Danish Refugee Council and Norwegian Refugee Council announce merger of humanitarian data bodies IDMC and JIPS to consolidate global displacement intelligence
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) announced on 11 August 2026 the merger of two specialist bodies: the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), described as the world's leading source of global data and analysis on internal displacement, and the Joint Internal Displacement Profiling Service (JIPS), a Geneva-based inter-agency service established in 2009 that supports governments and humanitarian actors with national and sub-national displacement data systems. IDMC was established in 1998 as part of NRC. JIPS has operated as an inter-agency service with a distinct focus on profiling, solutions analysis, and displacement data standards. The merger brings together IDMC's global analytical function with JIPS's country-level technical assistance and capacity-building work. Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of DRC, said that bringing together the two organisations strengthens the evidence base that decision-makers need to develop effective policies and durable solutions for displaced communities. Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC, framed the merger as reflecting a shared commitment to consolidate efforts across the humanitarian sector in a time of constrained funding. Tracy Lucas, Director of IDMC and Head of JIPS, described the integration as creating a unique opportunity to support sustainable national data systems that translate evidence into effective policies. The announcement cited historically high levels of internal displacement globally, with the 2026 Global Report on Internal Displacement recording 82.2 million people living in internal displacement as of end-2025, as the operational context driving the need for a more integrated data and analytical function.
Why this matters
The merger of two humanitarian data organisations is a response to growing resource constraints across the humanitarian sector and a desire to eliminate duplication between complementary functions. While the transaction does not involve commercial deal values or financial consideration in the conventional sense, it is structurally a non-profit sector consolidation driven by the same logic as commercial mergers: combining complementary capabilities under funding pressure. The 82.2 million people figure for global internal displacement underlines the scale of the problem the combined entity will serve.
On the Ground
Mergers of non-profit and inter-governmental organisations involve legal work across charity law, employment and TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) considerations for staff across the merging entities, governance restructuring, and contract novation for existing grants and operational agreements. Firms advising NGOs and international organisations on structural consolidations would be engaged on these questions. A trainee would assist with due diligence report indexing, reviewing employment and grant agreements for transfer provisions, preparing Companies House or equivalent filing coordination (depending on domicile), and drafting board minutes recording the merger decision.
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