Randolph Kent, Ph.D. (UK and U.S.) is a Fellow. He directs the Humanitarian Futures programme at King’s College, London, and is a Senior Research Associate of the college’s International Policy Institute. He accepted his present post after completing his assignment as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia in April 2002. Prior to this, he served as UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Kosovo [1999], UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Rwanda [1994-1995], Chief of the UN Emergency Unit in Sudan [1989-1991] and Chief of Emergency Prevention and Preparedness in Ethiopia [1987-1989]. In November 2004, Kent completed a UN-funded project dealing with the UN system’s disaster risk reduction capacity, which let to the publication of his 2004 report Looking to the future: Practical steps to strengthen the United Nations relevance and value-added in disaster risk management, A report prepared at the request of the International Strategy For Disaster Reduction, The United Nations Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs and The United Nations Development Programme.