IASC Key Messages on Funding Flexibility in Partnership Agreements

A repeated theme in the dialogue on funding flexibility is the need to engage with donors to ensure consistency throughout the humanitarian system, not only between IASC members. The current IASC funding flexibility measures in the context of COVID-19 – endorsed by the IASC’s Operational Policy and Advocacy Group (OPAG) in June 2020 – apply to all pass-through funding in partnership agreements. To maintain and improve this level of flexibility between IASC members, it is important that levels of quality funding in general – i.e. unearmarked funding, flexible funding, and multi-year funding – coming from donors is increased. This need is also reflected in external initiatives, such as the Grand Bargain, which has proposed quality funding (including flexibility) as a key enabling priority, in addition to the existing commitments to expand both flexible and multi-year funding. Individual members of RG5 to report that levels of flexibility in funding continue to decrease from donors rather than increase.

RG5 proposes a set of key advocacy messages to guide high-level engagement between IASC OPAG members and donors.