Humanitarian organization

Groupe URD

Groupe URD is an independent humanitarian research and learning organization based in Plaisians, France. It studies aid practice, develops tools and supports organizations through evaluation and training, including work on environmental risks affecting health, nutrition and psychosocial support.

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Organization profile

Organization type: Humanitarian organization
Headquarters / base: Plaisians, France
Geographic scope: International

Medical focus

Humanitarian healthEnvironmental healthNutritionMental healthHumanitarian quality

Activities

Humanitarian researchProgramme evaluationTrainingMethod and tool developmentOrganizational learning

Population served

Humanitarian organizationsDevelopment practitionersProgramme evaluatorsCommunities affected by crises

Research, evaluation and organizational learning

Founded in 1993, Groupe URD describes its purpose as improving the quality of humanitarian action through analysis and collective learning. Its work combines research, evaluation, strategic and organizational support, training, and the development of practical methods. The organization’s base at La Fontaine des Marins is in Plaisians, France.

Its approach connects findings from crisis and post-crisis settings with the decisions aid organizations make about their programmes. An assignment may combine evaluation with training, or research with the design of a tool. The intended users include practitioners and organizations seeking to understand their work and adapt their methods.

Sources: [1].

Environmental risks in health and nutrition programmes

Groupe URD participates in the environmental-assessment working group of Réseau Environnement Humanitaire. The group’s multisector environmental risk matrix, MERA, addresses risks and possible mitigation measures across humanitarian activities. Its coverage includes health and nutrition, water and sanitation, food security, shelter, and mental health and psychosocial support.

A December 2025 presentation of the health and nutrition component identified Groupe URD among the participating organizations. This work connects humanitarian programme quality with the environmental conditions and effects that teams need to consider when designing services.

Sources: [2].

Recent learning projects and training

In 2026, a MERA pilot in Burkina Faso examined how national and international NGOs used environmental-assessment tools in their projects. The September 2026 account identifies Groupe URD and the REH working group as producers of lessons reports, a learning report and templates for environmental management plans and rapid assessments. The pilot formed part of Groupe URD’s APIC 3 project.

Groupe URD has also announced a professional training programme on global mental health and psychosocial practice in crises, developed at the initiative of Action contre la Faim with Collectif Altérités. The announcement schedules the programme for January–October 2027. It concerns practitioner learning and programme design; those dates describe planned training.

The 2014 Future Humanitarian Financing initiative identified Groupe URD as the host of its Dakar dialogue.

Sources: [3], [4], [5].

Further health reading

Major depressive disorder

Humanitarian emergencies can affect mental health, including depression. This guide adds clinical context to the psychosocial dimension of risk assessment work involving Groupe URD.

Diarrhea

Safe water, sanitation and hygiene are important in preventing diarrhoeal illness. This offers health background for the water and sanitation risks addressed by the MERA assessment approach.