The Grand Bargain Annual Meeting 2019 shows renewed commitment by Signatories

More than 100 representatives of the Grand Bargain Signatories gathered in Geneva at the Annual Meeting on 27 June 2019 to agree on how to scale-up progress and decide how to address challenges in order to maximize our collective impact for people affected by crises and disasters. An outcome document will be published in early August, but in the mean time, find a short summary and materials from the meeting below. 

Signatories agreed to take concrete steps to scale-up progress in areas of transparency, harmonised and simplified reporting requirements, joint needs assessments, localization, cash programming and participation revolution. They also agreed to address challenges in areas of transparency and joint needs assessments, quality funding, and management costs. Signatories expressed a renewed energy to make humanitarian system more efficient by committing to specific measures moving forward.

The Grand Bargain Annual Meeting 2019 was opened with a compelling video message by the outgoing Eminent Person Ms Kristalina Georgieva, highlighting that good progress had been made. The message was reinforced by Mr Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. They both expressed strong confidence in the political leadership of the new Eminent Person, Ms Sigrid Kaag to push for more efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian aid. Ms Kaag laid out her vision for identifying what could practically and collectively be achieved in the next two years to strengthen effectiveness and efficiency through the Grand Bargain, highlighting the need for “reversely engineered” steps until 2021, when Signatories would meet in Amsterdam at the five-year mark of the Grand Bargain. 

According to the 2019 Grand Bargain Annual Independent Report, a reinvigorated Grand Bargain can realize its potential. Report findings show growing normative, and in some cases, operational shifts, including in cash programming, multi-year funding and planning, localization, harmonized reporting and needs assessments. There remain challenges that continue to inhibit progress towards the Grand Bargain’s overarching goals, for example uneven progress, perceived heavy burden on the Signatories due to the scope of commitments, annual reporting requirements, and engagement in Workstreams. However, the authors of the report felt there is a much more positive environment – a stronger and renewed energy to the Grand Bargain commitments.

Please find below materials from the meeting:

• Final outcome document
• Agenda of the Grand Bargain Annual Meeting 2019
• Opening speech by the new Eminent Person, Ms Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the Netherlands
• Presentation of the main findings from the Annual Independent Report 2019