Dr Kathryn Harries has worked with and led technical field teams in humanitarian and development contexts, covering Africa, Asia and the Pacific, for more than two decades.

Her experience revealed a persistent gap: field team leaders were expected to perform, but rarely given the practical tools to do so. Leadership training was rare. Resources were hard to find. Knowledge walked out the door with every staff change. Kathryn recognised that this wasn’t a problem of individual capability — it was a structural gap that no one had addressed directly.

FieldTiK fills that gap. Developed through PhD research at the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, Deakin University — with scholarship support from the IKEA Foundation — the guide was built with input from sector experts from the Global South and North, and refined through ongoing practitioner feedback. It brings together practical guidance, links to existing quality resources, and a continuous improvement framework — all in one place, designed for the teams who need it most.

Kathryn’s career spans serving as WASH Cluster Coordinator in Somalia during a famine response — overseeing coordination across more than 170 organisations and developing a knowledge management system recognised globally as best practice — to leading or working with field teams in Timor-Leste, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, and the Pacific. She has managed knowledge and learning across a global program with 13 organisations, and trained and facilitated teams in leadership, coordination, and humanitarian practice. Throughout, she has developed bottom-up management systems designed for the realities of field work.

Kathryn continues to develop and refine FieldTiK — working with organisations, researchers, and practitioners to strengthen the guide and expand its reach.

Qualifications: BSc, MEngSc, PGCert (WEDC), PhD

LinkedIn: Kathryn Harries