In today’s humanitarian sector, the ability to measure impact and assess needs with reliable data is no longer optional - it’s essential for securing funding and delivering effective support.
It’s the difference between thriving and struggling for survival. Data-driven innovation is now the primary lever for humanitarian organizations to secure funding, maximize impact, and adapt to a rapidly changing world.
What has become apparent is that measuring impact isn’t just about accountability. It’s about proving to donors that their funds are making a real difference. Moreover, measuring needs ensures that resources are targeted where they’re most effective, building trust and credibility with both beneficiaries and funders.
More and more humanitarian organizations are turning to digital tools, data, and smarter systems to sustain impact and secure future funding.
If used correctly, these programs can improve provision, deliver budget efficiencies, and act as magnets for future funding. A well executed digital transformation campaign can pay for itself, showing results in ways that traditional methods never could.
The recent cuts to USAID have forced a reckoning across the humanitarian sector. With crises unfolding across Sudan, Congo, Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar, and beyond, needs are skyrocketing while resources dwindle.
The sector is experiencing a “polycrisis” - multiple, overlapping emergencies that strain every system. The question many organizations now face isn’t just how to continue operating, but how to prove, with evidence, that what they do matters.
To stay effective in today’s challenging landscape, humanitarian leaders must prioritize innovation, adopt proven digital strategies from across the sector, and work with trusted technology partners who can help turn ideas into impact.
In this Telerivet article, we explore how the sector is adapting - and why measuring needs and impact is now central to sustaining aid and securing funding:
At Telerivet, we’ve seen firsthand how digital transformation is reshaping the humanitarian sector.
Our platform, a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), helps organizations connect with communities, gather real-time feedback, and automate critical communications - across SMS, WhatsApp, voice, and more.
Whether it's appointment reminders, airtime transfers, crisis alerts, or community surveys, Telerivet acts as a command center that helps teams connect, coordinate, and measure impact - all from one platform.
We work with organizations of every size, from global actors like Norwegian Refugee Council and the Red Cross, to grassroots initiatives like Farm Radio International and New Incentives.
And in today’s funding environment, we’re seeing one clear trend: a rapid, necessary acceleration of digital transformation.
This shift did not only begin with the funding crisis, but began during COVID-19, when lockdowns forced service delivery to go remote.
For example, the Norwegian Refugee Council partnered with Telerivet, Microsoft, and others to create digital hubs that enabled them to scale outreach instantly and reach people trapped in crisis zones with no access to in-person support.
The result? They didn’t just maintain services - they improved them.
They reached more people, responded to evolving needs faster, and generated data that made their impact measurable and fundable.
And they’re not alone. Across the sector, humanitarian organizations are rethinking how they engage communities, track attendance, send reminders, and measure outcomes with tools like Telerivet making that transformation possible.
While the funding cuts have been a blow, they’ve also forced a redirection of energy and budgets toward innovation and we’ve been proud to support that transition.
In fact, some of the most impactful changes we’ve seen have started small: a single SMS campaign, a new feedback loop, an automated follow-up system. But the ripple effects on program efficiency and visibility can be enormous.
This is what the future of humanitarian work looks like: digitally enabled, data-informed, and impact-driven.
Is this shift just about moving to digital tools? More spreadsheets and CRMs?
Not quite. While digital transformation is a critical first step, it’s not the endgame. The real strategy, the one many humanitarian leaders are betting on - is this:
Use digital transformation on the front end to improve funding outcomes on the back end.
Here’s how the logic flows:
In a competitive, resource-strapped environment, the ability to prove your impact and pinpoint unmet needs is one of the most powerful tools an organization can have.
Beyond just securing funds, this data helps teams optimize programs, doubling down on what works and refining what doesn’t. That’s how organizations improve over time, building both credibility and operational strength.
This is the playbook we’re seeing emerge across the humanitarian sector:
Automate where you can. Measure what matters. Use your data to tell a compelling story.
It’s not just a path to survival - it’s a roadmap to resilience.
Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, governments, cutting-edge tech firms, and universities in 150+ countries, Telerivet's cloud-based platform makes it reliable, resilient, and flexible to communicate at scale via text and voice.
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“Our lives are a million times easier because of Telerivet. We're growing exponentially, doubling our reach every year... and it's Telerivet's technology that makes this all possible.” - MyAgro
"The user interface is very intuitive and detailed, making it easy to set up. The few times we have required technical support, or had a query about a needed feature, the response has always been quick" - Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
"One of the most important aspects of a tool like Telerivet is the user interface. We have hundreds of people across the region relying on Telerivet for their daily tasks, and we need to provide them with the most efficient way of accomplishing that." - Grab
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