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Self Report 2017

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 Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility
  • The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Germany 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Because Syrian civil society organizations (CSOs) are created just in the last 6 year they didn't have enough experience with international law, transparency and compliance with international standards. Our organization took this commitment to improve our polices and also to improve the individual behavior within work teams either those who work in offices or in the field.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Our organization has developed HR and M&E policy and established teams and put more input into the follow-up process of personal accountability and transparency of team members in offices and in the field. From 2012 to 2014 we witnessed the lack of accountability, transparency and M&E in our organization compared with international actors. In 2015 we started improving our policies in the office and at the operation level. From January 2016 to December 2016 our organization's capacity in this core responsibility boosted to circa 75%. This achievement was accomplished through partnership with INGO and carrying out an independent evaluation.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    We assess the project through final results of projects that shows the team capacity improved in terms of reporting compliance and behavior. Also, we receive regular evaluation and monitoring from our international partners on improvements achieved so far.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    When applying new work policies at the local level to improve compliance and accountability we faced hardship in monitoring the level of dedication of local teams to new policies due to paper work imposed on them. On the other side, we had to simplify some policies in shorter versions when applying it at the local level especially in conflict areas such as Syria. The last challenge was that our organization didn't have enough financial capacity to set dedicated follow-up teams on the process and to train local teams. We are working to achieve this in 2017.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Our organization will work on specifying its work policies at the local and regional levels and make it country-based so we take into consideration national laws of the country. To achieve this we are raising our financial capacity for projects and teams so we can improve the HR and appoint a dedicated team for follow-up and monitoring process.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability', what would it be

    INGOs should enhance the bridge with local NGOs and Diaspora organizations so we can improve not only at the international or regional level but also on the local and national levels - i.e. grassroots development.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑People-centred approach ☑ Social protection

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑The Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action ☑ Education Cannot Wait

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑2D - Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability ☑ 3F - Enable adolescents and young people to be agents of positive transformation

3G
Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility
  • The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Germany endorses the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Due to politicization of humanitarian work in crisis areas and the exclusion of some social groups from receiving aid due to their ethnic, social, and political background in the Syrian crisis, our organization has been working at the policy level to guarantee that no one is left behind when providing services to local communities.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Our organization has included new cities in operations in northern Syria and opened 4 new community centers so we guarantee that IDPs and other local social groups are included in receiving services and having their space in the society. The policy of employment and TORs for local staff have been improved to assure that implementation goes in line with new work inclusion policies.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    We are assessing that other groups are included in activities and services in our local community centers through documented videos, reports, and independent media reporters. Also, the M&E team follow-up indicates improvements in social coherence in cities where we have community centers. On the other side, our international donors and partners are monitoring our polices and implementation and assessing our work every 3 months.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    Our organization faces difficulties in improving our policies to fit local contexts especially work that can build trust through activities among different local social groups. On the other side, we have the challenge of various languages of local social groups and minorities. We need extra effort to publish policies and distribute information in at least 2 languages in each city in northern Syria.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Our organization is developing its HR policies so we can achieve more diversity in our local teams so it includes members from all ethnic and social backgrounds. This will assist in improving the implementation of new policies on an operation level.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings', what would it be

    International organizations should produce policy and information documents in local languages so it can be used by local organizations and actors and accessed by local communities, especially marginalized and minorities.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Humanitarian principles ☑ Social protection

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑The Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action ☑ Education Cannot Wait

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3G - Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings

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

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility
  • The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Germany 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
  • The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Germany commits to establishing a common approach to providing information to affected people and collecting, aggregating and analysing feedback from communities to influence decision-making processes at strategic and operational levels.
  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
  • The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Germany 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Our youth-led organization is founded in the time of an active crisis. This enabled us to see the effect of international political and humanitarian interference on local/national stability and economy. Therefore, we have been working for 4 years to discuss and contribute to regional and international platforms and discussions to take into consideration the negative effect of neglecting local/national circumstances and standards. We started advocating for this in terms of policy and partnerships and balancing our operations on a local level.

  • Achievements at a glance

    During the period Jan-Dec 2016 we have taken part part as partner and participant in regional platforms between Diaspora, INGOs repreentatives, and UNOCHA to discuss work polices and partnership regarding local and national levels regarding policies and operations. Many documents have been released regarding development in understanding in this area under the project DEMAC. At the local and national level, we enhanced our coordination with local councils and authorities to define their role and role of CSOs in maintaining work policies and operations adaptable to local standards. On the other side we employed more local people to enable local markets. Our teams increased three times compared to 2015.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    We are assessing the process through budget lines of projects planned and implemented at local and national levels and the compliance and harmony between international standards and local/national laws. On the other side, the process is in an ongoing progress and discussion among local CSOs and with international partners and donors in the Middle East and Syria. Our local operations indicate that a transformation has been achieved from delivering services to people in need to enabling people in need to share and create necessary services through our projects.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    The challenges faced during implementation at the policy level was in bringing INGOs into round table discussions with Diapsora and local actors. This was finally achieved by lobbying Diapsora actors and receiving support from one INGO that coordinate such policy meetings in Berlin, Copenhagen, and London last year. On the operational level, mobilizing local people and driving them into meeting their own needs and services required more team resources and materials. Also, the balance of making policy and operations with local councils /authorities in active conflict areas was challenging.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    In 2017, we are investing in our HR system to enhance the team force capacity working on specific policies at administrative and operational levels and according to local/national, regional , and international standards. This will help us to bridge the reporting process from grassroots to donors and vice versa. On the other hand, we plan to produce more printed materials available for public either in our local centers and/or downloadable as a PDF on our homepage.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems', what would it be

    INGOs acting in conflict areas should adapt their salary scales according to local/national standards so the work of local NGOs will not get affected and local/national salary scales will not be breached.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑People-centred approach ☑ Social protection

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑The Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action ☑ Education Cannot Wait

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑4A - Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

5E
Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility
  • The Union of Kurdish Students in Syria and Germany 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    What motivated our organization to start acting on this was the lack of sustainability in long-term policies of local NGOs. Due to our experience last year working with various partners and operating in conflict areas we noticed that resource diversity and exchange is missing among local NGOs. Therefore, we are working on diversifying the resources - either financial or information - regarding policy development among local NGOs so more sustainable polices can be made at the local and national level.

  • Achievements at a glance

    In the period of January-December 2016 our resources were diversified 5 times more than the last year. This diversity can been noticed in various partnerships with INGOs from one side and local CSOs on the other side. We have also agreed with some local CSOs on a policy that will make each CSO share their resources and new resources regularly with the rest of local CSOs. On the other hand, more coordination is being achieved with international CSO actors and policy makers which enables us to draw more effective policy for diversifying resources and making them available for the following years.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    We assess progress through the diversity and cooperation achieved with local CSOs and INGOs, though diversity of information that can be accessed by us as an organization and team members at local and regional levels, and though open discussions with other CSOs. Also, the progress can been seen at the operational level as more projects are being planned and implemented that tackle various areas and that are supported by various actors.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    We faced challenges at the local and regional levels in convincing CSOs and NGOs to open the door for resources sharing. After other CSOs/NGOs became flexible to get into open discussions in talking about resource sharing, only then we could see and identify the lack of diversity of resources. The other challenge was to increase resources diversity which required collective work by all actors. The challenge was to convince local actors about the importance of diverse resource and its positive impact on the long-term. Another challenge was to building trust between local NGOs and INGOs.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    The next step will be to make the diverse resources collected in 2016 available for pubic access so it might encourage other local and international actors to contribute to the process. Also, we plan to increase the diversity in resource at the organizational level by the end of 2017.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency', what would it be

    Diverse resources enable local actors to get engaged in more efficient ways with international actors and help build bridges of trust between local and international communities.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑People-centred approach

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑5A - Invest in local capacities ☑ 5E - Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency