 2030. The report called for integrating LGBTI-inclusive policies into humanitarian programs to ensure no one is left behind, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
====Publications====
Michel Maietta has authored and contributed to several publications focused on strategic planning in the humanitarian sector. His notable works include:
* The Future of Aid: INGOs in 2030 (2017), which outlines challenges and changes expected in the sector over the next decade.
* From Voices to Choices (2018), a report aimed at expanding crisis-affected people's influence over aid decisions by analyzing barriers in the humanitarian sector and identifying trends that could shift power dynamics
* The Future of Cash (2019), a publication discussing the evolving role of cash assistance in humanitarian responses and its implications for the future of aid
* Covid-19 Scenarios (2020), a report exploring potential future impacts of the pandemic on humanitarian work.
* Strategic Planning in the Humanitarian Sector (2021), co-authored with Eilidh Kennedy, co-founder of IARAN, which serves as a guide for integrating foresight into organizational strategy
====Volunteer and Advisory Roles====
Maietta has held advisory roles, including Chair of the Ukraine Emergency Committee at Fondation de France, supporting humanitarian responses to the conflict. He has also served as Director of Research at the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) and held leadership positions with Medecins du Monde and Action Contre la Faim.
Category:Author
Category:Strategy
Category:English people