Case study 7: Coordination challenges and joint responses in crisis contexts

Coordinating support for Ukraine and Lebanon

Core issue

Limited coordination between donors and implementing partners can lead to duplication, inefficiencies, and increased administrative burden, particularly in crisis contexts where rapid support is required.

Context

In crisis and post-crisis environments, media support often involves a large number of donors, implementing organisations, and local partners operating simultaneously.

While this can mobilise significant resources, it also creates risks of fragmentation, including:

• overlapping or duplicative interventions

• gaps in coverage and support

• increased administrative and reporting burdens for media organisations

Coordination mechanisms are often introduced to address these challenges, but their effectiveness varies depending on design, participation, and incentives.

What happened

This case illustrates both the potential and limitations of coordination mechanisms in crisis contexts.

In Ukraine, donor coordination structures established following the 2014 Euromaidan events, and further developed in response to the 2022 full-scale invasion, have aimed to align funding priorities, share information, and reduce duplication.

These mechanisms have included:

• shared mapping of projects and funding streams

• regular information-sharing meetings

• collaboration between donors, implementing organisations, and local actors

In Lebanon, following the 2020 Beirut port explosion, media support organisations and donors established a joint coordination mechanism and a Media Recovery Fund to align funding and respond to urgent needs.

These approaches have enabled:

• joint fundraising and resource mobilisation

• coordinated allocation of support across multiple priority areas

• stronger alignment with local needs through collaboration with national actors

However, across both contexts, consultations and sector analysis highlight persistent challenges:

• coordination often remains focused on information sharing rather than joint strategy

• donor participation can be limited or inconsistent

• competition for funding can reduce incentives to share information

• coordination mechanisms can add to administrative burden if not streamlined

Why this matters

This case illustrates that coordination is widely recognised as essential but is difficult to sustain and operationalise effectively.

Consultations and sector evidence highlight that:

• without coordination, duplication and inefficiencies increase

• poorly designed coordination mechanisms may have limited impact beyond information exchange

• sustained coordination requires incentives, resources, and clear leadership

In crisis contexts, these challenges are amplified by urgency, scale, and rapidly changing needs.

Implications for practice

• Move beyond information sharing to support joint planning and strategic alignment

• Ensure coordination mechanisms are adequately resourced and sustained over time

• Align donor incentives to encourage collaboration rather than competition

• Reduce administrative burden by streamlining reporting and funding processes

• Prioritise local actor participation and leadership in coordination efforts

Most relevant for

• Senior management and strategy leads: Defining coordination priorities and aligning funding approaches across actors

• Heads of Mission / Ambassadors: Supporting coordination at country level and engaging with other donors and stakeholders

• Programme and project managers: Aligning programmes with existing initiatives and reducing duplication

• Policy officers / thematic specialists: Ensuring coherence between interventions and supporting system-level approaches

Linked principles

• Principle 5 – Improve coordination of support

• Principle 3 – Take a whole-of-system approach

Evidence base

• Consultation inputs highlighting coordination challenges and practices in crisis and transition contexts

• Evidence from coordination mechanisms in Ukraine and Lebanon and GFMD research and analysis on coordination of media assistance

  • Coordination of media support to Ukraine, including donor coordination groups and information-sharing initiatives

  • Coordinating Media Assistance and Journalism Support Efforts - Ukraine and Lebanon

Key lesson

Coordination is essential for effective media support, but it does not happen automatically. It requires sustained incentives, resources, and alignment between donors and implementing partners to move beyond information sharing toward collective impact.