Since the latest conflict erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, more than 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes and 3.9 million (approximately one third of the population) do not have enough to eat. All humanitarian actors struggle to respond to these acute needs against a context of chronic poverty, ongoing conflict and insecurity, limited infrastructure and a significant funding shortfall. This study seeks to understand the strengths and challenges of working with national and local nongovernmental organisations in South Sudan's conflict-driven emergency, and reviews how the broader humanitarian system facilitates or prevents their involvement.

This paper is the latest in a series of research papers on the subject of humanitarian partnerships. Missed Opportunities: The case for strengthening national and local partnership-based humanitarian responses established the value of local and national organisations in responding to humanitarian emergencies, and Missed Again: Making space for partnership in the Typhoon Haiyan response looked at partnerships within the context of a disaster caused by a natural hazard.