| The Grand Bargain Bimonthly Updates |
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Latest news from the Grand Bargain | September 2020
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Dear readers,
We hope you had a good summer. As we enter autumn, we are looking forward to hearing your perspectives on the future of the Grand Bargain in the next few months. You can read more about the consultation process under the Facilitation Group update below.
The September newsletter also serves promising news on progress on cash and joint needs assessments, thought-provoking reports on funding for gender equality, and stories of the Grand Bargain implementation at country level, which we always find encouraging as they indicate that we are on the right track with our commitments. Last but not least, we are pleased to announce Alliance for Empowering Partnership (A4EP) as the newest Signatory to the Grand Bargain - you can find out more about their vision below.
We wish you a pleasant reading and best regards,
The Grand Bargain Secretariat
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| Future of the Grand Bargain |
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As the Grand Bargain enters its fifth year in 2021, the Signatories will make a decision on what should come after 2021. To that purpose, the Facilitation Group will develop a proposal on the future of the Grand Bargain. The proposal will be based on the findings of inclusive and participatory consultations with Signatories and non-Signatories. Earlier this year, we already engaged in several consultations, which culminated in the ODI think piece shared ahead of the Annual Meeting. To build upon these discussions, as a first step, the Facilitation Group would like to invite you to complete a survey on the future of the Grand Bargain before 18 October 2020.
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| Grand Bargain in humanitarian operations |
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| Grand Bargain Annual Meeting 2020 |
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The Grand Bargain Annual Meeting 2020 took place online on 24 and 25 June 2020. The Annual Meeting discussions started with a session on risk-sharing, followed by the identification of efficiency and transformative priorities for the next 12 months and concluded with a conversation around the future of the Grand Bargain post 2021.
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| Latest from the workstreams |
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| For further information or to reach out to the workstream Co-convenors, please contact the Grand Bargain Secretariat at gbsecretariat@un.org. |
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| Workstream 3 (Increase the use and coordination of cash-based programming) |
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UN Common Cash Statement - September 2020 Update
The UN Common Cash Statement was launched in December 2018 by the four principals of UNICEF, OCHA, UNHCR and WFP to collaborate on cash and voucher assistance, using common cash systems wherever possible. The Questions & Answers document outlines the UNCCS fundamentals, and the achievements and challenges in the seven focus countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, CAR, DRC, Ecuador, Niger and Yemen) and through the two global workstreams i) Collaborative Procurement; and ii) Data/Systems Interoperability. Some of the highlights include common cash transfer mechanisms in +25 countries and progress on the country action plans in the three areas. >> Click here to read the update and the highlights
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Grand Bargain Cash Workstream Webinar Week - Recordings and materials - July 2020
With the support of the workstream 3 co-leads, the Co-convenors have put together a week of webinars exploring a range of cutting-edge issues in cash programming and policy. More than 10 webinars took place from 20 to 24 July 2020 on a range of topics, including on humanitarian cash and social protection, building local partnerships, lessons learnt, good practices, risk, and others. >> Click here to see the final report and materials
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| Workstream 5 (Improve joint and impartial needs assessments and analysis) |
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Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework part of the HPC 2021 package
Discussions on the humanitarian programme cycle and parallel work under the Grand Bargain have highlighted the criticality of stronger joint needs assessments and analysis as a pre-condition to credible and well-funded Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs). While other factors come into play, methodologically sound and holistic needs assessments are essential for informed decision making. The 2021 Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC) package was approved by the IASC Operational Policy and Advocacy Group (OPAG) on 5 August 2020, comprising the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and HRP templates and complementary guidance on implementation, including the guidance to apply the Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework (JIAF). The framework was agreed upon by agencies and global clusters as part of the HPC Steering Group (and endorsed by the OPAG) and is being used fully for the HNOs for the first time this year, after a partial application last year. OCHA and partners are providing remote technical support in applying the JIAF. >> Click here to read full update |
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Funding for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in humanitarian programming
UN Women and UNFPA conducted a research study on “Funding for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in humanitarian programming”. The study is based on global desk research and case study focus on Bangladesh, Jordan, Nigeria, and Somalia (including field visits to Somalia and Bangladesh), and ascertains existing funding flows—and the impact of any shortfall—to GEEWG in humanitarian action, including the levels of funding requested, funding received, and the consequences of the funding gap. >> Click here to read the full report
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Gender-transformative changes in humanitarian settings
This report contributes to the broader set of efforts by women’s rights stakeholders to identify and share ways that the transformative potential of the Grand Bargain might also be realized for women and girls. In addition to exploring how gender-transformative change manifests itself in four humanitarian settings in Bangladesh, Colombia, Jordan and Uganda, this report suggests practical entry points to apply gender-transformative humanitarian action that contributes to the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, as well as funding opportunities for promising interventions that advance gender equality. >> Click here to read the full report
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| Latest from the Facilitation Group |
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Coming up
To ensure continuity before the 5-year stock taking, five out of six Facilitation Group members (ECHO, OCHA, SCHR, UK, WFP) confirmed they will stay on for another tenure in 2020/21, while IFRC will take over from ICRC as per their usual annual rotation.
Recap of recent activities
The Facilitation Group (FG) kickstarted the consultations on the future of the Grand Bargain on 21 September 2020 by launching two separate surveys, one for the Signatories, one for the wider public. Building on the survey findings, the FG will then carry out consultations at constituency level in October 2020, followed by individual bilateral consultations with key stakeholders if needed.
The FG members have been in regular contact with workstreams to ensure the action points from the Annual Meeting 2020 have been followed up upon. Important progress is ongoing across all workstreams.
Should you have any questions or suggestions in relation to the work of FG, don’t hesitate to contact the Secretariat. |
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| The Grand Bargain in Practice |
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Efforts by the Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs) in 2019
The Grand Bargain Annual Independent Report 2020 demonstrated that the efforts of Humanitarian Country Teams (HCTs), UN Country Teams, NGO and donor fora and individual Signatories have resulted in an array of pilots, initiatives and programmes instituted at country and crisis level in 2019 in support of the core commitments and other areas of the Grand Bargain. >> Click here to see the visual map |
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Mercy Corps’ holistic localisation benefits affected people in Syria
To engage with local and national responders in a spirit of partnership and to reinforce rather than replace their capacities, Mercy Corps provided capacity building support to local Syrian NGOs. >> Click here to read the story |
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Do you have examples of how your organisation rolled-out the Grand Bargain commitments at regional and country level? Share them with us here!
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| Latest from the Signatories |
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Alliance for Empowering Partnership joins the Grand Bargain
Following a successful application, the Alliance for Empowering Partnership (A4EP) is the newest, 63rd Signatory to the Grand Bargain.
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| "We will work with others to bring wider and more inclusive representation and voice and propositions from the global south to create equity and balance in the future GB processes and bridge the gap between local and global," noted A4EP. The Grand Bargain now includes 63 Signatories (25 states, 11 UN Agencies, 5 inter-governmental organizations and Red Cross/Red Crescent Movements and 22 NGOs) which represent around 84% of all donor humanitarian contributions donated in 2019 and 69% of aid received by agencies. >> Click here to read A4EP statement |
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Help shape IATI Standard humanitarian guidance
Can you contribute to work on improving IATI data published on the spending and activities that respond to humanitarian crises? Then please take part in the IATI Secretariat’s consultation to inform new guidance on publishing data on humanitarian crises using the IATI Standard. IATI data users and publishers are encouraged to help review draft guidance and join two upcoming webinars to help ensure the final guidance helps meet the needs of humanitarian practitioners. >> Click here to learn more and participate |
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