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Joint Commitment

Individual Commitment

Core Commitment

• What led your organization to make the commitment?

  Having worked for several years with the Missed Opportunities group of INGOs (CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Action Aid, Tearfund, CARE) researching and developing an evidence base to demonstrate the effectiveness of working through national actors in humanitarian crises, CAFOD recognised the need to continue to improve our own partnership practices; that there is a need to demonstrate commitment and leadership to demonstrating change within our own ways of working and that the evidence of improved effectiveness can encourage other international actors to change their approaches and increasingly work in partnership with national actors rather than replacing them and implementing themselves.

• Achievements at a glance

  CAFOD has played a leadership role in bringing together the 29 Charter4Change (C4C) signatory organisations and supporting implementation of the 8 commitments. In October 2016 CAFOD hosted a meeting at which signatories shared approaches, learning and challenges and committed to continue to drive through internal change and act as Champions for localisation and changed approaches to working with national and local organisations. Key achievements:
  - Commissioned research on C4C Commitment 4 on impact of INGO recruitment of NNGO staff during emergencies, produced Time to Move On report (see www.charter4change), developed internal guidance for HR and programme managers on how to implement this Commitment.
  - Reviewed categorisation of grant recipients and pending outcome of decisions on definitions within the GB Workstream2 CAFOD will develop a new categorisation to record the percentage passed to national actors.
  - Mainstreamed C4C into new Corporate Communications Strategy.
  - Staff training to ensure awareness of C4C commitments.

• How is your organization assessing progress

  CAFOD is currently assessing progress in several ways:
  - We are writing an in-depth report as part of an internal reporting process for Charter4Change (C4C) signatories, which will be completed in April 2017. Together with the reports from the other 29 signatory agencies this will form the basis of a consolidated report on how the 29 signatories are taking forward implementation of C4C
  - Progress on the Charter4Change is regularly discussed within the CAFOD Emergency Response Group's Management Team
  - The Emergency Response Group within CAFOD works closely with the People and Performance Group which supports, monitors and evaluates corporate compliance with such processes.
  

• Challenges faced in implementation

  Working to make the internal changes required to comply with the 8 commitments of the Charter4Change by May 2018 takes time, and the understanding and buy-in not just of corporate managers but also programme staff working with national and local partners. Challenges are less related to corporate buy-in, which is high, than to time constraints and the competing priorities of staff.

• Next step to advance implementation in 2017

  As noted CAFOD will be part of a group producing a synthesis of achievements and progress of Charter4Change (C4C)signatories. Along with several other signatory agencies we are members of the C4C Facilitation Group and we are currently considering different approaches to sharing learning and supporting change within the signatory agencies.The C4C Facilitation Group is encouraging signatories to work together in specific interest groups which focus around different C4C Commitments. We are exploring with the 130 C4C endorsers what their role should be in working with and holding to account their INGO partners which have signed the C4C.

• 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

  There are numerous examples of the increased effectiveness of working with and through national actors. The synthesis report must evidence and highlight those and note the need for incentives for international actors to change the ways they work (eg the Grand Bargain Commitments in Workstream2).

• Cross cutting issues

  ☑People-centred approach

• Specific initiatives

  ☑Charter for Change ☑ Grand Bargain

• Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

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