1B
Act early
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will advocate with political leaders and parties to conflict to mitigate and end conflicts, and will provide evidence of the human cost of resorting to violence to solve political problems.
- Advocacy
- Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
- InterAction and 63 members will strive to aid in the prevention of crises through programming that mainstreams peace-building, conflict mitigation and good governance, with the goals of breaking cycles of conflict and fragility, and building the resilience of affected populations.
- Operational
- Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its membership developed these commitments with the aim of collectively working towards more effective, efficient humanitarian action that is more attuned to the needs of people on the ground. These commitments were developed and prioritized in line with the areas where the membership sees the greatest possibility for impact.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction and its members advocate across all levels of the U.S. Government to raise the profile of crises. In 2016, InterAction released its annual Foreign Assistance Briefing book, a resource to new political appointees. NGOs contributed to drafting content which reflects the priorities of the U.S. NGO community from including people with disabilities in U.S. foreign assistance to how the U.S. can use economic assistance to maximize political and economic stabilization in some of the world’s most fragile areas. InterAction also supports NGO operations as a convening platform to facilitate member planning and response information sharing. This was especially timely for information sharing on evacuation/hibernation plans, rapid assessments and capacity to stay and deliver in response to the July 2016 violence in South Sudan. Using a similar model, InterAction recently launched a multi-disciplinary joint coordination platform in response to the looming famines in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, and Nigeria.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is in the process of exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to effectively measure progress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
InterAction will continue its engagement through educating branches of the U.S. Government on the importance of upholding International Humanitarian Law (IHL) norms. Where necessary, InterAction and its members will advocate to raise the profile of humanitarian crises as a result of natural disasters and conflict, and act as a link between frontline humanitarian responders and policymakers.
2A
Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities
Core Commitment
- Commitment
- Core Responsibility
- Commit to promote and enhance the protection of civilians and civilian objects, especially in the conduct of hostilities, for instance by working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and by sparing civilian infrastructure from military use in the conduct of military operations.
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its members seek to reverse a ‘race to the bottom’ in civilian harm and the growing pattern of recklessness by State and non-State parties to conflict with civilian lives and infrastructure in situations of armed conflict. We aim to restore respect for civilians, reduce or rollback legal and policy restrictions that deprive people of access to resources and assistance, and unnecessarily obstructs safe, secure and impartial humanitarian assistance.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction released its 2016 policy brief “Civilians Under Fire: Restore Respect for International Humanitarian Law” and subsequently engaged the Obama administration on measures to implement the Presidential Executive Order on minimizing civilian harm in U.S. military operations and security cooperation. InterAction convened multi-stakeholder dialogues and produced briefs on the legal, policy, and operational implications of urban warfare and other issues with a view to upholding protective norms. To increase the connectivity between policy development and frontline response, InterAction continues to host visiting field staff. For example, InterAction involved field staff in DC roundtables and, in 2016, hosted two Syrian American Medical Society physicians who briefed the NGO community on the crisis in Aleppo and attacks on hospitals. InterAction’s Protection Working Group (PWG) and team support the rollout of the IASC Protection Policy. InterAction is conducting missions to three different country contexts in support of the implementation of the policy.
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How is your organization assessing progress
Currently, post-roundtable and post-mission evaluations are carried out, focusing on the usefulness of the events, and their follow up reports, to inform policy and operations of the stakeholders involved.
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Challenges faced in implementation
It is still early in the tenure of the new administration in the United States to determine their views on international law and intentions with regard to the protection of civilians. InterAction will continue to seek dialogue with relevant government departments as well as with members of U.S. Congress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
InterAction will continue policy roundtables and field level support. In addition, in the anticipation of continued protracted conflicts and ongoing U.S. security cooperation globally, there is a need to educate and provide technical expertise to various branches of the U.S. government related to civilian harm mitigation and protection. InterAction will develop comprehensive educational materials for U.S. lawmakers, and conduct systematic stakeholder identification to better assess opportunities to embed provisions for the protection of civilians into U.S. law and policy. In 2017/2018, InterAction plans to launch and promote the third edition of the Professional Standards for Protection.
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Cross cutting issues
☑Humanitarian principles
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Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations
☑2D - Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability ☑ 2E - Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity
2B
Ensure full access to and protection of the humanitarian and medical missions
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
InterAction and 63 members will adhere to the guiding principles of humanitarian action - humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.
- Policy
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will advocate for humanitarian exemptions to legal and policy restrictions that deprive vulnerable people of their rights, and inhibit its ability to assist people in need.
- Advocacy
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will demand adherence to the protections to which civilians and civilian objects are entitled, including the protection of humanitarian, educational and medical facilities and personnel.
- Advocacy
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will hold itselves accountable to the centrality of protection in every humanitarian response, to help ensure that people are free from violence, coercion, and deliberate deprivation during crises.
- Operational
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will pursue all principled means to ensure full access to, and protection of, people in greatest need.
- Operational
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
Core Commitment
- Commitment
- Core Responsibility
- Commit to ensure all populations in need receive rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance.
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- Commit to promote and enhance efforts to respect and protect medical personnel, transports and facilities, as well as humanitarian relief personnel and assets against attacks, threats or other violent acts.
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its members believe that the centrality of protection must underpin every humanitarian response and that through our collective efforts, we must work to reduce the risks people face in crises so that they can safely access assistance when and where they need it. With converging global trends in legal and policy restrictions creating obstacles for principled humanitarian action, InterAction and its members are committed to reducing impediments that deprive vulnerable people of their rights or limit the ability of humanitarians to assist people in need.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction released its 2016 policy brief “Civilians Under Fire: Restore Respect for International Humanitarian Law” and subsequently engaged the Obama administration on measures to implement the Presidential Executive Order on minimizing civilian harm in U.S. military operations and security cooperation. InterAction convened multi-stakeholder dialogues and produced briefs on the legal, policy, and operational implications of urban warfare and other issues with a view to upholding protective norms. To increase the connectivity between policy development and frontline response, InterAction continues to host visiting field staff. For example, InterAction involved field staff in DC roundtables and, in 2016, hosted two Syrian American Medical Society physicians who briefed the NGO community on the crisis in Aleppo and attacks on hospitals.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is evaluating the indicators to best measure progress.
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Cross cutting issues
☑Humanitarian principles
2D
Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will eradicate sexual exploitation and abuse by their staff through the operationalization of policies that protect affected populations.
- Operational
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will prioritize the prevention and response to gender-based violence, including the mitigation of risk, within all of its humanitarian programming.
- Operational
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
Individual Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will analyze and promote the adherence to norms that safeguard humanity in their response.
- Advocacy
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
Core Commitment
- 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
- 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
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction is committed to develop and promote results-based approaches to achieve protection outcomes. InterAction’s history of leadership in Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is reflected in its suite of open-source training modules and tools and a NGO PSEA community of practice that supports NGO capacity to address sexual exploitation and abuse. InterAction’s Gender-Based Violence Working Group is also an active and collaborative forum to promote good practice and embed GBV priorities in crisis response and donor government policy.
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Achievements at a glance
System-wide policies, and supporting standards and guidance, increasingly reflect key elements of results-based and outcome-oriented approaches to protection, and significant traction has been gained through field level engagement with NGOs and other stakeholders, including in dialogue with donor governments. InterAction’s work with NGOs and Protection Cluster actors in Colombia provided an opportunity for NGOs to critically examine programs to mitigate child recruitment using results-based methods and validated a method results analysis from the perspective of affected communities. InterAction’s recommendations form the basis for a joint and collaborative reorientation of programs to mitigate child recruitment. InterAction continuously provides its tools and resources to assist organizations in establishing sustainable capacity to prevent and respond to SEA. In addition, together with the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, InterAction’s President has taken up co-championship of the IASC initiative to address sexual exploitation and abuse of humanitarian workers in the workplace.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to more effectively measure progress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
InterAction is creating a formalized Results-Based Protection Learning Network to accelerate collaborative learning and help systematize the adoption of good practice. In 2017-2018, the GBV Working Group aims to better situate Gender Based Violence in Emergencies within US policy discussions by increasing member engagement in meetings with members of Congress and the Hill. Members participating in the GBV Working Group are developing ways to improve strategic links with country operations to strengthen GBV policy and practice in emergencies. InterAction will expand its work on PSEA across its entire membership and incorporate new initiatives to address sexual harassment and exploitation, consistent with its role as IASC co-champion.
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Cross cutting issues
☑Gender
-
Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations
☑3D - Empower and protect women and girls
3D
Empower and protect women and girls
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will adopt and implement organizational policies and practices to strengthen gender equality.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
Core Commitment
- 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
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its members believe that if we are to break the cycle of chronic and recurring crises, we must target the most vulnerable among us. A growing number of out-of-school children live in protracted conflict settings. More investment must be made in education in order to safeguard and support children to emerge from crises with fewer disadvantages and more prospects for their future.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction continues to support NGOs to develop and promote common agendas to affect humanitarian response. For example, InterAction’s Syria/Iraq working group produced a paper in advance of the President’s Summit on the global refugee crisis containing recommendations to help increase access to education for refugees living in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to effectively measure progress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
Through a joint collaboration between NGO members of InterAction’s Syria/Iraq Working Group and the Protection Working Group, InterAction’s working group members are currently planning to host a “No Lost Generation” event in DC in October 2017. The event aims to bring together U.S. student groups and Syrian refugee youth in an effort to raise awareness among U.S. policymakers about the ramifications for children and youth who have been living in protracted conflict and displacement.
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Cross cutting issues
☑Gender
3E
Eliminate gaps in education for children, adolescents and young people
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members recognize that quality education is a life-saving intervention and commit to expand access to education for people in crises, especially underserved populations, and to mobilize new resources accordingly.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
-
What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its members believe that education is fundamental to children and adolescents wellbeing. With a significant proportion of out of school children living in protracted conflict and displacement settings, an increased focus is need to safeguard a future generation.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction and its members continue to advocate to improve humanitarian response and to ensure that humanitarian action remains oriented to the needs of people, including young people. For example, InterAction's Syria/Iraq Working Group produced a paper in advance of the President's Summit on the global refugee crisis. The paper included recommendations on pathways to increase access to education for refugees living in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
InterAction's members are working to convene a "No Lost Generation" event in Washington DC. The event will bring together Syrian refugee youth and U.S. student groups to raise awareness among U.S. policymakers about how children and adolescents are affected by living in protracted conflicts and displacement.
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Cross cutting issues
☑IDPs ☑ Refugees
4A
Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will be open and ready to use evidence-informed approaches, including cash-based programming, in its efforts to be as effective and responsive as possible to the needs of the populations it serves.
- Advocacy
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
- InterAction and 63 members will collaborate with Government-led response leadership, to the extent that principled humanitarian action permits within any given context.
- Partnership
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
- InterAction and 63 members will ensure information flow to and from affected people, in order to facilitate their active role in analysis and decision-making about strategic and operational issues from the earliest stages of a humanitarian response.
- Operational
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
- InterAction and 63 members will go only where needed, ensuring that its support is based on a clear assessment of complementarity with national NGOs, local CSOs and other stakeholders, avoiding acting directly merely for fundraising or media attention goals.
- Operational
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
InterAction and 63 members will invest in continuous learning as part of an approach to ensure efforts are always relevant, adaptable, and accountable to people's priorities during crises.
- Financial
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
- InterAction and 63 members will promote participation in decision-making and the leadership of affected people, especially underrepresented populations, to ensure the humanitarian and development programs and processes are accountable to them.
- Advocacy
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
Core Commitment
- 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
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its members believe that national actors and local systems are critical for efficient and effective humanitarian action.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction and its members will continue to identify and facilitate entry points to mobilize NGO expertise on relevant themes including immediate crisis response coordination. For example, InterAction facilitated information- and resource-sharing among members in response to Hurricane Matthew and recently launched a joint famines working group to share analysis and leverage joint advocacy on South Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, and Somalia. InterAction also developed a Crisis List as a part of early response efforts to provide a platform for members to share response plans and activities to inform humanitarian actors, donors, media and the community at large. During its annual NGO consortia meeting, InterAction facilitated a discussion on joint advocacy with local NGOs. In 2016-2017, multiple InterAction teams visited NGO consortia in Nigeria and Myanmar to provide director support and review humanitarian practice and policy issues including inter-agency response leadership, NGO coordination structures, humanitarian access and delivery modalities.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to effectively measure progress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
InterAction will continue to provide support to NGO Consortia in various countries through field-level visits and ongoing remote support.
-
Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations
☑5A - Invest in local capacities
4B
Anticipate, do not wait, for crises
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will advocate for action on early warning of natural hazard or conflict risks to mitigate the impacts of disasters and other humanitarian crises; wherever feasible, they will use their own resources to undertake early action on early warning, and invest in contingency planning for displacement due to disasters and climate change.
- Advocacy
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
Core Commitment
- 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 improve the understanding, anticipation and preparedness for disaster and climate-related risks by investing in data, analysis and early warning, and developing evidence-based decision-making processes that result in early action.
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its membership believe that translating early warning into early collective action is one of the most effective ways to promote efficient humanitarian interventions that are responsive to the needs of affected people.
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Achievements at a glance
Using its existing platforms, InterAction and NGO leaders launched multiple country specific and thematic working groups to ensure emergency preparedness and information coordination. For example, InterAction’s Syria/Iraq working group convened a sub-working group to specifically discuss preparations for anticipated displacement from Mosul, Iraq. This collaboration, among others, led to multiple briefings outlining humanitarian considerations for policymakers weighing various options for safeguarding civilians in the region.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to effectively measure progress.
4C
Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will invest time and resources to continue to improve the connectivity between humanitarian and development programs within member organizations. Where needed, InterAction and 63 members will make high level systems changes to its structures and ways of working to ensure those served benefit from an approach that integrates humanitarian and development elements.
- Partnership
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
- InterAction and 63 members will make data and analysis the basis and driver for determining a common understanding of context, needs and capacities, reporting data into a common reporting platform accessible to all actors.
- Operational
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
Core Commitment
- 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
-
What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its membership of more than 100 NGOs developed these commitments with the aim of collectively working towards more effective, efficient humanitarian action that is more attuned to the needs of people on the ground. These commitments were developed and prioritized in line with the areas where the membership sees the greatest possibility for impact.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction has integrated humanitarian—development nexus (HDN) themes into its convening and through its thought leadership. For example, in early 2017, InterAction developed two case studies on the HDN focused on DRC and Nigeria. These case studies were used as the foundation in a member workshop on the HDN led by InterAction. InterAction also aims to make learning and analysis as the primary driver for developing a common understanding on context and needs. In partnership with Global Communities, InterAction released a brief report highlighting the early recovery successes and constraints of the Yogyakarta earthquake shelter response. The SSWG and InterAction members were successful in highlighting several issues related to humanitarian challenges in urban areas and disaster risk reduction in the final draft of the New Urban Agenda released at the Habitat 3 conference in Quito, Ecuador.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to more effectively measure progress. Initial feedback suggests member interest on HDN is strong. Based on initial consultations with InterAction’s membership during their participation in the HDN workshop, 100% of participants were interested in additional workshops on the topic.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
InterAction is evaluating feedback on existing initiatives so that future work can be refined to focus on specific components of the HDN that are most relevant to InterAction’s members (i.e. the role of peacebuilding, staff turnover and transitions). InterAction’s recommendations for the development of protection strategies in Myanmar identified ways that development and peacebuilding actors should be engaged to help contribute to protection outcomes. InterAction will continue to engage with NGOs in Myanmar regarding the pursuit of these recommendations.
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Cross cutting issues
☑Disaster Risk Reduction
5A
Invest in local capacities
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
InterAction and 63 members will develop concrete organizational targets to increase direct and predictable financing to national and local actors, and advocate for long-term support to develop such actors' capacity to seek and manage funds and mitigate accompanying risks (including financial, security, safety, reputational, and legal).
- Operational
- Invest in Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will invest in the long-term capacity of its NGO and CSO partners, raising their profile through greater transparency on partnership arrangements.
- Financial
- Invest in Humanity
Core Commitment
- 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
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its membership of more than 100 NGOs developed these commitments with the aim of collectively working towards more effective, efficient humanitarian action that is more attuned to the needs of people on the ground. These commitments were developed and prioritized in line with the areas were the membership sees the greatest possibility for impact.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction and its members prioritize the inclusion of a broad range of frontline actors in humanitarian response. In field visits, InterAction teams have systematically included consultations with national and local NGOs to better understand and assess their role as protection actors, involvement and influence within the coordination structure, and varied needs to bring their perspective and experience to bear on policymaking. Since 2014, InterAction has worked with UNHCR to strengthen partnership via the High Commissioner’s Structured Dialogue. In 2016, InterAction jointly with ICVA, supported HIAS and UNHCR in taking an annual “temperature check” to assess UNHCR’s partnerships with NGOs focusing on transparency, joint planning, communication, and capacity strengthening. Last year, InterAction supported two workshops on partnership strengthening at the sub-office and country-office level in Tanzania. A portion of this initiative focused on expanding on good practices that could be replicated to improve how UNHCR and NGOs partner to support refugees in urban areas.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to effectively measure progress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
In 2017 and onward, InterAction plans to continue to facilitate peer exchanges at field level country visits. These visits will vary in focus and purpose but InterAction anticipates that orienting support at the country level will facilitate learning, information-sharing and documentation to a broader array of local responders. InterAction is also examining opportunities to introduce localization into its existing areas or work. For example, InterAction will facilitate a discussion on working with local actors during its annual NGO Coordination workshop. InterAction is also exploring potential research around how INGOs and their local partners share and manage risk and associated trade-offs.
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Cross cutting issues
☑Urban
5E
Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency
Joint Commitment
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- InterAction and 63 members will develop and implement more transparent program planning and reporting processes, in alignment with IATI standards, to drive efficiency gains and reduce duplicative costs.
- Operational
- Invest in Humanity
- InterAction and 63 members will work with donors to support NGO-led financing mechanisms, collaborating amongst members and with national NGOs to ensure that funding is effectively disbursed to NGO actors.
- Financial
- Invest in Humanity
Core Commitment
- 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
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What led your organization to make the commitment?
InterAction and its members’ commitment to transparency and openness precedes the Grand Bargain. As of 2015, InterAction was publishing data to International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standards and this data can be viewed through the IATI Registry or through a visualization on NGO Aid Map, hosted and managed by InterAction. InterAction also adopted an open information policy in October 2014. Many of InterAction’s members also report to IATI.
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Achievements at a glance
InterAction regularly advocates to its membership to adopt IATI standards. InterAction continues to pursue research and opportunities to synthesize and share lessons learned on maximizing efficiencies and innovation in data collection and use. For example, in partnership with UNHCR’s Division for Program Management and Support (DPSM), InterAction developed a concept note and panel for the annual UNHCR-NGO Consultations on the use of social media to supplement data collection in urban environments, drawing on the expertise of Translators without Borders and InterNews. Some of InterAction’s members are currently conducting internal evaluations to assess their ability to begin reporting to IATI.
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How is your organization assessing progress
InterAction is exploring the best set of metrics and indicators to effectively measure progress.
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Next step to advance implementation in 2017
In 2017-2018, InterAction aims to further institutionalize partnerships at the field level through support visits, context-specific partnership analysis, and meaningful engagement of NGOs in relevant processes as a means of strengthening UNHCR-NGO collaboration to effectively respond to displacement. InterAction intends to follow the model of its recent team missions to Nigeria and Myanmar which examined the role local/national and international NGOs contribute to broader inter-agency humanitarian strategies, needs analysis and response prioritization.
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Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations
☑4A - Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems ☑ 5A - Invest in local capacities