January 2025 Grand Bargain Newsletter

Published Date

 

Welcome to the January edition of our Newsletter!

As the new year begins amidst serious turbulence in the sector, we are convinced that the Grand Bargain commitments and its platform are more relevant than ever to navigate current challenges.
 
The humanitarian aid system is facing immense challenges, but Grand Bargain Signatories continue to demonstrate that change is possible - and we must persist in these efforts. Moving ahead, we are looking at stronger partnership and proactive action, to accelerate progress and strengthen accountability for the implementation of the commitments. A friendly reminder in this regard: it is now crunch-time to push forward with the Implementation Agenda 2026.
 
And by the way: all of the above will be part of the conversation between the Sherpas of all Signatories and the Grand Bargain Ambassadors on 12 February.
 
In this edition, we bring you key developments from within and outside the Grand Bargain, as well as upcoming events, important updates from the Ambassadors, Signatories, and the Secretariat; and we share relevant resources that will support our collective journey towards transformative action.

Warm regards,
Grand Bargain Secretariat
Samar, Björn, Melissa and Gauri

 
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Have you missed it? New Year Message from Ambassadors to Signatories

As we step into 2025, the Grand Bargain Ambassadors have shared an important message with Signatories. They noted that with new challenges on the horizon, the next 24 months would be crucial for Signatories to deliver better outcomes for those we aim to serve, and to increase accountability and learning around the implementation of the commitments in line with the Implementation Agenda under the Grand Bargain 3.0 framework.


🔗 Read the full message here.

Our engagement in January

The Grand Bargain Ambassadors and the Grand Bargain Secretariat (GBS) met with several Signatories to follow up on key issues identified by the Principals’ during the Annual Meeting, including on prioritisation/"boundary-setting", conditionalities, and the humanitarian narrative. These conversations feed into the preparation of the upcoming Grand Bargain discussions on flexible funding and the nexus. Moreover, the Grand Bargain Secretariat engaged with the Communities of Practice (CoP) on localisation and on gender. Ambassador Koehler also met with the OECD/DAC team to discuss OECD’s work on fragility and explored opportunities for potential collaboration, building on the DAC-UN dialogue.
 

Call to all Signatories to endorse the outcome of the Anticipatory Action Caucus

Increasing funding, strengthening coordination, and better tracking of Anticipatory Humanitarian Action! All the Caucus members; DRC, EU/DG ECHO, FAO, Germany, IFRC, IOM, NEAR, Oxfam, OCHA, Save the Children, Sweden, UK/FCDO, UNFPA, USAID, WFP, World Vision, and ZOA endorsed the Caucus outcome document by 20 December, and entered in a new phase of implementation and monitoring. All Signatories are urged to join this journey by endorsing the outcome document, before 28 February 2025, to be able to be part of the follow-up and implementation phase. Please contact the Secretariat if you wish to endorse the document or if you have any questions.
 

Get to know more about Quality Funding Practices in Humanitarian Responses

Last week, Kaela Glass, Head of the Partnership Unit at NRC Geneva, presented the second edition of the Catalogue on Quality Funding Practices, developed by NRC in partnership with Development Initiatives. This catalogue highlights 11 mechanisms and case studies that advance quality funding in the humanitarian sector. These include approaches such as multi-year unearmarked funding for NGO alliances, support for localised NGO consortia, and locally-led humanitarian funds.
Each mechanism comes with an analysis of its benefits, challenges, and key takeaways, offering interesting insights for replication. While these practices serve as inspiration, the message is clear: we have documented enough good practices—now is the time to scale up implementation, increase the volume of quality funding, and drive a system-wide transformation in humanitarian financing.

🔗 Listen to the recording of the catalogue presentation
🔗 Read the catalogue on quality funding practices

 

Upcoming meeting and events organised by the Secretariat

Dialogue with Signatories: navigating current challenges and fostering greater accountability
On 12 February, Ambassadors and the Facilitation Group will convene with all Signatories at the Sherpa level in an online meeting. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss navigating current challenges, while also offering a platform for Signatories to share updates on progress toward the Implementation Agenda. The Ambassadors will also share their plans for the coming months
High-level consultation on financing the nexus
Ambassador Michael Kohler has invited a small group of selected high-level humanitarian and development representatives of governments, the OECD and the World Bank to discuss how to effectively increase financing nexus programming, including in fragile settings. This conversation becomes more urgent in the light of the rigorously prioritized humanitarian response plans. The initial consultation will aim to identify concrete steps to overcome barriers and will be followed by subsequent consultations with other GB constituencies. More updates on the event to follow!

Upcoming external events and engagements for the Grand Bargain

6 February 2025 
‘Beyond Grants – Unlocking Transformative Finance Models for Humanitarian and Fragile Settings’ in Copenhagen. This one-day event, organised by the Danish Red Cross and the World Food Programme, aims to deliver actionable recommendations for the Danish Government's upcoming development cooperation strategy and EU Presidency, focusing on advancing financing in humanitarian and fragile settings to be more sustainable, localised, and accountable.

9 February 2025
Launch of the Humanitarian Impact Forum in Doha. Qatar Charity is launching the Humanitarian Impact Forum with the goal of addressing gaps in humanitarian coordination, advancing innovation in humanitarian work, aligning efforts across local and global communities, sharing success stories, and exchanging lessons learned. The forum aims to identify long-term solutions to tackle the most pressing humanitarian crises.

14 February 2025
Humanitarian Finance Summit in London. Jointly organised by AidEx and the Humanitarian Finance Forum, this event serves as a platform for senior public and private sector leaders to engage in discussions on the emerging field of Humanitarian Innovative Finance (HIF). The summit will explore practical strategies for developing innovative financial mechanisms to address humanitarian challenges, as well as approaches to financing and investing in fragile and conflict-affected (FCA) settings.

25 March 2025
Catalyzing Global Commitments for Anticipatory Action Scale-Up at the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW), from 11:00 to 12:30, at the CICG, Geneva. Organised by FAO, WFP and Anticipation Hub, the session will bring together endorsers of the  Caucus outcome document and technical experts to share practical lessons and field-driven insights, explore scalable and replicable solutions, and drive forward the commitments to scaling up anticipatory action. The discussion will also highlight how anticipatory approaches can reduce humanitarian needs, empower local leadership, and create a more efficient and predictable response to growing risks, particularly those fueled by climate change. You can register now on the HNPW website to participate!

 

Key Grand Bargain Documents are now available in multiple languages

Transparency and accountability lie at the heart of everything the Grand Bargain stands for. To support this commitment, and thanks to the support of EU/DG ECHO and Italy (AICS), key documents are now available in multiple languages to help ensure broader engagement and inclusion. We encourage Signatories to share these resources with their country offices to further enhance local participation and understanding of the global discussions.


The following Grand Bargain documents are now available in various languages:
 

1. Implementation Agenda:

2. Reporting 8+3 Template:
Available in Spanish (SP) and Portuguese (PT)
 
Updates from Signatories and Partners

Podcast Alert!

At a compelling panel discussion during UNGA 2024, titled "If not aid, then what?", Nadine Saba, NEAR’s Grand Bargain Sherpa, delivered a powerful message on the urgent need for bold action in the humanitarian sector. She challenged us to confront tough questions, asking, "Are we prepared to walk the talk?" Nadine emphasized that without bold change in the next decade, we risk failing our organizations, our sector, and, most importantly, the people we serve.
 
Catch Nadine's insightful message and more from the event, now available as a podcast on the New Humanitarian!
 
🔗 Listen to the podcast
Humanitarian Financing Spotlight
Here’s a selection of articles, reports, podcasts, and event recordings that we found interesting and particularly relevant to the Grand Bargain. While not a comprehensive list, these pieces offer insightful perspectives on key trends, challenges and innovations shaping the humanitarian sector.
 
Have you come across something similar? Feel free to share it with us for the next Newsletter in February.

On humanitarianism, leadership, and the future of aid:

On innovative financing and private sector collaboration:

 

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The Grand Bargain Secretariat is supported by EU/DG ECHO, GFFO and Switzerland, and hosted by the Norwegian Refugee Council/NORCAP.
 
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