The Grand Bargain Bimonthly updates - September 2021

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The Grand Bargain 2.0 Bimonthly Updates

Latest news from the Grand Bargain 2.0 | September 2021

Dear Grand Bargain Signatories,

We’re pleased to share with you a brief update for the month of September, which includes important updates, for example on establishing the Grand Bargain 2.0 caucuses, and the change in the Facilitation Group members at the end of this month. 

As always, we welcome updates from you on how you have been implementing the Grand Bargain commitments in practice, and look forward to publishing them on the website and sharing them with the Signatories. 

We wish you pleasant reading,

The Grand Bargain Secretariat 

Grand Bargain 2.0 Caucuses

Following the Grand Bargain Signatories' endorsement of a new approach in the Grand Bargain 2.0 – political caucuses, which will focus on specific strategic issues in an ad hoc manner, with clear objectives and a limited timeframe, the basic Criteria for establishing the Grand Bargain 2.0 caucuses was published. As outlined in the letter by the Eminent Person Jan Egeland in July 2021, the criteria was further refined by the Facilitation Group and the Eminent Person office, based on the endorsed annex of the Grand Bargain 2.0 Framework and reflecting the various necessary elements that the Signatories highlighted at the Annual Meeting. Caucuses do not replace workstreams, but are rather an additional tool for resolving very specific and elevated political issues that cannot be addressed through technical means.

Click here to read the criteria and FAQ

Update from the Facilitation Group

Upcoming:
The current Facilitation Group will hand over its tenure to the incoming members end of September 2021. The new Facilitation Group members are ECHO and OCHA who are both staying on in 2021/2022, UNHCR, ICRC, ICVA, and NEAR Network while the second donor member is yet to be determined. At the handover meeting, the outgoing and incoming members will discuss the lessons learnt and priorities moving forward. ECHO will be the first chair in October and November 2021. The main focus of the first few months of the new tenure will be launching the self-reporting process and commissioning the Annual Independent Report, and supporting the prioritised strategic caucuses.  
 
Recap:
The Facilitation Group members continued the follow up from the Grand Bargain Annual Meeting 2021, including finalising the criteria for establishing Grand Bargain 2.0 caucuses and the related Frequently Asked Questions. The Facilitation Group also asked the workstream Co-convenors to update their continuation/exit strategies from March 2021 if relevant, and to identify the remaining political challenges and technical support if needed, and existing fora where such work could be transferred to. The Co-convenors submitted the requested information at the end of August 2021. Following an analysis conducted by the Secretariat, the outgoing and incoming Facilitation Group members will discuss the next steps in relation to the workstreams at the handover meeting. Finally, some of the Facilitation Group representatives met together with the Friends of Gender Group at Sherpa level to discuss how to formalise the interface between the two groups moving forward. 

Latest from the workstreams

Workstream 3 (Increase the use and coordination of cash-based programming)

On on 5 October 2021 at 14.00 CET, the cash workstream is organising the event "Five years of the cash workstream; successes and ways forward" to reflect on the successes of the workstream in supporting the growth and expansion of humanitarian cash over the years. There will also be presentations from workstreams on their key successes, how they plan to continue their work going forward, and ways in which colleagues can continue to be involved. The event will be open to all – not just the Grand Bargain Signatories. >> Click here for more details

Latest from the Signatories

WHO Strategy for implementing localization at the field level

The Interagency Policy for Emergencies (IPE) unit at WHO is currently working on the WHO Strategy for implementing Localization at the field level to assist WHO country offices (WCOs) and regional offices in identifying, implementing and sustaining partnerships with local health actors (national NGOs, community-based organizations, local authorities, etc.). >> Click here for more information