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Welcome to the December edition of our Newsletter!The Global Humanitarian Overview earlier this month laid bare the scale of humanitarian needs for 2025, with an estimated 305 million requiring urgent assistance and protection, and the humanitarian community asking for US$47.4 billion to support 190 million lives across 72 countries. Amidst this grim forecast, ERC Tom Fletcher’s message of hope stood out—reminding us of the collective strength of the humanitarian community to make a difference, and of its commitment to an effective and efficient response. Through the Grand Bargain, donors and aid organisations are working together towards precisely that objective: to be as effective and efficient as possible. In this final newsletter of 2024, we bring you updates from the December Facilitation Group Meeting, where decisions were made for the coming year. You will also find the latest news from the Communities of Practice, updates from the Ambassadors, and a curated selection of resources from the Secretariat to guide your work. As we close the year, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all Signatories for your unwavering commitment and collaboration throughout 2024. We wish you a peaceful holiday season and a New Year filled with renewed purpose, connection and optimism.
Warm regards, Grand Bargain Secretariat Samar, Björn, Melissa and Gauri |
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A push to scale up Anticipatory Action: Grand Bargain Caucus closes with endorsed outcome document. |
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Launched last February by Ambassador Koehler, the 17 members of the Caucus on Anticipatory Action worked to secure political commitment for scaling up Anticipatory Action (AA). Under the leadership of the co-leads Germany, OCHA, WFP, and Save the Children supported by the Anticipation Hub, the members negotiated and officially endorsed the outcome document. The primary commitments include substantially increasing funding for AA, tracking funding, and improving coordination. This Caucus demonstrated once more the uniqueness of the Grand Bargain platform and its added value by bringing together different constituencies to jointly address a common priority and identify a common way forward. |
All Grand Bargain Signatories are now invited to also endorse the outcome document and to contact the Grand Bargain Secretariat if they wish to do so. A communication by Ambassador Koehler is forthcoming. The Caucus is now closed. The focus will now shift to implementing the commitments and monitoring progress. Conversations among those who endorsed the document will continue in different formats. The GB Secretariat will share information and invitations accordingly. |
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Setting the course for the next two years: Ambassadors and the Facilitation Group agree on the strategic focus on "accountability". |
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On 5 December 2024, the Grand Bargain Ambassadors, represented by Manuel Bessler, convened the first meeting of the new Facilitation Group (FG) cycle for 2024-2025, which included representatives from A4EP, DG ECHO, Germany, IFRC, InterAction, OCHA and UNICEF. Please find the summary note here. The meeting set the tone for the coming years with several decisions. For one, the Ambassadors and Facilitation Group agreed to focus on increasing accountability for the implementation of the Grand Bargain commitments in line with the Implementation Agenda. |
This also includes approaching the analysis of the self-reporting and the Annual Meeting through a stronger accountability lens.
The groups also set a timeline for the self-reporting cycle for 2025, initiated discussions on the 2026 comprehensive independent report, and decided to strengthen the voice of local and national actors in the Facilitation Group. This meeting laid the ground for the Ambassadors, FG and Secretariat’s work in 2025, with a clear focus on accountability and strengthening collaboration across constituencies. |
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Focus in 2025 and 2026: What is expected from Signatories? – A friendly reminder |
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The Grand Bargain Implementation Agenda 2026, agreed at the Annual Meeting 2024, identifies key levers for Signatories to make realistic, and yet ambitions changes in the next two years. There are 10 actions that donors would take in the next two years and 11 actions for aid organisations. Out of those, 7 actions are aimed at both constituencies. All of this is captured nicely in a one-pager. |
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Highlights from the Grand Bargain Ambassadors Ambassador Michael Koehler participated in two high-level events to discuss challenges in humanitarian action. At the Rome MED Dialogues (25-27 November), he chaired the panel “ Under Siege: Humanitarian Assistance in Jeopardy” stressing the pressing challenges in the humanitarian sector and exploring solutions on how to make it fit-for-purpose, and responsive to today’s needs. At Germany’s HDP Nexus CoP, co-hosted by the Centre for Humanitarian Action and ZIF in November, discussions explored the risks posed by shrinking budgets, aid prioritisation, and institutional setups to the progress of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, while also identifying opportunities to address these challenges. Ambassador Bessler delivered the opening remarks on the second day of the CHS Alliance General Assembly, titled “Stronger Together: From Individual to Collective Accountability,” on 6 December 2024. He emphasised the urgency of turning accountability to affected people into a reality, calling for greater collaboration between the Grand Bargain and CHS Alliance to make this vision actionable. He invited CHS members to lead the way, highlighting the CHS Alliance as a pivotal initiative for advancing accountability—a core priority of the Grand Bargain. In an episode of the podcast ' I Was There,' Ambassador Mahmood shared her experiences in the sector, and her role as leading the Secretariat of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. She highlighted how, for the first time, government representatives, aid organisations, and affected people were all brought together in the same room to engage in dialogue. |
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What happened lately in the Grand Bargain Communities of Practice? |
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- Humanitarian Innovative Financing: The first meeting of the Community of Practice on Innovative Financing was held on 11 December 2024. In this session ODI HPG presented their report “Innovative Financing in Fragile Settings: Taking Stock and Charting the Road Ahead”, including key findings and recommendations. You can find the meeting recording and related resources here.
- Risk Sharing: The December meeting was held on the 3rd, during which the 2025 workplan was discussed and endorsed. The CoP also confirmed the nomination of the two new co-chairs for the first half of 2025, Netherlands MFA and Catholic Relief Service. The RSCP is conducting a mapping of risk sharing work and has asked members to fill out the form at the link here.
- Gender: Discussions are ongoing to define the focus of the Community of Practice on Gender for 2025. More details will be shared in due course.
- Localisation and Participation: Preparations are underway to launch two Communities of Practice: one focused on localisation and the other on participation.
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NRC catalogue on Quality Funding practices: The presentation of the 2nd edition of the catalogue on quality funding by NRC will take place on 21 January 2025, 15:00-16:00 CET. The invitation will be sent in early January. This catalogue was first published in July 2020 and presented a range of funding mechanisms identified by donors and recipients as providing 'quality funding' for humanitarian responses. This updated version continues to address the original evidence gap and includes progress made on new initiatives and actions, such as locally-led and NGO-led initiatives. |
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Updates from Signatories and Partners |
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Guidance Note for Donors “Promoting inclusive and locally-led action through humanitarian pooled funds” A new resource by Denmark, the UK FCDO, and Switzerland's SDC outlines how pooled funds can empower local responders, advance inclusive action, and operationalise key Grand Bargain commitments like localisation and gender-responsive approaches. Read it here. |
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Study on the condition of frontline workers by LOCAL Frontline humanitarian workers play a key role in delivering aid in challenging crises but face challenges, including inadequate compensation, job insecurity, and security risks. This study examines their working conditions, access to resources, and support systems, offering actionable recommendations to improve their wellbeing, resilience, and effectiveness, while guiding funders, policymakers, and organisations’ toward more sustainable humanitarian responses. Read it here. |
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Dutch Relief Alliance Report “Grand Bargain 3.0: The Story of the Dutch Relief Alliance” showcases how locally-led responses are driving progress toward Grand Bargain commitments. Check it out here. |
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Sida's humanitarian brief on Anticipatory Action This brief focuses on Sida´s humanitarian approach to AA outlining how Sida will work with partners in support of AA which is principled, complementary, research based and locally led. Priority is given to operational anticipatory action through fuel funding in high severity contexts, closer to peak crisis impact. While taking a humanitarian departure in this brief, a nexus approach is outlined for collective efforts towards improved resilience among the most at-risk and crisis exposed populations around the world. Read more here. |
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‘Better Safe Than Sorry – Four Fundamentals of Scaling Up Anticipatory Action’ Oxfam published a briefing paper that calls for the scale-up of anticipatory action to take place in a principled and effective manner. The paper sets out the following four interconnected fundamentals for governments, communities, humanitarian, climate, peace and development practitioners to adopt: (1) feminist and intersectional; (2) decolonial and locally led; (3) holistic; and (4) collaborative anticipatory action. These fundamentals are required for a principled approach that addresses existing challenges, maximises the potential of anticipatory action and supports at-risk communities to uphold their rights. Click here to read the paper. |
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Podcast Alert In the Voices of Development series produced by the NGO Super-Novae, Ambassador Michael Koehler shares his insights on the evolution of humanitarian response, localisation, and the future of crisis management. Listen here! |
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