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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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1C
Remain engaged and invest in stability

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to sustain political leadership and engagement through all stages of a crisis to prevent the emergence or relapse into conflict.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
  • Commit to address root causes of conflict and work to reduce fragility by investing in the development of inclusive, peaceful societies.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    A number of the commitments that Habitat for Humanity signed are ones that aren’t 100% aligned with our field work, which is less conflict in nature, and yet are issues we support due to their importance to the broader humanitarian community. An example of that is our commitment to "political leadership and engagement through all stages of a crisis to prevent the emergence or relapse into conflict." We aim to do that through advocacy work carried out mostly by InterAction, which we support through our active engagement as a member.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Sign-on to InterAction letters which address "political leadership and engagement through all stages of a crisis to prevent the emergence or relapse into conflict."

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

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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    A number of the commitments that Habitat for Humanity signed are ones that aren’t 100% aligned with our field work, which is less conflict in nature, and yet are issues we support due to their importance to the broader humanitarian community. An example of that is our commitment to "respect and protect medical personnel, transport and facilities, as well as humanitarian relief personnel and assets against attack, threats or other violent acts." We aim to do that through advocacy work carried out mostly by InterAction, which we support through our active engagement as a member.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Sign-on to InterAction letters which address "respect and protect medical personnel, transport and facilities, as well as humanitarian relief personnel and assets against attack, threats or other violent acts."

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Humanitarian principles

2D
Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Habitat for Humanity 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 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity incorporated the IASC statement on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse into its Ethics Covenant a few years ago. All staff must sign the Covenant. Additionally Habitat for Humanity recently incorporated the IASC statement into its new Volunteer Code of Conduct. Both require the organization to remain vigilant and to engage in continual improvement.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Habitat for Humanity recently incorporated the IASC statement into its new Volunteer Code of Conduct.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Habitat for Humanity will be training staff and volunteers on the terms of the new Volunteer Code of Conduct over the next several months.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Accountability to affected people ☑ Humanitarian principles

2E
Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity is committed to promoting enhanced respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable. Recent tragedies in violation of such laws led Habitat to feel the need to publicly reaffirm said commitment.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Habitat for Humanity signed two important InterAction letters which called for increased respect for humanitarian law among other things. One letter went to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. A second letter went to the two Co-Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Sign on to InterAction letters which address "increased respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law."

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Humanitarian principles

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑2C - Speak out on violations

3A
Reduce and address displacement

Core Commitment

  • 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity's Pathways to Permanence methodology addresses "immediate humanitarian needs" but also "reduces vulnerability and improves the resilience, self-reliance and protection of refugees and IDPs." Additionally, the Pathways to Permanence methodology promotes "safe, dignified and durable solutions for internally displaced persons and refugees." Because of these elements of Habitat's Pathways to Permanence methodology, the organization felt it particularly important to make this public commitment.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Habitat for Humanity initiated a new shelter and settlements upgrading project in Beirut, Lebanon, in partnership with CARE Lebanon this past quarter. The project is targeting refugees as well as the host community outside of camps.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    The project has a proper monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning element.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Habitat for Humanity is actively seeking additional funding to replicate the current project in both Lebanon and Jordan.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Accountability to affected people ☑ IDPs ☑ People-centred approach ☑ Refugees

3D
Empower and protect women and girls

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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity wishes to be more intentional about programming in such a way as to prioritize the leadership skills of women within Habitat for Humanity and the communities we serve.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Together with the IFRC Habitat for Humanity rolled out PASSA* Youth during the past quarter. Among other groups, PASSA Youth targets the engagement of girls and young women in order to maximize their many talents and innate leadership skills.

    *PASSA stands for Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    PASSA Youth will be cascaded throughout Habitat for Humanity vis-à-vis Training of Trainer workshops.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Accountability to affected people ☑ Gender

  • 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

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

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Habitat for Humanity commits to adopt the Core Humanitarian Standard 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

  • Habitat for Humanity 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

  • Habitat for Humanity 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

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 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity is a network of affiliated, indigenous, national organizations. Habitat International works to increase the capacity of those organizations and is committed to strengthening the accountability of their programs.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Habitat for Humanity is developing clearer guidance for its network of affiliated national organizations on how to implement proper community-based compliant mechanisms. The guidance will allow for the systematic collection of feedback and complaints as well as the proper management of the same in order to ensure they are properly analyzed to inform current and future programming.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Habitat for Humanity's guidance on community-based complaint mechanisms will become official procedure agency-wide. Additionally, Habitat for Humanity International will support several pilot countries during 2017 as they set up such mechanisms. Following the pilots the guidance will be reviewed, modified, and then rolled out across the agency.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Accountability to affected people

4B
Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity is seeking to develop climate change adaptation programming in the most at-risk communities in the countries where we work, identifying them through rigorous use of technology.

  • Achievements at a glance

    In October 2016 Habitat for Humanity piloted the use of a private sector partner's risk identification / risk analysis tech capacity to facilitate risk mapping and risk analysis in Monrovia, Liberia.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Habitat for Humanity is in negotiations with their private sector partner to replicate the work undertaken in the Liberian pilot project in other communities in other countries.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disaster Risk Reduction ☑ Innovation ☑ Private sector

4C
Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

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?

    Habitat for Humanity's International Centre for Disaster Resilience is predicated on our methodology the Pathways to Permanence, which affirms 1) building local capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters, and 2) transcending the artificial divide between relief and development. All Technical Guides and their related training materials affirm the organization's preference for permanent solutions or solutions which incrementally deliver towards a permanent solution.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Two regional Training of Trainers were held for 24 people (Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East and Africa). Four national-level trainings were held for over 100 people (Guatemala; Romania; Ethiopia; Indonesia).

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑People-centred approach

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

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

5A
Invest in local capacities

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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity's International Centre for Disaster Resilience is a capacity building initiative focused at increasing that capacity of our national, regional and global staff and volunteers to prepare for and respond to disasters.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Two regional Training of Trainers were held for 24 people (Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East and Africa). Four national-level trainings were held for over 100 people (Guatemala; Romania; Ethiopia; Indonesia).

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Hold 3 regional-level trainings and 6 national-level trainings.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑People-centred approach

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

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

5B
Invest according to risk

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to invest in risk management, preparedness and crisis prevention capacity to build the resilience of vulnerable and affected people.
  • Invest in Humanity

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity's International Centre for Disaster Resilience is predicated on our methodology the "Pathways to Permanence," which is "the process of reducing vulnerability as well as supporting disaster-affected families and communities using holistic program interventions that enable incremental progress towards the achievement of permanent, durable shelter and settlements." A key part of this approach to our work at the household and community level is about reducing vulnerability before a disaster strikes. Because Habitat for Humanity advocates so strongly for risk management, preparedness and crisis prevention capacity building, we felt it particularly important to speak out in favor of "investing in humanity".

  • Achievements at a glance

    Habitat for Humanity has been an early adopter of the IFRC's PASSA methodology (Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness) and uses it at the community level to identify risks, assets and develop a community-owned action plan for reducing vulnerability. During the last quarter, Habitat for Humanity and the IFRC jointly developed PASSA for Youth. By making this participatory, inclusive methodology accessible to youth ages 13-17, Habitat for Humanity and the IFRC are helping to develop tomorrow's leaders in the area of risk identification and mitigation.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Habitat for Humanity and the IFRC are jointing promoting PASSA for Youth and have an ambitious plan to cascade the methodology around the world in the coming five years. 2017 will be a crucial year as the two agencies seek funding for the initial pilot projects and implementation.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disaster Risk Reduction ☑ People-centred approach

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3F - Enable adolescents and young people to be agents of positive transformation ☑ 4B - Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

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

Core Commitment

  • 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    A number of the commitments Habitat for Humanity pledged are ones that are not 100% aligned with our field work, which is less conflict in nature, and yet are issues we support due to their importance to the broader humanitarian community. An example of that is our commitment to the promotion of increased "predictable, multi-year, unearmarked, collaborative and flexible humanitarian funding." We aim to deliver on this commitment through advocacy work carried out mostly by InterAction, which we support through our active engagement as a member

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Sign-on to InterAction letters which address "predictable, multi-year, unearmarked, collaborative and flexible humanitarian funding."

5E
Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Habitat for Humanity commits to adopt the Core Humanitarian Standard 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 Commitment

  • 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

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    Habitat for Humanity is a Founding Member of the CHS Alliance. The CHS Alliance aims to improve "the effectiveness and impact of assistance to crisis-affected and vulnerable people." As a Founding Member of the CHS Alliance, Habitat for Humanity demonstrates its full support of the Core Humanitarian Standard and the increased importance being placed on "quality, accountability and people management" within the humanitarian and development communities.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Habitat for Humanity's Disaster Risk Reduction and Response team has invested countless hours over the past year developing agency-wide humanitarian Standard Operating Procedures and Technical Guides. Those documents and tools reflect the agency's commitment to living into the 9 commitments of the Core Humanitarian Standard.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    Habitat for Humanity's new humanitarian Standard Operating Procedures and Technical Guides are being tested as they come online. Based on real-time feedback and evaluations, they are being modified and improved.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    2017 represents the third and last year of a 3-year capacity building grant which has allowed for the development of Habitat for Humanity's new humanitarian Standard Operating Procedures and Technical Guides. The agency will again this year conduct three regional-level trainings as well as at least six country-level training using the same. All of those documents, tools and training materials will be refined and improved in real time.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑People-centred approach

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

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