Grand Bargain Communities of Practice
In the Grand Bargain 3.0 framework, there is a recognised need for informal, working-level spaces to facilitate technical exchanges across different focus areas. These spaces would provide technical input for clear problem statements, ensure alignment with operational work, and enable interaction with caucuses to follow up on outcomes, ensure accountability, and share best practices. To meet these needs, a flexible and informal Community of Practice can be established.
Active Communities of Practice
Risk-Sharing
Following the 2021 Grand Bargain Annual Meeting, the Netherlands, ICRC, and InterAction launched a Risk Sharing Platform to improve understanding of risk-sharing practices and explore solutions. This led to a case study report in 2022 and the development of a Risk Sharing Framework in 2023. The framework was presented at the 2023 Grand Bargain Annual Meeting, with several partners agreeing to pilot risk-sharing approaches. To continue this work, InterAction, ICRC, and the Netherlands launched a Risk Sharing Community of Practice (RSCP), which convenes donors, NGOs, and local actors to facilitate peer learning, provide updates, and share lessons. For more information, please contact cknudsen@interaction.org (copying edunn@interaction.org).
Governance, Structure, and Terms of Reference
Relevant documents:
Gender
The Friends of Gender Group, relaunched as the Grand Bargain Community of Practice on Gender. The group, which includes members of all constituencies, donors, UN agencies, representatives of INGOs and national and local CSOs, especially women-led organisations, will continue to work together to ensure that the Grand Bargain contributes to achieving gender equality and the empowerment and protection of women, girls and gender-diverse people experiencing humanitarian crisis, through systematically inclusive humanitarian action.
In June 2023, representatives of local women’s rights organisations were appointed as co-Chairs of the group, ensuring that work is led by frontline, local women leaders, championing Grand Bargain commitments to localisation and meaningful participation in practice. Since then, the group has taken time to re-organise but is now ready to accelerate its work. Amongst other achievements, the group’s collective contributions to the revision of the annual self-reporting indicators, has helped to secure the inclusion of funding to WLOs as a mandatory (as opposed to voluntary up to now) data point in the new Grand Bargain annual self-reporting format, significantly strengthening accountability on gender. The COP welcomes new members to the Grand Bargain Community of Practice on Gender. Please contact the Co-Chairs by emailing contact@feministhumanitariannetwork.org
Humanitarian Innovative Financing
Following the Annual Meeting 2024, it was agreed to establish a Community of Practice on Humanitarian Financing to connect donors and implementers, including those with advanced expertise in innovative financing. This CoP will serve as a platform for exchanging information, comparing lessons learned, sharing best practices, creating synergies, and exploring opportunities related to Humanitarian Innovative Financing (HIF). Additionally, it will discuss actionable proposals based on the recommendations of the ODI report.
Relaevant documents:
- Humanitarian Innovative Financing in Fragile Settings: Taking Stock and Charting the Road Ahead - ODI Policy Brief | IASC
- IMD-HumanitarianImpactFinance-205x275mm-FINAL-print_24thsept.pdf
- DG ECHO Pilot Initiative on Blended Finance for Humanitarian Aid: Lessons Learned
How to establish a Community of Practice?
Refer to the Guidance on Grand Bargain structures or contact the Grand Bargain Secretariat for further information, gbsecretariat@un.org