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Self Report 2018

The self-report on WHS Commitments below is organized according to the 24 transformations of the Agenda for Humanity. It is based on commitments pledged at the time of report submission. Click on the 'Expand' symbol to expand each section and read the reporting inputs by transformation.

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  • 2D
    Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid will substantially improve its understanding of and efforts to tackle gender based violence, and enhance Christian Aid's gender-sensitive programming and policy work. It will improve its practice to be increasingly gender-sensitive and inclusive by embedding gender and inclusion awareness in its internal ways of working, policy and procedures, and communications.
    • Policy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Christian Aid commits to adopt the IASC statement on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse at the individual agency level.
    • Policy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (4)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Implement a coordinated global approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in crisis contexts, including through the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    • Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Gender-based violence prevention and response

    Christian Aid updated its Gender Justice Strategy, incorporating gender-based violence (GBV) as one of its key objectives, expanding on the binary definition of gender to wider gender identities and incorporating intersectionality; it outlines key commitments across the organisation on gender sensitive programming from policy to programmes.

    This was accompanied with development of a wider library on key resources on inclusive programming in project cycle management including a “How To Guidance Note” and a Practice Paper outlining strategy, commitments and lessons learnt on Inclusive Programming. A compulsory e-induction module on gender was updated and an additional inclusion e-module launched. GBV practices and guidance has also been incorporated into Christian Aid’s Programme Framework: “From Violence to Peace” and Christian Aid continues to work towards and report on its commitments under the Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies.  A Programme Framework including GBV programme guidance has been under development in 2017.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Inclusion commitments are assessed against corrective actions under Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) certification evaluated in 2018.  24 out of 25 country contribution statements selected gender and inequality as a key area of focus. Half the impact stories provided in annual reports were under theme of gender/inequality/inclusion. Country reporting captures Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) under CHS reporting.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Adherence to standards and/or humanitarian principles
    • Buy-in
    • Data and analysis
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Christian Aid cannot ensure partners adhere to standards such as the GBV Guidelines. Christian Aid provides guidance and training but cannot enforce. Gender data collection needs to do no harm - not all programmes have data on socially excluded groups. Lack of buy-in at local level to strengthen systems for preventing PSEA.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    Analysis of the CHS audit findings in March 2018 will increase the profile of commitments to inclusion and accountability and give direction in any potential follow up points. Recruitment of a Safeguarding Manager based in the United Kingdom with international scope to strengthen the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) PSEA Minimum Operating Procedures (MOP) and reporting mechanisms with Christian Aid and partners will take place in early 2018.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    Collective PSEA reporting and investigation.

    Keywords

    Gender, PSEA, Quality and accountability standards

  • 2E
    Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid will systematically amplify urgent calls from local communities for greater safety and humanitarian access, and call for an international architecture which tackles impunity. It will campaign for the protection of civilians and to prevent the erosion of international law.
    • Advocacy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Christian Aid (CA) Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Nigeria were willing parties to apply CA’s new “principled humanitarian advocacy decision matrix”  as a key tool for a new Christian Aid approach which embeds humanitarian advocacy in operational priorities and can extend well beyond an “appeal phase”. CA call this emergency response advocacy. This approach is also unique as it brings alive medium to longer term priorities to change the humanitarian system after the World Humanitarian Summit with live contexts highlighting where change is required in real time.

    Famine was declared in South Sudan, and Kenya and Ethiopia raised the alarm as Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) levels reached or surpassed levels 4 (crisis) or 5 (famine) due to drought, conflict or both. We employed a multi-strand advocacy strategy, intentionally pursued CA’s organisation-wide advocacy strategy and our WHS commitment (“CA will systematically amplify urgent calls from local communities for greater safety and humanitarian access, and call for an international architecture which tackles impunity. CA will campaign for the protection of civilians and to prevent the erosion of international law”). This meant balancing timeliness, accuracy, consultation and adjusting quickly to opportunities for influence. We were able to get agreement to draft messages within three hours, draft a policy brief within three days, supported research in Kenya to distill how investment in DRR and resilience had mitigated the effects of drought, secure positive response to parliamentary questions, and advocate directly to the Secretary of State for development.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    • Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
    • By applying processes/indicators developed to measure WHS commitments specifically.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    A full time role dedicated to humanitarian policy and advocacy to advance consistency and coherence in principled advocacy across humanitarian response, and monitoring progress, and strengthening internal cross-organisational surge mechanisms.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Multi-stakeholder coordination
    • Strengthening national/local systems
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    The UN synthesis report on WHS implementation acknowledges that respect for IHL is the foremost impediment to progress. No substantive progress will be made if the UN Security Council’s P5 does not collaborate effectively

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    Christian Aid will continue to pursue our commitment to amplify the voices of our partners and their communities regarding humanitarian access and safety, strengthening the timeliness,and consistency and collective action with ACT Alliance members. Our ECHO-funded Accelerating Localisation consortium across four countries will support national and local leadership of responses in Nigeria and South Sudan.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    1. UN Security Council action across all members to promote P5 focus on the protection of civilians.
    2. The UN Secretary General to commission a report on the situation of those internally displaced.
    3. Gathering good practice from, and coalescing, States during this 20th anniversary year of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

     

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    Use of principled humanitarian advocacy decision matrix across all humanitarian responses.

    Keywords

    Displacement, Humanitarian principles, IHL compliance and accountability

  • 3A
    Reduce and address displacement

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid will support efforts to address the causes of forced displacement, will empower refugees and displaced people and advocate for their rights and protection and will reduce the vulnerabilities of those displaced in our humanitarian response.
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind

    Core Commitments (3)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new approach to addressing forced displacement that not only meets immediate humanitarian needs but reduces vulnerability and improves the resilience, self-reliance and protection of refugees and IDPs. Commit to implementing this new approach through coherent international, regional and national efforts that recognize both the humanitarian and development challenges of displacement. Commit to take the necessary political, policy, legal and financial steps required to address these challenges for the specific context.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Commit to promote and support safe, dignified and durable solutions for internally displaced persons and refugees. Commit to do so in a coherent and measurable manner through international, regional and national programs and by taking the necessary policy, legal and financial steps required for the specific contexts and in order to work towards a target of 50 percent reduction in internal displacement by 2030.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Commit to actively work to uphold the institution of asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. Commit to support further accession to and strengthened implementation of national, regional and international laws and policy frameworks that ensure and improve the protection of refugees and IDPs, such as the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol or the AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala convention) or the Guiding Principles on internal displacement.
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    IDPs (due to conflict, violence, and disaster)

    Christian Aid (CA) has actively supported the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, States and UN agencies to develop a joint initiative to promote the prevention of forced displacement, durable solutions and protection for those displaced internally. CA has helped shape a joint strategy and communications plan to scale up implementation over the coming years, launching on the 20th anniversary of the endorsement of UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in April 2018.

    CA's emergency advocacy response works hand in hand with our operational response and promotes the need for protection of those internally displaced across DRC, Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria, Colombia and elsewhere. CA provide an extensive cash programme for IDPs in a Borno camp in NE Nigeria. CA provide assistance to Rohingya in Bangladesh who were first displaced internally, and to people displaced multiple times in Syria, DRC, and I-OPT.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    • Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
    • By applying processes/indicators developed to measure WHS commitments specifically.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    A cross-organisational mechanism leads and monitors our multi-strand strategy.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • IHL and IHRL compliance and accountability
    • Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
    • Strengthening national/local systems
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    The UN in its synthesis report on WHS implementation acknowledges that there has been a significant gap in attention to the plight of those internally displaced. The New York Declaration of September 2016 (para 20) pointed out the intention to address the situation of those displaced internally.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Active engagement and support in the #GP20 campaign to scale up action during the 20th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, and engage IDPs from communities with which Christian Aid’s partners work;
    • UNHCR Annual Consultations – co-organising session with UN Special Rapporteur's office on IDPs;
    • UN Human Rights Council – side-event with the participation of IDPs;
    • Expert contributions at senior stakeholder meetings with States and UN agencies;

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    Joint State and UN campaigning, with meaningful engagement of IDPs to galvanise and scale up action during and beyond 2018, the 20th anniversary year of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement;

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    • #GP20
    • #Prevent, Protect, Resolve
    • States’ Plan of Action, and Communications Plan for Advancing protection, prevention and solutions for IDPs, with the support of the mandate of the UN SR on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons.

  • 3D
    Empower and protect women and girls

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid will significantly increase the percentage of its programmes that support local women's groups and that promote women's rights and empowerment
    • Operational
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Christian Aid will train all humanitarian staff in gender and inclusion awareness.
    • Training
    • Leave No One Behind

    Core Commitments (3)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Empower Women and Girls as change agents and leaders, including by increasing support for local women's groups to participate meaningfully in humanitarian action.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Ensure that humanitarian programming is gender responsive.
    • Leave No One Behind
    • Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    In 2017, trainings and mentoring have been provided to country teams on inclusive programming through gender and inclusion leads including in Bangladesh (Rohingya Response), South Sudan, Kenya (East Africa Response) and Burundi as well as to teams specialised in funding and donor relations in March 2017. Aside from the e-induction modules on gender and inclusion (see 2D), training materials have been systematised through collated training resources and are currently being formatted into a training manual.  A baseline on the current level of knowledge of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) gender-based violence (GBV) Guidelines was taken in four humanitarian teams in 2017, with the aim of providing support to these teams in 2018 (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan). Research on GBV was completed and findings formed the basis of a public seminar in Dublin in December 2017. Two days of peer learning discussion with four partner organisations followed in December including a women led Colombian partner; the research document is being prepared for publication and findings will be incorporated into Programme Framework Guidance.  Learning was also captured this year in two paper publications: Christian Aid and the Leave No One Behind Agenda and Leave No Woman Behind.   

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    • Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    • Sharing lessons though inclusion working group.
    • Practice papers.
    • Scoring tool to measure progress in gender transformative proposal design.
    • 24 out of 25 country programmes selected “Gender and Inequality” as a focus area in coming period.
    • Uptake in programme design in Bangladesh and South Sudan.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Human resources/capacity
    • Information management/tools
    • Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Staff turnover reduced impact of trainings and changes in staff leading on gender strategy has affected planning. Internal monitoring systems do not track partnerships and quality of programming on gender sensitivity. Prioritisation for gender across the organisation is not coherent leading to internal discussions across humanitarian, development and policy teams.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    Christian Aid has set gender as one of its corporate priorities and is currently undergoing restructuring and system changes related to monitoring and allocation of resources. In 2018, the impact area related to gender will be redefined and relevant indicators and resources allocated. This will help to set clear direction and monitor change on gender related programming. Furthermore, a Programme Framework Guidance will be released in 2018, incorporating findings from GBV research in 2017.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    More input is required to include local partners in the development of resources and to translate international commitments and charters to the practical needs and capacities of local partners. Christian Aid staff and partners in Nigeria were involved in the workshop provided through the Call to Action in Nigeria and would support more such initiatives globally.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    Research on GBV good practices was conducted for resource poor settings with selected partners. Partners were invited to Dublin to speak on panels and share learnings together. Excellent opportunity to explore lesson learning and develop tools that are relevant for partners. A GBV learning paper was developed as a result.

    Keywords

    Gender

  • 3G
    Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid endorses the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.
    • Policy
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Christian Aid (CA) has continued to develop its policy and practice on inclusion, aided by its involvement in the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) Age and Disability Capacity Building Programme (ADCAP). An overview of progress is captured on its external website. CA has contributed to the revised “Humanitarian Inclusion Standards for older people and people with disabilities” and the related Good Practice Guide and taken part in various panels to share learning in the sector including the UK Charter Event in May which marked its first anniversary. 

    CA has been developing follow up tools and guidance for staff and partners on inclusive programming, rolling out in various emergencies including East Africa, Rohingya Response and its Irish Aid Humanitarian Programme Plan (HPP) Portfolio and captured learning in two practice papers, sharing widely in the sector. Internal reporting templates now request sex, age and disability data globally and various trials have been completed using Washington Group Questions in contexts such as Burundi, Sierra Leone and Nepal.

    CA has looked to integrate intersectionality and inclusion into its existing frameworks including gender justice and resilience. A training package was completed for the latter through two partner pilots in Myanmar and Kenya in 2017 through the DEPP Linking Preparedness, Response and Resilience Programme (LPRR).

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Through internal country level reporting templates and uptake in the number of requests received for technical inputs from country programming.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Buy-in
    • Data and analysis
    • Human resources/capacity
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Some reticence from staff to expand more explicitly beyond Dalit Rights in Asia and Gender Justice Globally.  The intersectionality angle has been a good inroad to counter this. Some reluctance to capture more detailed data without purpose/capacity/skill set. In some cases, wider data categorisation could put particular individuals/groups at risk.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    Internal processes on M&E and impact measurement will incorporate process level indicators on Leave No One Behind across all impact areas. Further trials will take place on SAD (sex and age disaggregated) Data Disaggregation and analysis and link ups between policy and programmes on Leave No One Behind (LNOB) will be strengthened.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    Continued emphasis on Leave No One Behind (LNOB) and visibility of inclusive societies in Department for International Development (United Kingdom) (DFID) as well as other donors. More contextualisation and localisation of indicators on LNOB at country level.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    The Age and Disability Capacity Building Programme (ADCAP) and Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) - a 3 year innovation project bringing together specialist and non-specialist agencies, providing technical support and change management coaching. Findings highlight importance of embedding advisors to start processes, drawing on advice from wide consortia and investing in organisational change and quality standards training and implementation.

    Keywords

    Disability, Gender

  • 4A
    Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

    Joint Commitments (3)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid commits to involve its local and national collaborators in the design of the programmes at the outset and that they will participate in decision-making as equals in influencing programme design and partnership policies.
    • Operational
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Partners: Charter for Change

    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid commits to promote the role of local actors in any communications to the international and national media and to the public and acknowledge the work that they carry out, and include them as spokespersons when security considerations permit.

    • Advocacy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Partners: Charter for Change

    • By 2018, in collaboration with Start Network partners, Christian Aid will develop, test and share new approaches to building gender-sensitive community resilience in conflict settings and to designing humanitarian response interventions in ways that build a platform for longer-term community resilience, through ITS leadership of the Linking Preparedness, Response and Resilience programme.
    • Operational
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Partners: Start Network

    Individual Commitments (3)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid endorses, and have signed on to, the Principles of Partnership, introduced by the Global Humanitarian Platform in 2007.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Christian Aid commits to make sustained funding conditional on the systematic collection of feedback from affected people on the quality and utility of humanitarian programmes.
    • Financial
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Christian Aid commits to adopt the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and International Aid Transparency Initiative Standard, with clear benchmarks for achieving these through the CHS Alliance self-assessment tool.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

    Core Commitments (6)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to reinforce national and local leadership and capacities in managing disaster and climate-related risks through strengthened preparedness and predictable response and recovery arrangements.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to increase investment in building community resilience as a critical first line of response, with the full and effective participation of women.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to ensure regional and global humanitarian assistance for natural disasters complements national and local efforts.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to increase substantially and diversify global support and share of resources for humanitarian assistance aimed to address the differentiated needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises in fragile situations and complex emergencies, including increasing cash-based programming in situations where relevant.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    • Commit to empower national and local humanitarian action by increasing the share of financing accessible to local and national humanitarian actors and supporting the enhancement of their national delivery systems, capacities and preparedness planning.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Strengthening national/local leadership and systems

    Christian Aid (CA) carried out a comprehensive survey of partners globally to better understand if and exactly how they would like to be promoted and feature in CA communications, finding that the majority did want this. CA actively engaged senior communications, media, publications, digital and fundraising managers, outlining its Charter for Change commitment, and sought a positive response and definite actions from their teams. CA increasingly name and credit partners across communications channels – website, social media, blogs, audiovisual materials, media engagement in the UK and globally, and fundraising communications. This applies to Christian Aid's broader development work as well as humanitarian projects.

    Building community resilience

    As part of the Linking Preparedness Response and Resilience (LPRR) project the following were achieved:

    • Completed the pilot field test of the Integrated Conflict Prevention and Resilience (ICPR) tool to make resilience programmes conflict sensitive in 10 villages in Pakistan and Kenya.
    • Rolled out ICPR in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Myanmar, Burundi as part of the IrishAid HPP.
    • Finalised the Kings College London (KCL) research on how humanitarian response can build community resilience.
    • Co-Developed a new approach ‘integrated community led response’ based on the findings of KCL research together with Church of Sweden, Local to Global Protection, Safeworld and 10 local organisations from Myanmar (KBC, DEAR Myanmar, MRF, BBS) and Kenya (PACIDA, CIFA, MIONET, Caritas Marsabit, Caritas Mararal, Caritas Isiolo).
    • Field tested the new ‘integrated community led response’s in Myanmar (Kayin, Shan and Rakhine states) with 4 local partners and in Kenya (Marsabit county) with 3 local partners.

    For further information see: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/about-us/start-depp-linking-preparedness-and-resilience-emergencies

    Adherence to quality and accountability standards (e.g. CHS, SPHERE)

    Christian Aid's philosophy has partnership at the centre.

    A new organisational guidance was developed on exiting partnerships. The 2016 partner monitoring policy was reviewed in early 2017 and turned into a holistic policy covering financial and programmatic monitoring. The roll-out of this policy and accompanying partnership processes was completed with the training of staff.

    Christian Aid is going through a "partnership refresh" process in response to changing external (funding) environment and recommendations made in the externally submitted "Value for People" research.  It has recognised that aspects of its partnership approach are under pressure and there is a need to sharpen the principles and adjust some practices. A paper explaining the context and challenges and proposed core principles underpinning its partnership approach was approved by the Board in November 2017.

    For more information see: Value for People, on the added value of Christian Aid’s partnership approach; Elbers, Kamstra & Kaufmann, June 2015 Value for People research

    Other-4A

    In terms of funding channeled to national and local front-line responders as per Grand Bargain and Charter for Change commitments and targets, the best estimate our systems can deliver is that 8% of our humanitarian spend went to International non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 85% to Local LNGOs and National NNGOs, 1% to national and sub-national governmental actors, and 5% to internationally affiliated organisations. 85% of our programme spend to LNGOs/NNGOs represented 56% of our income.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    • Visits to country offices and partners, review/reporting processes, external evaluations, and Core Humanitarian Standards audit.
    • Christian Aid has a staff member leading our work to promote partners, setting milestones and evaluating progress.
    • Evaluation using outcome harvesting methodology (Pakistan/Kenya).
    • Learning framework in place in each country.
    • Learning review of community led responses pilots (Myanmar/Kenya).

     

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Funding amounts
    • Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
    • Institutional/Internal constraints
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    • Localisation and shifting power seems at odds with the risk adverse and immediate results environment. Donors push INGOs to implement directly.
    • The approach requires flexibility and trust groups which systems and ‘culture’ are not ready for.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Christian Aid leads a consortium implementing “Accelerating Localisation through partnership”, learning from partnership models supporting localisation. 
    • CA will give visibility to partners in communications/fundraising products, including Christian Aid Magazine, thank-you letters following appeals, promoting partners’ social media handles.
    • We will produce guidelines, and incorporate the need for partner visibility within programme and travel management systems.
    • Learning paper on integrated Conflict Prevention and Resilience.
    • Learning review of pilot Community led response.
    • Promote findings to wider sector.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • The humanitarian aid chain needs to change as a whole: funding modalities, incentives for staff working for local organisations, resources for local capacity development.
    • INGOs need to have a distinct role from national actors where both parties see how they complement one another. 
    • CA requires further organisational understanding for acknowledging of partners’ roles in projects.
    • Learning paper on integrated Conflict Prevention and Resilience.
    • Learning review of pilot Community led response.
    • Promote findings to wider sector.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    • Linking Preparedness Response and Resilience programme asked crisis survivors how aid should  better respond to their expectations, and in collaboration with Local2Global Protection’s Survivor-Led Response initiative, is developing modalities to help affected populations to lead response to their own crises.
    • PowerBI public increases transparency by making project data public.

    For more information see: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/about-us/start-depp-linking-preparedness-and-resilience-emergencies

    Keywords

    Community resilience, Local action, Quality and accountability standards

  • 4B
    Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid will develop and deepen evidence from its programme work on climate change adaptation, enhance its capacity for early response to slow-onset impacts of climate change, and strengthen advocacy on risk reduction in climate disasters, climate resilience and community participation, ensuring that the voices and experience of women and men in poverty inform decision making.


    • Operational
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Christian Aid will ensure that at least 10% of the funding raised for each major Christian Aid humanitarian appeal is invested in disaster risk reduction.
    • Financial
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Core Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Commit to accelerate the reduction of disaster and climate-related risks through the coherent implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, as well as other relevant strategies and programs of action, including the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    • Expanding access to Early Warning (EW) and climate services in Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and The Philippines.
    • Supporting implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (FAO/OCHA) standard operating procedures (SOPs) for El Nino and La Nina events/ participating in the Global Analytical Cell.
    • Finalising and releasing research on the impact of resilience to El Nino drought.

       

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    As well as the initiatives reported in Transformation 2A, ongoing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and impact assessments are planned for at least two programmes in 2018.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Funding amounts
    • Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
    • Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    • The lack of a substantial, international early warning/early action funding facility and persistence of sectorally-divided funding streams and operations remain an impediment to effectively breaking down institutional barriers that operationally segregate disaster risk reduction (DRR), humanitarian response and development programming. This results in low motivation for forecast-based actions to slow onset emergencies.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Further impact assessment of climate services work (Kenya, Ethiopia); supporting the development of a National Framework for Climate Services in Ethiopia; continued implementation, coordination and working with stakeholders (including NHMAs) across all relevant programmes and through climate resilience advocacy activities.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • Finalisation and implementation of the FAO/OCHA SOPs through an inclusive process.
    • Establishment of a substantial global early warning/early action funding facility.
    • More effective coordination across the humanitarian – DRR – development divide, with short, medium and long-term resilience as the operational priority.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    • FAO/OCHA Standard Operating Procedures for El Nino and La Nina Events.
    • BRACED (Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters) programmes in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.
    • Climate Resiliency Field Schools in The Philippines (implemented by Rice Watch Action Network).

    Keywords

    Disaster Risk Reduction

  • 4C
    Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis and planning towards collective outcomes

    In 2017 Christian Aid (CA) has:

    • Rolled out Integrated Conflict Prevention and Resilience (ICPR) approach in 4 countries (Kenya, Pakistan, Myanmar and Honduras) through the Linking Preparedness, response and resilience project
    • Secured new funding from IrishAid HPP to roll out ICPR in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Burundi and Myanmar.
    • Secured funding to integrate resilience in fragile settings with health in South Sudan, Burundi and Sierra Leone.
    • Developed a new strategy from Violence to Peace integrating, conflict sensitivity, resilience, peace building, gender-based violence (GBV) and governance.
    • Completed research on six past humanitarian emergencies to understand how to strengthen community resilience.
    • Developed a new Integrated Community led response methodology.
    • Roll out new integrated community led response methodology in Myanmar and Kenya.
    • Captured learning through blogs, papers, reflective pieces to influence sector.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    CA is using the following document to monitor progress:

    • CA internal reporting
    • Violence to Peace strategy monitory framework
    • World Humanitarian Summit and Grand Bargain progress reporting
    • HD performance reporting

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
    • Gender and/or vulnerable group inclusion
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    • Challenging to promote community led response due to current funding architecture and sectoral professionalisation.
    • System of donors and INGO are over-bureaucratic and risk averse.
    • Prejudice over local NGOs and Country Offices' capacities to deliver neutral and inclusive responses.
    • Develop a practical framework for violence to peace.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Conduct conflict analysis in DRC, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Burundi for conflict prevention and resilience.
    • Training of Trainers (ToT) of community led response in two regional hubs.
    • Evaluate the humanitarian response to validate the model.
    • Evaluate the ICPR pilots.
    • Develop a coherent LPRR approach (conflict and response).
    • Capture and share learning (paper, blogs, academic papers, presentation to forum).
    • Advocate for its use within the consortium members and the sector.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • Lower the procedures in terms of complexity and standards.
    • Fund more National NGOs directly.
    • Recognise administrative costs to National NGOs in funding bids.
    • Strengthen local capacities – local organisation and community members – through empowering methodologies and approaches which are simple, effective, replicable and contextually relevant.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    • Humanitarian Strand Final Report. Community Resilience Building in Humanitarian Response; Insights from Crises Survivors and First Responders (2017).
    • Lessons learned from Myanmar and Kenya co-design workshop transforming KCL research into practical approach (2017).
    • CA Tacking Violence and Building peace: global strategy (2016).

    Keywords

    Community resilience, Humanitarian-development nexus, People-centred approach

  • 5A
    Invest in local capacities

    Joint Commitments (5)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid commits through advocacy and policy influence to North American and European donors (including institutional donors, foundations and private sector) to encourage them to increase the year on year percentage of their humanitarian funding going to southern-based NGOs. It commits that by May 2018 at least 20% of its own humanitarian funding will be passed to southern-based NGOs. It commits to introduce its NGO partners to donors with the aim of them accessing direct financing.
    • Advocacy
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: Charter for Change

    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid commits to advocate with donors to make working through national actors part of their criteria for assessing framework partners and calls for project proposals.
    • Advocacy
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: Charter for Change

    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid will support local actors to become robust organisations that continuously improve their role and share in the overall global humanitarian response. It will undertake to pay adequate administrative support. A test of its seriousness in capacity building is that by May 2018 it will have allocated resources to support partners in this. It will publish the percentages of its humanitarian budget which goes directly to partners for humanitarian capacity building by May 2018.
    • Capacity
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: Charter for Change

    • By 2018, in collaboration with Start Network partners, Christian Aid will significantly strengthen the humanitarian capacities of at least 100 local and national NGOs, including through the Shifting the Power, Financial Enablers and Transforming Surge Capacity programmes.
    • Capacity
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: Global Humanitarian Platform, Start Network

    • Christian Aid will work with the Start Network to advocate for and set up a pioneering new Start Local Fund, for the exclusive access of national and local NGOs.
    • Advocacy
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: Start Network

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid will identify and implement fair compensation for local organisations for the loss of skilled staff if and when it contracts a local organisation's staff involved in humanitarian action within 6 months of the start of a humanitarian crisis or during a protracted crisis, for example along the lines of paying a recruitment fee of 10% of the first six months salary.



    • Operational
    • Invest in Humanity

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to empower national and local humanitarian action by increasing the share of financing accessible to local and national humanitarian actors and supporting the enhancement of their national delivery systems, capacities and preparedness planning.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Direct funding to national/local actors

    Christian Aid (CA) is working with like-minded international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) on flagship consortium localisation capacity-building programmes including:

    • The Department for International Development (United Kingdom) (DFID) funded Linking Preparedness Response and Resilience programme in Kenya and Pakistan researching and piloting ways to put local communities and the local organisations that represent them in the lead of their own response and recovery;
    • The Action Aid-led Shifting the Power project which is strengthening the ability of 55 Local NGOs in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya and Pakistan to take a powerful role in humanitarian leadership structures in their countries;
    • The Oxfam-led Financial Enablers project in the Philippines which is putting National NGO consortia in charge of running their own capacity building programmes;
    • The Action Aid-led Transforming Surge Capacity project in the Philippines which is exploring ways of localising surge;
    • The ECHO-funded Accelerating Localisation through Partnership project in Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria and South Sudan which is researching best practice in INGO-NNGO partnership.
    • Shifting the Power facilitated the establishment of the Bangladesh network NAHAB.

     

    Addressing blockages/challenges to direct investments at the national/local level

    CA helped organise the localisation session of the World Humanitarian Action Forum (WHAF) Conference in London in November 2017. NGO signatories to the Grand Bargain appointed co-champions to galvanise energetic NGO engagement – CA is a co-champion for localisation. CA is a founding member of Charter for Change, working alongside 30 like-minded INGOs to identify best practice in INGO engagement with NNGOs/LNGOs and do energetic advocacy. Christian Aid chair the ACT Alliance humanitarian group - ACT’s own Rapid Response Fund is now only eligible for Southern ACT members. CA chair a group of INGOs as a sub-group of the CHASE/DFID Humanitarian Directors meetings, and have held meetings with DFID to discuss how to further localisation. The group developed a paper with 13 ideas of steps DFID could take to accelerate localisation. CA developed proposals for a National NGO window of the Start Fund and held discussions with the Government of Belgium about funding for this.

    Other-5A

    Gender: Christian Aid have looked to build on its contributions to the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) Age and Disability Capacity Building Programme (ADCAP) into its work on localisation, most prominently through Linking Preparedness Response and Resilience (LPRR). In the latter, local staff and partners have been trained on inclusive programming approaches to support community led responses that incorporate and empower diverse groups and individuals. Numerous women’s groups have come forward to pilot small grants in Northern Kenya as part of the East Africa Response for example. Inclusive methodologies are also being applied in the current ECHO programme “Accelerating Localisation through Local Partnerships” in order to facilitate diverse representation and engagement.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Christian Aid is one of the Grand Bargain (GB) NGO co-champions for the GB localisation workstream. The GB workstream co-convenors have a roadmap and workplan which can be used to gauge progress.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Funding amounts
    • Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
    • Institutional/Internal constraints
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Donors, INGOs and United Nations agencies are reluctant to relinquish power over priorities and resources to local responders. Many donors and international actors are reluctant to accept that more locally-led crisis response presupposes changes for international actors, that impact on roles, identity, behaviours, and practices.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    Christian Aid will work with ACT, COS, DCA, DKH and L2G to mobilise resources for, replicate and scale up emerging practice on Survivor Led Response. We will urge DFID and ECHO to make localisation a priority theme in future iterations of post-DEPP and post-ERC (Enhanced Response Capacity) Humanitarian Implementation Plans (HIP) funding, and to work with like-minded peer INGOs and local partners on funding proposals. As part of localising localisation, CA will shift leadership of its localisation policy and advocacy to the Philippines.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    Donors should incentivise accelerated localisation action by ensuring that UN and INGO funding partners report on how they are helping to move forward the localisation agenda

    Donors need to establish funding channels to invest in capacity-building of local actors during peacetime so that national organisations are more ready to respond when the next crisis strikes.

     

    We need to find ways to better put affected populations themselves at the centre of leading their own response and recovery.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    Working in alliances has proved effective as it enables Christian Aid to have a louder voice, achieve greater scale, and learn from peers.

    Pooled funds should set ambitious targets for the share that national actors receive. ACT Alliance leads the way on this with its 100% Southern Rapid Response Fund.

    Keywords

    Gender, Local action, People-centred approach

  • 5E
    Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency

    Joint Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • As part of the Charter for Change, Christian Aid commits to document the types of organisation it cooperates with in humanitarian response and to publish these figures (or percentages) in its public accounts using a recognised categorisation such as the GHA in real-time and the IATI standard.


    • Operational
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: Charter for Change

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Christian Aid commits to adopt the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and International Aid Transparency Initiative Standard, with clear benchmarks for achieving these through the CHS Alliance self-assessment tool.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

    Core Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to increase substantially and diversify global support and share of resources for humanitarian assistance aimed to address the differentiated needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises in fragile situations and complex emergencies, including increasing cash-based programming in situations where relevant.
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    • Christian Aid (CA) undertook its first Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) certification maintenance audit in March 2017, closing five areas of non-compliance resulting in increased quality and accountability of Christian Aid and partners work.
    • Christian Aid has been publishing information to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard for a number of years. In 2017, a complete revision of its approach to IATI publishing was completed so that it ceased to become a compliance issue and became an important part of CA's approach to transparency and accountability. CA's first IATI reports using this new approach will be published shortly and will include much more information that was previously included.
    • CA has gone through a process of categorising a large proportion of the partners that have spent humanitarian funds in the last financial year. This has allowed CA to make reasonable estimates of the percentage of its humanitarian funding that is channelled to local and national actors. These figures will allow CA to test how it would represent the information in an IATI report. CA is currently unable to do this in ‘real-time’ and have continued to examine the best way to align its systems to allow it to move forward.

    2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
    • By applying processes/indicators developed to measure WHS commitments specifically.
    • Other: By undertaking CHS certification process which requires annual external auditing
    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    • Internal reporting on CHS Commitments at country level documents impact on quality of programmes and accountability to partners and the people they work with.
    • Tracking the percentage of humanitarian funding that is represented in IATI reports and proportion of that funding that shows disbursements to partners using accepted categorisation.

    3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
    • Adherence to standards and/or humanitarian principles
    • Buy-in
    • Information management/tools
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    • Limited buy-in of CHS commitments results in a lack of human resource capacity to deliver commitments in practice.
    • Currently Christian Aid's information management systems only allow to periodically go through a process of generating lists of partners that have received humanitarian funding and then retrospectively categorising them.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    • Continued implementation of CHS commitments, prioritisation on difficult or challenging commitments e.g. Commitment 5 on complaints
    • Alignment of programme management and finance management information systems to allow for more efficient and timely tracking of progress towards commitments.
    • Prototyping of IATI reports that designate funding as ‘humanitarian’ and shows the categorisation of partners receiving that funding.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    • Collective adherence to CHS
    • Analysis of trends in whether humanitarian funding finds its way to local actors. Value of the data is in conversation around it rather than benchmarks but a couple of things need to happen. Firstly, enough data needs to be published to make analysis possible. Secondly, organisations should embrace the spirit of openness in publication of data, rather than artificially inflate the proportion of funding that goes to local actors.

    6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.

    Keywords

    Quality and accountability standards, Transparency / IATI

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