About Us
The Markets in Crises Community of Practice (MiC) provides a forum for practitioners engaging with markets in emergency and recovery contexts to share ideas, experience, resources, and learning with the aim of improving market-based programming.
Currently hosted by Catholic Relief Services and Mercy Corps, the Markets in Crises (MiC) Community of Practice is a unique online forum of practitioners engaging with markets in crisis contexts. Our members represent NGOs, multilateral agencies, academics, funders, and the private sector.
We share ideas, experiences, resources and learning with the aim of improving market-based programming in emergency, recovery, and development contexts. MiC aims to facilitate links between those whose work focuses on crisis responses and those who are more concerned with longer- term market functioning and development work.
Meet your Facilitators
Laura Phelan
Catholic Relief Services
Blerta Peta
Mercy CorpsTechnical Advisory Committee
Karri Byrne
Independent Consultant
Chris Paci
IMPACT Initiatives
Annabella Skof
Independent Consultant
Meseret Getahun
UNICEF
Dan Barthmaier
Catholic Relief Services
Paola Benjumea
Independent Consultant
Nayeem Kashem
DevLearn
Maha Elhayek
The Canopy Lab
Luis Ernesto (Lucho) Osorio-Cortes
Independent Consultant
Josie Scott
Norwegian Refugee CouncilMiC’s journey
In March 2013, a group of NGOs, UN agencies, donors, and private- sector actors interested in markets in emergencies came together to share their experiences in applying market-sensitive approaches to humanitarian programming. One of the key outputs of this learning event was the recognition of a need for a common platform for cross-agency discussion, sharing, and collaboration around markets. A working group was created, consisting of ICRC, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Concern, Practical Action, CaLP, IRC, FAO, WFP, CRS, Save the Children, Action Against Hunger, and GFSC, to discuss how to move forward in establishing a Community of Practice.
Following its creation in February 2014, MiC was overseen by a small volunteer-based Advisory Committee consisting of representatives from Action Against Hunger, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, ODI, and Oxfam. The Advisory Committee eventually teamed up with the SEEP Network, which served as hosts and facilitators for MiC from 2017 to 2021. With funding from USAID/BHA, SEEP worked with the MiC AC to develop and implement annual learning agendas, including the creation of guidance documents, FAQs, webinars, and markets-themed learning events.
Following the unfortunate collapse of the SEEP Network in late 2021, the MiC AC, with support from USAID/BHA’s SCALE initiative, a BHA-funded initiative, played a temporary facilitation role for the group. As of late 2023, with leadership from the IRC and funding from BHA, the AC had identified a team of facilitators and a new set of long-term organizational hosts for MiC – CRS and Mercy Corps – who will be jointly responsible for guiding MiC’s future endeavors.