Editing Mercy Corps (section)

== Broad philanthropic strategies  ==
Throughout the course of Mercy Corps' history in its deliverance of humanitarian programs, the organization's focus in its overall operational strategies has seen substantial shifts. Starting as a non-government humanitarian aid organization specifically focused in the immediate humanitarian complexity of the refugee dilemma caused by the [[Cambodian genocide]] in 1979, the preceding incarnation of the organization, Save the Refugee Fund, focused on providing the means necessary to respond to first-hand emergencies of the grim implications of the genocide: short-term aids in food, water, shelter and other corresponding [[refugee]] assistance.<ref name=":1" />

As Mercy Corps expanded its mandates and progressed into a large humanitarian aid organization with a notable international presence, it has also gradually transformed its main philanthropic focus from solely the deliverance of temporary assistance that contribute short-term impacts to the development of broader socio-economic infrastructures that encourage long-term improvements in the well-being of target beneficiaries. In a nutshell, Mercy Corps programs' main focus has transitioned from direct deliverance of emergency aid to long-term provision of assistance in improving community "resilience".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.braced.org/about/about-the-projects/project/?id=b34bef40-1170-4503-b51b-1bb2c1fd179d|title=PROGRESS: Building resilient governance, markets and social systems |website=www.braced.org|language=en|access-date=2018-03-30}}</ref> Through a presentation published by [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]], Mercy Corps defines "resilience" as: "The capacity of communities in complex [[socio-ecological system]]s to learn, cope, adapt, and transform in the face of shocks and stresses."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marketlinks.org/sites/marketlinks.org/files/resource/files/MSD_Resilience_Microlinks_final_Presentation_Slides.pdf|title=Is Market Systems Development Inherently a Resilience Approach?|last=Eliot Levine & Sasha Muench}}</ref>

To upkeep its new humanitarian focus on long-term community development, the phrase "Market System Development" has become one of the operational concepts of increasing importance for recent and upcoming Mercy Corps programs. Instead of focusing solely upon assisting one type of stakeholder within a community, the organization has dedicated increasing effort into engaging and all related actors and stakeholders in the complete market chain to participate in the improvement of the overall health of the targeted economic sector (agriculture, IT, pasture etc.) to eventually create a self-reliable operational market structure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.globaldeliveryinitiative.org/sites/default/files/case-studies/adaptugandacasestudy.pdf|title=Building an Adaptive Team for Market Systems Development in Acholi, Uganda.}}</ref> Darius Radcliffe, the Country Director of Mercy Corps in [[Jordan]], stated on 26 September 2023, that the organization will enhance diverse, dynamic economic opportunities that foster sustainable and comprehensive growth in Jordan while also improving water and energy management practices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-28 |title=Mercy Corps Jordan: empowering growth and community |url=https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-109/News/Mercy-Corps-Jordan-empowering-growth-and-community-31151 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Jordan News |language=en}}</ref>