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Self Report 2019

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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  • 2B
    Ensure full access to and protection of the humanitarian and medical missions

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • ICVA commits to strengthen support to - €”and advocacy for - principled humanitarian action. Acknowledging that humanitarian principles are under severe threat, ICVA will advocate for the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, with a focus on humanitarian partnerships, coordination, financing and forced displacement.


    • Advocacy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    In 2018, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies's (ICVA) advocacy for humanitarian principles and principles of partnership was incorporated throughout its work. To this effect ICVA:

    • published & disseminated briefing papers on the World Bank and refugees, on Localization and an independent scoping study on the Shrinking Civil Society Space in Humanitarian Action;
    • organised it's Annual Conference (AC) on "Navigating the Nexus: NGO Perspectives" bringing over 140 participants from 36 countries and the "Demystifying the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus" learning stream listened to by over 4,500 partners;
    • members adopted a "Commitment and Motion to Action on Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (PSEA) and Sexual Harassment" mandating the Secretariat to document and voice PSEA work, challenges and good practices existing among members and recommendations to feed into international, regional and national efforts;
    • published two papers, "The Long run to Protection Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse" and "Humanitarian Ombudsperson", to contribute and influence debates with a different and complementary discourse to new policies;
    • organised Member State briefings with NGO perspectives on the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) for both host and donor States, on the situations in Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sudan and Yemen;
    • coordinated the drafting and delivery of 20 NGO statements on the Global Compact for R during the formal consultations organised by UNHCR, published one briefing paper & organised 2 webinars & detailed notes to inform NGO advocacy
    • organised 2 workshops on the CRRF in Thailand & Kenya. Co-convened with ICMC the NGO Committee on Migration & the Civil Society Action Committee contributing to developing the Migration Compact
    • coordinated the drafting and delivery of 17 statements on the Grand Bargain, internally displaced persons, Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework​, statelessness, international protection and partnerships at UNHCR's governing bodies;
    • co-organised and gathered 500 NGOs for UNHCR's Annual Consultations "Putting people first";
    • co-hosted International Organization for Migration (IOM) NGO consultations on internal displacement in protracted crises through triple nexus;
    • advocated for the inclusion of the Principles of Partnership in the Global Compact for Refugees and for partnerships to be at the center of new comprehensive refugee responses.
    B. Please select if your report relates to any initiatives launched at World Humanitarian summit
    • Grand Bargain
    • New Way of Working
    2. 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
    • Multi-stakeholder coordination
    • Other: Inclusion and shrinking of NGO space in policy decisions & discussions
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Ensuring that humanitarian space and principled humanitarian action to be recognised, protected, maintained and strengthened in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and the Compacts have been challenging. Legal and institutional barriers on NGOs by Governments have limited and restricted civil society space and voice in humanitarian contexts.

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

    Inclusion of and consulting NGOs in policy-making discussions (Government, UN levels, multilateral process) is key to ensuring that local voices and people we serve are part of the decision-making process and that it is not a top-down approach. Jointly agreed guidelines on how policies like joined-up humanitarian-development-peace are carried out in-country to ensure humanitarian principles are safeguarded is key. Key global documents such as the global compacts on refugees and for migration should continue to be co-designed and jointly implemented with NGOs. 

    Keywords

    Displacement, Humanitarian-development nexus, Local action, PSEA, Strengthening local systems

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

    Individual Commitments (4)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • Acknowledging an evolving humanitarian landscape, ICVA commits to maintain strong partnerships with established humanitarian actors and promote stronger engagement with emerging humanitarian actors and regional organizations.
    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • ICVA commits to advocate for governments, donors, the UN, NGOs and all humanitarian actors to fulfill their responsibilities to be accountable to those affected by crises, and to better institutionalize strong partnerships based on the Principles of Partnership.
    • Advocacy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • ICVA commits to provide support to NGO fora, through practical guidance on governance mechanisms, advocacy strategies and initiatives, and promote their engagement within the humanitarian system.
    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Recognizing insufficient opportunities for NGO engagement in humanitarian governance, ICVA commits to increase the understanding of, and sustained engagement by NGOs in humanitarian policy and decision-making processes, with a strong focus on national NGOs, NGOs from the global South and NGO fora.
    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    Core Commitments (2)

    • 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
    • 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. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    Strengthening national/local leadership and systems

    Through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Emergency Directors Group, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) was involved in providing member views on the humanitarian system-wide scale-up and ongoing emergencies such as Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Ebola outbreak. ICVA hosted meetings connecting NGOs with Humanitarian Coordinators/Resident Coordinators in 13 countries and with the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Director Operations at OCHA. ICVA together with the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response and InterAction disseminated the annual appraisal survey of Humanitarian Coordinators with over 180 responses from NGO fora. ICVA brought together 16 diverse NGO fora to improve collective understanding on NGO coordination in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa regions. ICVA has provided support to NGO fora and NGOs in over 20 countries advice, visits, lessons learned and peer-to-peer sharing. ICVA together with its members in-country, Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (COAST) and Danish Refugee Council (DRC),  brokered the NGO platform in Cox's Bazaar. ICVA has supported NGOs in the regions on the humanitarian nexus (HDPN) and co-hosted a workshop for the HDPN in Afghanistan. In March, in the margins of the ICVA's Annual Conference, ICVA together with the Australian Mission, organised a dialogue on 'Strengthening Humanitarian Action through Good Donor Practices in Localisation' where national NGOs and NGO fora were able to share their perspectives on progress, challenges, good practices and enablers/constraints when working at country-level on the HDPN. This was the first time many of them had met with donors. 

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

    At the IASC Principals level, ICVA contributed to the humanitarian sectors' approach to protection against sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and sexual harassment and abuse (SHA). ICVA members and the ICVA Secretariat committed to have a system in place for preventing, detecting and responding to abuse and misconduct. The motion to action includes taking action (a) on victims' rights advocacy on sexual exploitation and abuse, (b) on documenting and voicing the challenges of all ICVA members in complying to safeguarding standards, (c) on the dialogue with UN Permanent Missions in Geneva. ICVA signed-up to the Disclosure of Misconduct Scheme led by the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) which establishes a minimum standard for humanitarian, development and other civil society organisations to share information as a part of their recruitment process about people who have found to have committed sexual harassment, abuse or exploitation during employment. Contributing to this scheme is a part of ICVA's commitment to prevent and address abuse in the humanitarian sector.

    Other

    ICVA published, in September, the Localisation Examined briefing paper followed by a webinar in November on Localisation: Perspectives on change which heard from different actors such as diaspora, governments and public-private partnerships on how they are working towards greater localisation in their contexts, the future trends and impact on principled humanitarian action. ICVA organised briefings between NGOs and the African Union on the draft African Union Humanitarian Agency. With the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), relations have centred around NGO involvement in the Nairobi Action Plan. In Asia ICVA worked to support the Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Partnership Group (AGP) and strengthening of this regional mechanism for civil society partnerships with ASEAN and the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA). ICVA also supported the South Asia Together for Humanitarian Imperatives (SATHI) Network - a regional network of national-level NGOs - towards improved knowledge and exchange capacities. In MENA, ICVA established channels of engagement and exchange with the League of Arab States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and the Riyadh High Level Meeting and Humanitarian Forum.

    B. Please select if your report relates to any initiatives launched at World Humanitarian summit
    • Grand Bargain
    • New Way of Working
    2. 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.
    • Multi-stakeholder coordination
    • Other: Lack of long term commitment; weak measures for protection and assistance of victims; top down approach and lack of trust
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Victims do not feel confident to come forward and many of the commitments remain on paper

     

     

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

    Need further engagement of all actors to empower local actors, starting from local coordination systems. Often local actors face several barriers: logistics, language, jargon, to be able to engage in and understand the coordination structures, let alone the Principal and Emergency Directors Group-level IASC structures.

    Keywords

    Humanitarian-development nexus, Local action, PSEA, Quality and accountability standards, Strengthening local systems

  • 5A
    Invest in local capacities

    Joint Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ICVA reaffirms its commitment to help humanitarian NGOs better understand, influence, and access humanitarian financing. To this end, ICVA will gather, synthesize and disseminate information to NGOs related to developments in humanitarian financing. ICVA will convene webinars, teleconferences, face-to-face meetings and develop educational tools to help NGOs better understand what is happening in the field of humanitarian financing.
    • Capacity
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: All ICVA Members

    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. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

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

    ICVA organised discussions among NGO partners of UNICEF, UNFPA and UNHCR to consolidate feedback on proposed changes to UN partnership agreements based on the UN Protocol on sexual exploitation and abuse allegations involving implementing partners. ICVA's work resulted in the UN agencies listed revising their contracts for 2019 to incorporate suggestions from NGO partners.

    Capacity building of national/local actors

    ICVA's strengthening of field-level NGO fora programme, funded by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), aims to strengthen organisational capacity development through strategic planning, governance and human resource management through cross-learning between fora. ICVA brought representatives of 16 diverse for a together in Geneva. In-country, ICVA, during missions, has provided individual advice and support to NGO fora in: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and South Sudan in Africa. In Middle East and North Africa, ICVA visited NGO fora in Gaziantep [Turkey], Syria and Yemen to learn from and provide individual support to the NGO fora. In Asia, ICVA provided extensive support around the Rohingya crisis including coordinating advocacy, NGO staff security, information sharing and general support. ICVA supported in the development of the new Bangladesh Rohingya Response NGO Platform - a NGO forum based in Cox's Bazar and was primarily a convener of discussions and broker of relationships.  

    Other

    ICVA, as the co-convenor of the Grand Bargain ork stream 9 'harmonised and simplified reporting', launched its two-year reporting framework pilot from June 2017 to June 2019. The 8+3 template, developed with the support of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) is being piloted in Iraq, Myanmar and Somalia with a group of 8 donors, 8 UN agencies, 16 INGOs and a number of national partners. The interim report by GPPi, published in July 2018, showed the new template is appreciated for its accessible language, simplified process and reduced burden by standardising expectations across donors. ICVA members informed the Independent Evaluation of the Grand Bargain, conducted by the Overseas Development Institute, where the report raised concerns that smaller NGOs do not have the time or the resources to follow myriad of Grand Bargain initiatives nor to comply with the whole package of commitments.  

    Country-based pooled funds

    During 2018, ICVA continued in its role of representing NGOs on the OCHA Pooled Fund Working Group. This work includes helping to coordinate interventions and highlight concerns raised by National NGO partners through the Norweagian Refuge Ccounil-led OCHA-NGO Pooled Fund Dialogue platform, as well as supporting one direct position for a National NGO in the Pooled Fund Working Group itself, currently Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), based in Jordan.

    B. Please select if your report relates to any initiatives launched at World Humanitarian summit
    • Grand Bargain
    2. 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
    • Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
    • Strengthening national/local systems
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Wider buy-in from large government donors has limited usage of the Grand Bargain harmonized reporting template so far. A high rate of risk transfer in humanitarian grants makes it difficult for National NGO partners to manage funding in fragile and high-risk contexts.

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

    Agreements: Adherence to the Principles of Participation by all partners essential. Although a critical mass of UN agencies and some donor governments have engaged in the Grand Bargain harmonized reporting work, additional buy-in is needed from larger government donors. The humanitarian community needs to continue to ensure that the National NGO voice is well represented in global discussions to ensure appropriate support for national NGOs. A more balanced sharing of risk in humanitarian grants must be discussed with donors.

    Keywords

    Country-based pooled funds, Local action, PSEA, Transparency / IATI

  • 5D
    Finance outcomes, not fragmentation: shift from funding to financing

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ICVA commits to actively advocate to improve frontline responder access to funds; promote financial transparency; and increase multi-year funding, leveraging its current role as co-chair of the IASC Humanitarian Financing Task Team.
    • Financial
    • Invest in Humanity

    Core Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Core Responsibility
    • Commit to promote and increase predictable, multi-year, unearmarked, collaborative and flexible humanitarian funding toward greater efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of humanitarian action for affected people.
    • Invest in Humanity
    • Commit to broaden and adapt the global instruments and approaches to meet urgent needs, reduce risk and vulnerability and increase resilience, without adverse impact on humanitarian principles and overall action (as also proposed in Round Table on "Changing Lives").
    • Invest in Humanity
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    ICVA has continued to support increased access to humanitarian funds by local and national actors. In July 2018, ICVA co-led a workshop in Somalia with the VOICE network to engage directly with Somali NGOs on how their priorities align with Grand Bargain work streams, and how there could be improved engagement moving forward. The purpose of this work was to make an improved connection between local partners and the global discussion on improving financial effectiveness and efficiency in humanitarian finance. Understanding more broadly how the priorities of local partners align with Grand Bargain work streams also helps to engage partners beyond just a discussion of basic transfer of funds to ensure that support mechanisms are better developed for capacity strengthening, programme implementation, and more flexible funding. ICVA has also continued to support the transparency work stream of the Grand Bargain through monthly engagement with Development Initiatives on how to coordinate and improve the approach to transparency in humanitarian finance. This support has contributed to the shift in thinking around transparency from a compliance mindset to focus more on data-usage

    B. Please select if your report relates to any initiatives launched at World Humanitarian summit
    • Grand Bargain
    2. 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
    • Multi-stakeholder coordination
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    There is an ongoing challenge to ensure that local and national partners are appropriately included and represented in global discussions on humanitarian finance. Donor governments also have limited capability to direct fund a large number of local partners.

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

    The humanitarian community needs to support continued dialogue with national partners to make sure they are engaged in the global dialogue, and to ensure a more holistic discussion on how to better engage and support national partners beyond basic transfer of funds.

    Keywords

    Country-based pooled funds, Local action, Strengthening local systems, Transparency / IATI

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

    Joint Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ICVA commits to actively engage in the implementation the Grand Bargain.
    • Operational
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: All ICVA Members

    • ICVA commits to actively monitor the Grand Bargain, entailing a dual focus ofp articipating in monitoring the implementation of the changes proposed through the Grand Bargain process and, monitoring the impact of the Grand Bargain on NGOs and frontline responders.

    • Operational
    • Invest in Humanity

    Partners: All ICVA Members

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ICVA commits to support harmonizing and simplifying reporting requirements. The #LessPaperMoreAid project, supported by ICVA members, has demonstrated the impact of donor and UN requirements on NGO staff in the field as it relates to reporting, audits and partner capacity assessments. The project produced a Framework for Change with practical suggestions for improvement, and has been a key input into the Grand Bargain discussions related to harmonized and simplified reporting - both narrative and financial. ICVA commits to continuing this initiative to facilitate more simplified, proportionate, and harmonized reporting requirements by the end of 2018.
    • Financial
    • Invest in Humanity
    • ICVA commits to support the reduction of management costs and harmonizing UN-NGO partnership agreements. The Grand Bargain commitment on reducing management costs includes an agreement to harmonize UN partnership agreements with NGOs. Utilising its expertise in facilitating strengthened NGO partnership agreements with UNHCR, UNICEF and OCHA Country- Based Pooled Funds, ICVA commits to providing a platform for NGO engagement to ensure this harmonization positively impacts frontline responders, grounded in trust and guided by the Principles of Partnership.
    • Financial
    • Invest in Humanity

    Core Commitments (2)

    • 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
    • Commit to promote and increase predictable, multi-year, unearmarked, collaborative and flexible humanitarian funding toward greater efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of humanitarian action for affected people.
    • Invest in Humanity
    1. A. Highlight concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2018 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures as well as any good practices and examples of innovation.

    To promote innovative and collective financing mechanisms, ICVA organised a learning lab on innovative humanitarian financing with the support of Mercy Malaysia a member of ICVA. The two-day learning lab focused on Islamic social financing and was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Forty representatives from IASC members and non-members from within and outside the humanitarian sector, together with Islamic scholars and other experts learnt and shared about different kinds of Islamic social financing - Zakat, Sadaqa, Waqf. The learning lab is part of the work plan of the IASC Humanitarian Financing Task Team co-chaired by ICVA. The task team works in close collaboration with other platforms, including the Grand Bargain work streams and the Good Humanitarian Donorship initiative.

    B. Please select if your report relates to any initiatives launched at World Humanitarian summit
    • Grand Bargain
    2. 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
    • Data and analysis
    • Information management/tools
    B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?

    Centralising some of the types of giving and its relationship with humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality when using/allocating these funds are holding back the potential of Islamic social financing.

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

    Islamic social financing: Participants agreed to set-up a community of practice to build on learnings from the workshop. 

    Keywords

    Strengthening local systems

Attachments

  • ICVA Annual Report 2018
    Transformation - 3A, 4A, 4C | Displacement, Humanitarian-development nexus, Local action, Strengthening local systems
  • Grand Bargain Self Report_ICVA Narrative 2018
    Transformation - 4A, 4C, 5A, 5D, 5E | Local action, Strengthening local systems, Transparency / IATI | Grand Bargain