A Bridge Between Humanitarian Actors

Focus areas

Financing

ICVA advocates to ensure humanitarian financing meets the needs of populations affected by crises. We also strive to help NGOs, particularly national NGOs, understand, influence and have better access to humanitarian financing.

Humanitarian Financing Working Group...

ICVA’s Financing Working Group allows for ICVA members and other NGOs to discuss humanitarian financing developments & exchange information...
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Humanitarian Financing Working Group

ICVA’s Humanitarian Financing Working Group is a forum for ICVA members to discuss humanitarian financing developments, exchange information, understand NGOs views and concerns, and identify opportunities for collective advocacy.

Humanitarian Financing Working Group: Terms of Reference

Financing Working Group: Terms of Reference
23 July 2021
ICVA Financing Working Group: Terms of Reference
Subject/ Financing /
Screenshot 2021-07-23 at 14.18.41
Description

ICVA hosts a number of working groups related to its focus areas (forced migration, financing and coordination) as laid out in ICVA’s Strategy. This is the proposed terms for reference for the ICVA humanitarian financing working group.

Resources: Humanitarian Financing Working Group

Below are notes from the Humanitarian Financing Working Group meetings.

Notes are available for ICVA members only.

Resources: Humanitarian Financing Working Group

Meeting NotesMembers only
6 April 2023
2023 Notes: Humanitarian Financing Working Group
Subject/ humanitarian financing /
Meeting NotesMembers only
16 February 2023
ICVA Humanitarian Finance Working Group Retreat Outcomes on Pooled Funding and Data Transparency
Subject/ humanitarian financing /
Meeting NotesMembers only
17 November 2022
2022 Notes: Humanitarian Financing Working Group
Subject/ humanitarian financing /

Ms Manon Glaser
Policy Officer Humanitarian Financing
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Manon joined ICVA in 2022 as Humanitarian Finance Policy Officer, her work focuses on Quality Funding and Partnerships in addition to other humanitarian finance topics.

Over the past seven years, she has worked with several NGOs in the humanitarian sector in advocacy, policy analysis and research. Prior to joining ICVA, she worked with MSF International as well as country-level NGOs such as Lebanon Support and INSAN in Lebanon.

Manon holds a bachelor’s degree in War Studies and a master’s in International Peace and Security from King’s College London University.

Donor Conditions and Partnerships ...

Less paper more aid is an initiative carried out by NGOs to reduce the burden of donor conditions on aid agencies...
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Overview: Less Paper More Aid

The Less Paper More Aid initiative, carried out by NGOs, aims to reduce the burden of donor conditions on aid agencies and improve the efficiency of humanitarian action. The initiative seeks to highlight the negative implications of excessive donor requirements and provide concrete recommendations to donors on how they can harmonize and simplify reporting procedures.

Major donors have expressed a desire for greater efficiency and are set to discuss a Grand Bargain to embrace best practices and reduce inefficiencies in humanitarian action. The initiative’s approach involves gathering evidence of the impact of donor reporting in the field, including time and cost implications, and identifying key challenges and potential solutions for consideration by donors and NGOs alike.

More information can be found on the Less Paper More Aid Website.

External Link
23 June 2016
Less Paper More Aid
Subject/ Financing /
Screenshot 2021-07-23 at 14.41.41

Grand Bargain...

The Grand Bargain aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of financing humanitarian action...
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Overview: Grand Bargain

The Grand Bargain, launched during the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, is a unique agreement between some of the largest donors and humanitarian organisations who have committed to get more means into the hands of people in need and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the humanitarian action.

As of February 2021, the signatories of the Grand Bargain endorsed a framework on the future of the Grand Bargain – known as the Grand Bargain 2.0. The Grand Bargain 2.0 reframes the overall objective to achieving “Better humanitarian outcomes for affected populations through enhanced efficiency, effectiveness, and greater accountability” .

In September 2021, ICVA took over the NGO seat in the Grand Bargain Facilitation Group, in addition to a new specific local representation seat taken by NEAR. In June 2023, ICVA released a statement supporting the Grand Bargain’s newly endorsed framework through 2026. The framework provides a solid foundation to work collectively towards a more efficient and effective use of resources to reduce the needs and to deliver the best outcomes for affected populations.

Resources: Grand Bargain

To find out more about the Grand Bargain have a look at the following resources.

PresentationMembers only
8 November 2023
Grand Bargain Beyond 2023 Presentation
Subject/ Grand Bargain /
Presentation
Description

On 18 October, ICVA hosted a webinar for its members and NGO Fora in East and Southern Africa on the future of the Grand Bargain beyond 2023. The session also facilitated a discussion among participants to gather their reactions and identify areas of alignment between country-level priorities for humanitarian finance and Grand Bargain implementation, with a specific focus on local actors.

 

Click on the links below to access the webinar presentation.

Statement
21 June 2023
The Future of the Grand Bargain - ICVA Statement for the 2023 Grand Bargain Annual Meeting
Subject/ Grand Bargain / humanitarian financing /
Grand Bargain (5)
Description

ICVA has released a statement supporting the Grand Bargain’s newly endorsed framework through 2026. The framework provides a solid foundation for effective resource allocation and achieving the best outcomes for populations affected by crisis. ICVA also believes that the Grand Bargain, with its broad membership of donors, UN agencies, NGOs, and Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, is a key platform for pursuing joint efforts in addressing the commitments under the framework. The simplified structure of the new Grand Bargain framework encourages individual signatories to maintain progress towards implementation without further burden. ICVA has identified localisation, partnership, and humanitarian financing as its priorities in alignment with the two agreed focus areas of the Grand Bargain. ICVA believes that successful implementation of the Grand Bargain will result in tangible change for frontline responders and those affected by crisis.

Read the statement in the below link.

 

Briefing Paper
8 April 2022
The Grand Bargain 2.0 Explained - An ICVA Briefing Paper (2022)
Subject/ Grand Bargain / humanitarian financing /
The Grand Bargain Explained - An ICVA Briefing Paper
Description

Following the ‘Grand Bargain explained’ paper published in March 2017, ICVA has drafted the ‘Grand Bargain 2.0 explained’ briefing paper to support humanitarian actors, particularly NGOs, to better understand and engage in this new phase of the Grand Bargain 2.0 from 2021 – 2023.

Special thanks to The Amity Foundation for their diligent efforts in translating this essential document into Chinese.

ICVA Paper
30 April 2017
The Grand Bargain explained: An ICVA briefing paper (March 2017)
Subject/ humanitarian financing / Grand Bargain / Learning /
Topic six briefing paper
Description

Click on this briefing paper to access all information – and more – shared throughout this topic.

ICVA
30 April 2017
Topic Six: The Grand Bargain: More Information
Subject/ Financing / humanitarian financing / Grand Bargain / Learning /
Topic six more information
Description

Check out more information discussed throughout this topic.

Survey Findings
6 December 2022
Future of the Grand Bargain - Findings of the survey - October 2022
Subject/ Grand Bargain /
Future of Grand Bargain
Description

The purpose of the survey was to measure the interest of the Signatories to continue their engagement and invest their internal resources in case of the continuation of the process. This exercise also provided quantitative data on the key elements of the Grand Bargain structure that bring most added value in achieving efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian aid.

PresentationMembers only
6 December 2022
The Future of the Grand Bargain - NGO Signatory Consultation
Subject/ Grand Bargain /
ICVA 2023 Annual Conference Session 1: The Future of the Grand Bargain

Resources

Report
17 November 2021
The Grand Bargain at five years: an independent review
Subject/ Financing / Grand Bargain /
Reports
9 July 2018
Grand Bargain Workshop Report - Somalia 2018
Subject/ Grand Bargain / Financing /
Grand Bargain Workshop Report-Somalia 2018
Grand Bargain “8+3” Template
27 March 2017
Resources: Grand Bargain “8+3” Template
Subject/ Grand Bargain / Financing /

IASC Humanitarian Financing...

RG5 focuses on two strategic priorities: deepening and widening the resource base to reduce the humanitarian funding gap...
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Overview: IASC Results Group 5: Humanitarian Financing

ICVA is currently co-chair of the IASC results group 5 on humanitarian financing.

This group is focused on two strategic priorities:

  • deepening and widening the resource base to reduce the humanitarian funding gap;
  • and supporting the implementation of more flexible and simplified funding models, including multiyear funding, reduced earmarking, and harmonised UN systems.

More information about the Results Group 5 can be found on the IASC website

Resources

Key messages
18 September 2019
Key messages on Quality Funding
Subject/ Financing /
RG5andRG6qualityfundingmsg
Description

IASC Results group 5 on humanitarian financing and results group 6 on Humanitarian, development and nexus, joint key messages on quality funding.

Report
3 July 2019
Financing the nexus
Subject/ Financing /
financingNexusReport
Description

This study contributes to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) humanitarian financing priorities of improving “aid effectiveness through more effective humanitarian- development funding flows and mechanisms”. It has two goals: to document the extent to which predictable, multi-year flexible financing is available at the programme level; and to understand the extent to which funding matches Collective Outcomes or the financial requirements of interoperable humanitarian and development plans.

Risk Management...

The humanitarian imperative requires humanitarian organisations to accept a culture of risk in order to operate effectively in such environments....
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Overview Risk Management

Humanitarians inherently work in places of high fragility, conflict, or instability. These characteristics both define where humanitarian action is needed and impact the ability of humanitarian actors to accomplish their mission of reducing human suffering.

The humanitarian imperative requires humanitarian organizations to accept a culture of risk in order to operate effectively in such environments. While a high level of risk acceptance is embedded in the culture of humanitarian work, corresponding use of risk management tools is not yet embedded in the culture of many humanitarian NGOs. It is critical for NGOs to understand how to better identify and manage risk to improve their ability to respond effectively in humanitarian crises.

To work toward this objective, ICVA’s e-learning stream on  “Risk” (2019-2021) facilitates dialogue among humanitarian stakeholders on how to improve application of risk management approaches and tools. The series includes a number of briefing papers and webinars focused on a range of topics: risk and organisational culture, risk appetite and tolerance, security risk management, and staff well-being, among others.

The theme of ICVA’s Annual Conference 2020 was “Protecting principled humanitarian action: An honest conversion on risk” . Check out the recording and conference report.

Resources

ICVA Paper
24 March 2020
ICVA Briefing Paper: Risk and Humanitarian Culture
Subject/ Financing / Cross-cutting issues / Learning / Risk /
2021-08-24_15-26-36
Description

This briefing paper examines the current risk landscape in humanitarian aid.

ICVA briefing paper
1 May 2020
ICVA briefing paper: Security Risk Management
Subject/ ICVA / Risk /
Security_Risk_Management_May2020.pdf_0
Description

Security Risk Management

Assessing Decision-Making Processes in Local and International Humanitarian NGOs

Risk Management in Practice

E-Learning Risk Management in Practice
3 June 2020
Risk Management in Practice
Subject/ Financing / Learning /
2021-09-09_15-04-58
Description

Risk awareness is something that is embedded in the culture of humanitarian work but risk management is not. Therefore, it is critical for NGOs to understand how to identify and manage risk. This learning stream provides a platform for the NGO community to share their current practice, discuss, and learn from one another in order to better understand how to manage risks when working in the humanitarian sector and apply it in their day-to-day work.

This series includes webinars on the following topics:

  • Risky Business: Reframing the fundamentals of risk management for humanitarians
  • Security Risk Management and Duty of Care during COVID-19
  • The Impact of Bank De-risking on Humanitarian Action
  • Balancing Risk Appetite and Risk Tolerance in Humanitarian Operations
  • Culture matters: Risks and opportunities related to leaderships, staff well-being and living our values
  • Risk Management & Funding Partnerships
Risk Management and Funding Partnerships

ICVA has partnered with DisasterReady to make free online learning resources available for humanitarian aid and development professionals to better understand how to apply risk management best practices in their daily work. Partnerships are a key component for improving the efficiency and impact of humanitarian action. Many international aid organizations rely on national partners and actors to implement programs and deliver assistance to people and communities affected by crisis, especially in areas with limited humanitarian access.

What you will learn:

1. Risk Management in Practice Course

2. Risk Management and Funding Partnerships Course

Click on the below link to access the courses.

Free Courses - Risk Management and Funding Partnerships

Mobile Guides
14 April 2022
Free Courses - Risk Management and Funding Partnerships
Subject/ Risk / humanitarian financing /
Description

The International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) has partnered with DisasterReady to make free online learning resources available for humanitarian aid and development professionals to better understand how to apply risk management best practices in their daily work.  Partnerships are a key component for improving the efficiency and impact of humanitarian action.  Many international aid organizations rely on national partners and actors to implement programs and deliver assistance to people and communities affected by crisis, especially in areas with limited humanitarian access.  Risk management:

  • Is an important process for organizations who receive funding to work with partners and also for donors, such as the United Nations and governments who fund humanitarian operations.
  • Enables organizations to identify and mitigate risks related to funding partnerships, leading to better outcomes for affected populations and improved relationships with donors.
  • Enables organizations who receive funding to select the right partners to work with and determine how best to engage them in their programs.

What you will learn:

1. Risk Management in Practice Course

In this 10-minute course, you will learn how to apply risk management best practices in humanitarian response. This resource provides guidance on understanding risks, defining your organization’s risk universe, key steps in the risk management process, and embedding risk management in your organization.

2. Risk Management and Funding Partnerships Course

In this 10-minute course, you will learn best practices for managing operational challenges and risks affecting funding partnerships in the humanitarian sector. This resource provides guidance for applying risk management practices to select and engage with partner organizations in programs that are funded by external donors.​

Both courses come with a downloadable PDF for offline use and works great on a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

How to register

To access this free, online training resource go to DisasterReady.org to create your free account, log in, and search for “Risk Management in Practice” and “Risk Management and Funding Partnerships.”

Humanitarian Pooled Funds...

ICVA aims to improve NGO access to and use of pooled funds...
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Overview: Humanitarian Pooled Funds

The CBPF-NGO Dialogue Platform has been an important forum to improve NGO engagement with OCHA on Pooled Funds.

Country Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) are a valuable mechanism used by donors to pool their contributions to support country specific humanitarian efforts. These funds can be allocated directly to local NGOs, to support donor’s localization objectives. ICVA aims to develop a more systematic approach to identify how to improve participation of national NGO partners, and how to improve NGO access to and use of pooled funds.

Resources: Humanitarian Pooled Funds

Expression of Interest
20 June 2023
Call for Expression of Interest - Membership of the PAG and NGO co-chair of the CBPF-NGO Dialogue Platform
Subject/ country based pooled funds / humanitarian financing /
Expression Of Interest
Description

OCHA and Save the Children, co-chairs of the CBPF-NGO Dialogue Platform, are now accepting expressions of interest for the new round of members of the Platform Advisory Group (PAG) and a new NGO co-chair of the CBPF-NGO Dialogue Platform.

Find more information in the below link.

TOR
14 June 2023
Terms of Reference - Platform Advisory Group
Subject/ country based pooled funds / humanitarian financing /
TORs
Description

The Platform Advisory Group (PAG) provides advice for OCHA and the NGO co-chair of the OCHA CBPF-NGO Dialogue Platform, with a primary goal of fostering an open and all-encompassing platform for regular dialogue between OCHA and NGOs. This dialogue aims to inform strategic direction and facilitate efficient management of CBPFs. PAG members also assume the role of designated NGO representatives in the Pooled Fund Working Group (PFWG), which consists of representatives of donors and UN agencies, acting as the principal advisory body for OCHA’s management and leadership of Country-based Pooled Funds.

TOR
14 June 2023
Terms of Reference - OCHA Country-based Pooled Fund (CBPF)-NGO Dialogue Platform
Subject/ country based pooled funds / humanitarian financing /
TORs
Description

The OCHA Country-based Pooled Fund (CBPF)-NGO Dialogue Platform, or simply the Platform, aims to foster an open and inclusive forum for regular communication between OCHA and the NGO community in order to inform the strategic direction and management of CBPFs. The creation of the Platform was prompted by the desire of NGO partners to establish a robust partnership with OCHA regarding CBPFs, and to enhance the communication between OCHA and NGOs at the country level.

Report
6 June 2023
Pooled Funding at a Crossroads - A Comprehensive Review and Analysis
Subject/ humanitarian financing / country based pooled funds /
Pooled Funding at a Crossroads
Description

Pooled funding has become increasingly popular as an efficient solution to enhance effectiveness of humanitarian action. The Covid-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan organized through IASC is an example of pooled funding being used to channel funds faster to frontline humanitarian responders. Contributions to the OCHA-managed pooled funds have seen a steady growth since 2011-2012, drawing increased attention and examination into their impact and potential. A review of existing literature explores the strengths and weaknesses of pooled funds in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, innovation, learning, knowledge sharing, and achieving broader policy objectives.

The review highlights potential gaps in the literature that could be explored by ICVA and its membership while also identifying future trends relevant for ICVA’s research, advocacy, and policy agendas.

Click on the below link to read the review.

ReportMembers only
6 April 2023
Report - Lessons Learned Exercise from Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa
Subject/ humanitarian financing / country based pooled funds /
Report
Description

This report presents the key findings and recommendations from a lessons learned exercise after the first year of the operation of the RHFWCA in Niger and Burkina Faso. Conducted from September 15th to November 15th, the exercise included consultations with key stakeholders including Humanitarian Coordinators (HCs), donors, Advisory Boards (ABs), inter-cluster coordination groups (ICCGs), and registered partners/sub-partners, as well as a review of data collected from the Grant Management System (GMS). The exercise was facilitated by a joint team from OCHA’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROWCA) and the Pooled Fund Management Branch (PFMB) at headquarters (HQ).

About
30 November 2020
About Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs)
Subject/ Financing / country based pooled funds /
About CBPFS
Description

CBPFs are established by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) when a new emergency occurs or when an existing humanitarian situation deteriorates.

Report
1 November 2019
Country-Based Pooled Funds The NGO perspective
Subject/ Financing / country based pooled funds /
CHPF NGo perspective
Description

The study also builds on NRC’s 2017 report, Understanding Humanitarian Funds. It endeavours to determine whether NGOs still feel CBPFs are fit for purpose, particularly in terms of Grand Bargain commitments to reduce the earmarking of donor contributions, increase multi-year disbursements and improve local and national humanitarians’ access to funding. It also discusses ways to reduce the administrative burdens on recipient organisations, and governance and decision-making issues.

Report
30 June 2017
Country-Based Pooled Funds and the Grand Bargain
Subject/ Financing / Grand Bargain / country based pooled funds /
CBPFsandGrandbargain
Description

Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs) play a key role in delivering the “Grand Bargain” (GB), a set of reforms to improve the humanitarian financing system which was agreed by aid organizations and donors during the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit.

CBPF NGO Dialogue Platform
1 August 2015
CBPF NGO Dialogue Platform: Why NGOs should engage
Subject/ Financing /
Report
30 June 2015
NGO challenges to accessing country based pooled funds
Subject/ Financing / country based pooled funds /
CBFPchallenge2015
Description

The work plan of the IASC Humanitarian Financing Task Team (HFTT) focuses on improving the availability of adequate and accessible funding for operational aid agencies. To this end, in 2014 OCHA and ICVA led a mapping of NGO challenges to accessing country-based pooled funds (CBPFs), which contributed to the development of new Global Guidelines for CBPFs issued by OCHA in February 2015 following an extensive consultation process.

Financing and E-learning...

Find more resources and learning materials related to ICVA Financing...
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E-learning series

E-Learning Risk Management in Practice
3 June 2020
Risk Management in Practice
Subject/ Financing / Learning /
2021-09-09_15-04-58
Description

Risk awareness is something that is embedded in the culture of humanitarian work but risk management is not. Therefore, it is critical for NGOs to understand how to identify and manage risk. This learning stream provides a platform for the NGO community to share their current practice, discuss, and learn from one another in order to better understand how to manage risks when working in the humanitarian sector and apply it in their day-to-day work.

This series includes webinars on the following topics:

  • Risky Business: Reframing the fundamentals of risk management for humanitarians
  • Security Risk Management and Duty of Care during COVID-19
  • The Impact of Bank De-risking on Humanitarian Action
  • Balancing Risk Appetite and Risk Tolerance in Humanitarian Operations
  • Culture matters: Risks and opportunities related to leaderships, staff well-being and living our values
  • Risk Management & Funding Partnerships
E-learning series

Demystifying Humanitarian Financing
16 September 2016
Demystifying Humanitarian Financing
Subject/ Financing / humanitarian financing / Learning /
dimistyfying-humanitarian-financing-04
Description

The 2016 ICVA learning stream on demystifying humanitarian financing is a series of webinars, videos and briefing papers to help NGOs better understand the various humanitarian financing mechanisms, influence policy related to humanitarian financing, and access funding.

Topics included in the webinar series include:

  • The Humanitarian Financing Landscape – Realities and emerging trends for NGOs
  • UN humanitarian funding – demystifying NGO access
  • Pooled funding – how can NGOs engage?
  • Bilateral funding – trends, challenges and opportunities for NGOs
  • Private funding – a growing source for NGOs?
  • The Grand Bargain and its impact on NGOs