Please see below an update on the work of the Grand Bargain cash workstream, prepared by the Co-convenors DFID and WFP. Since their annual workshop in May 2019, members of the workstream have progressed a number of exciting initiatives which we are happy to share:
1. New Sub-Workstreams!
Following the global workshop held in Rome last May, participants in the workstream determined that two new sub-workstreams would be formed to focus on the following areas:
The Money Where it Counts protocol was presented at an event in Brussels on 25 September 2019 by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Humentum, with the support of the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) and the Voluntary Or
Do you have examples of how your organisation rolled-out the Grand Bargain commitments at regional and country level? Share them with us here!
See below examples how the Grand Bargain Signatories are implementing their Grand Bargain commitments at country and regional level in the spirit of quid pro quo, and how this contributes to making humanitarian aid more efficient and effective, and how it's delivering improvements to a system that works for people in need.
Organised by the World Bank Group and the Netherlands as the Co-conveners of the transparency workstream together with Development Initiatives (DI), the second Grand Bargain transparency workshop was held on 14 May 2019 at the Centre for Humanitarian Data in the Hague. Over 50 participants attended the workshop, representing government donors, multi-lateral agencies, aid organisations and academic institutes.
As a result of the discussions held during the third Grand Bargain (GB) cash workstream workshop held in Rome in May, two new priority areas have been created to increase the leverage of the work carried out in the cash workstream, better coordinate with other workstreams and improve the inclusion of local partners.
One of the commitments under the “Reduce duplication and management costs” Grand Bargain workstream is to “reduce duplication of managements and other costs through maximising efficiencies in procurement and logistics for commonly required goods and services”. UNHCR, co-convener of the workstream is working with WFP to deliver on this commitment. When the UN family spends annually USD 18 billion in procurement of goods and services, the savings it generates could amount to hundreds of millions.
Following the conclusion of the pilot phase of the harmonized reporting template, the 8+3 template has been finalized. The feedback from pilot participants was reviewed and some of the elements of the template were adjusted slightly to improve the usability of the template and the clarity of language.
Please see below an update from workstream 2 (More support and funding tools for local and national responders) on their past and upcoming activities.
Switzerland and IFRC, co-convenors of workstream 2 (More support and funding for local and national responders), organized a regional conference on localisation in Jakarta on 27 and 28 August 2019. Please see their press release below.
Jakarta, 27 August 2019 — On 27-28 August, the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) hosts the first regional conference in the Asia-Pacific region on how to reform the international humanitarian aid sector so as to better promote the role of local actors in internationally-supported relief operations.
