Faith-based organisations in multilateral humanitarian aid: A closer look at Country-based Pooled Funds

Abstract Religion has been central to human history and is still the foundation of many societies. In some countries, faith-based organisations are the largest providers of social services and were pioneers in the humanitarian aid sector. There is a growing academic interest in faith-based organisations and a perception that they have some advantages over their secular counterparts. This study contributed to filling the quantitative research gap on this topic by analysing and comparing key indicators between projects implemented by faith-based and secular organisations. All projects in the dataset were financed by United Nations Country-based Pooled Funds and were compared with OLS regression models. The analysis found significant correlational differences between faith-based and secular NGOs and between national and international NGOs. The results highlight where further research is needed and provide a much-needed baseline for a field dominated by qualitative methods.