QualityandAccountability:
Itisnotenoughtodothethingsright,
therightthingshavetobedone
NotesfromthepaneldiscussionorganizedbyCHSAlliance,theSphere
Project&GroupeURD,aneventsponsoredbySwitzerlandandDenmark
ThereportoftheSecretaryGeneral“OneHumanity:
SharedResponsibility”highlightsthechallengesthat
politicalactors,donors,developmentandhumanitarian
organizationsarefacingandwillhavetodealwithinthe
comingyears:weallhavetodomoreandbetterwith
constrainedresources!Thiscallsforarenewed
commitmenttowardsenhancingthequality,
accountabilityandeffectivenessofhumanitarian
assistance.
ArnoWicki,DeputyHeadofSwiss
HumanitarianAidandSHA,Headof
MultilateralDivision
ArnoWickiintroducedthediscussion,asking“Howcan
wedotherightthingsanddothemwell?”
Thoughitseemsobviousdoingitisnottrivial,especially
ifwealsowanttoensurepeoplehaveavoice.Froma
donorperspective,thequestionis“howcanwemake
themostoutofthelimitedresourceswehave?”Well,
ouropinionisthatwithstandardsandquality,wecan
putpeopleatthecentrewhileatthesametimebeing
moreeffective.
StephanSchønemann,Directorfor
HumanitarianAffairs,MinistryofForeign
AffairsofDenmark
Theprogressmadeinadvocatingforputtingpeopleat
thecentreofhumanitarianactionissignificant.Yetthe
challengeoftranslatingthisintomeaningfulpolicy,
practice,andaconsistentlyappliedapproachto
consultation,participation,localleadership,assessment,
monitoring,andreportingbyallhumanitarianactors
remainsadeepchallenge.
Withtheattempttoraisethebarandsettingthe
standard,anewqualityandaccountabilitytool-the
CoreHumanitarianStandard-waslaunched1½years
agoinCopenhagen.TheStandardplacespeople
affectedbycrisisatthecentreofhumanitarianaction,
anditsetsoutninecommitmentsthatorganisationsand
individualsinvolvedinhumanitarianresponsecanuseto
improvethequalityandeffectivenessoftheassistance
theyprovide.
WHSsideevent:QualityandAccountability:Itisnotenoughtodothethingsright,therightthingshavetobedone
inpracticecanbeseen.Tomakethishappenrequires
strongleadershipatcountrylevel.
[Historicalperspective]
[ShowstheCHS]Thislittlebookletisthefruitofmany
yearsofhardwork-anditbringstogetherthemain
elementsoftheSphereCoreStandards,theHAP
standard,theRedCrossandRedCrescentCodeof
Conduct,thePeopleinAidCodeofGoodPracticeand
criteriafromtheOECD’sDACandfromtheQuality
CompassdevelopedbyGroupeURD.Thekey
stakeholdersofthiscommonstandardareGroupeURD,
SphereandCHSAlliance.
Itisworthcomplimentingtheseorganisationsand
networksfortheiramazingeffortsinjoiningforcesand
creatingoneCoreHumanitarianStandardratherthata
seriesofmany.Togethertheyarebuildinga
complementaryapproachthatcontributesto
harmonisingandstrengtheningthecoherenceof
standards.Strengtheningthecoherenceofstandards
acrossdifferentsectorsofhumanitarianworkonthe
basisofsharedfundamentalvalues,commonstructure
andconsistentlanguageensuresgreaterownershipand
enablesincreasedeffectivenessandefficiency.
WiththerecentadoptionoftheCoreHumanitarian
StandardbytheGlobalClusterstocomplementexisting
internationaltechnicalstandards,andwiththesupport
thiscommonstandardhasgarneredasabaselinefor
organizationalaccountabilityfromNGOstoactorssuch
astheEuropeanCommission,wehavearealopportunity
tostrengthenaframeworkwhichputspeopleatthe
centerofhumanitarianaction.
Thisopportunityhasalreadybeenusedtotranslateour
commonunderstandingofrecognizedstandardssuchas
SphereandtheCHSintoinstitutionalcommitmentsand
actionsatthelevelofHumanitarianResponsePlans.
ThishasbeenthecaseintheresponseplansofSomalia,
Afghanistan,NigerandDRCamongstothers.
Whenresponseplans,commonprioritiesandcollective
goalsareinformedbyevidenceandanalysisagainst
internationallyrecognizedstandards–significantshifts
Theseinitiativesillustratethatformorethan20years,
thehumanitariansectorhasgraduallybeenimprovingits
practicesthroughthedevelopmentanddisseminationof
amyriadofqualityandaccountabilityinitiativesandselfregulatorytools.Humanitarianorganisationshavegone
throughanenormousprofessionalizationprocess,while
tryingtoadapttovariouscodeofconducts,common
standards,goodpractices,evaluationmechanismsand
learningnetworks.Wehaveatlargeseenagreat
improvementinthelogistical,financialandmanagerial
systemsoforganisations.Theiradministrativecontrols
havealsoincreasedinordertorespondtogrowing
requestsfromdonorsandpublicopinionabout
transparencyandaccountability.Andtheevaluationof
responseisnowwellacceptedandestablished.Thisisall
good.However,thequalityofhumanitarianaidfromthe
perspectiveofbeneficiaries,localauthoritiesandmedia,
isregularlyquestioned.Aseriesofchallengesarestill
aheadofusandwecanaskourselvesthesequestions:
1.
Howdowemaintainqualityandaccountability
whileadaptingresponsestonewand
increasinglycomplexandfast-changing
situations,whichatthesametimerequireusto
innovate,takerisks,andacceleratelearning?
2.
Howdowemakesurethataffected
communitiesareputatthecenter,which
meansinvestinginlocalcapacitiessothat
internationalactorssupportnational
mechanismsratherthanreplacethem?
3.
Howdowepassfromanindividual
responsibilitytoacollectiveone,whichmeansa
shiftfromcoordinatinginputstoachieving
outcomestogether?
Andhowdowequicklytransitionfromshort-termcrisis
assistancetosupportforcollectiveoutcomesin
protractedemergencies,whichenablerecoverywith
dignity?
Thepurposeoftoday’ssideeventistoexplorehowwe
canaddresssomeofthechallengesjustmentioned-and
todiscusshowqualityandaccountabilitycanincrease
theeffectivenessandefficiencyofaid.MySwiss
colleagueArnoWicky,DeputyHeadofSwiss
HumanitarianAidandHeadofMultilateralDivision,will
guideyouthroughthisafternoon’sdiscussions,whichI
hopewillinspireusalltonotonlydothingsrightbutto
ensurethatitistherightthingsthatweareactually
doing!Thankyouallforlistening!
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WHSsideevent:QualityandAccountability:Itisnotenoughtodothethingsright,therightthingshavetobedone
Sphere,becauseithelpsusbettermeettheneedsofour
population.Itishoweveralsoimportantfor
accountabilityandtransparencypurposes.Standardsare
animportanttoolinthefightagainstcorruption,which
isabigissueinCentralAmerica.
AminaLabarakwe,Communitymember,
BaringoCountyKenya
(translationintoEnglishprovidedbyRuthObwaya,
ActionAidKenya)
MynameisAmina.I’mamemberofChurodivisionin
Baringocountry,Kenya.
Today,I’mheretotalkaboutQualityandAccountability
inthecontextofdisaster.
Withthedroughtthattookplacein2011,wehad
challengesaswomentowalklongdistancestofeed
children.Therewereinadequatehealthservices,and
menwentawayinsearchofpasturesfortheirlivestock.
Manyorganizationsrespondedandsupportedusatthis
time.MyunderstandingofQ&Aisaprocessthrough
whichpolicymakersaccountforwhatthey’resupposed
todoorhavecommittedtodo.Inmycommunity,Iwas
arepresentativeofavigilancecommittee,which
throughitsworkwastheeyesofthecommunity.Thisis
onewaywehelptoholdorganisationstoaccount.
InOct.2009,theGovernmentofGuatemalacommitted
inwritingtocomplywiththeSphereStandards.We
workedtowardsthisgoalbydevelopingmanualsand
protocolstoimplementthiscommitment.Forexample,
wedevelopedTermsofReferenceforprocurement
activitiesandpurchases,settingclearrulesforexample
forthebiddingprocess.Wealsoworkedwithour
providerssothattheymeetthestandardsintermsof
whattheyproduce,inordertobettermeettheneedsof
endusers,dependingontheirowncontextandculture.
Standardsarealsoveryusefulinsofarastheyhelp
quantifytheamountofassistancethatoughttobe
providedinanemergency.Inrelationtothat,italso
allowsustoplanforfutureeventsanddecidewhat
shouldbeputinawarehouse.Veryimportantlyaswell,
standardshelptominimisethehumanfactorand
supportobjectivedecisionsvs.arbitrarilydecidingwhat
goeswhere.
Anotheroneisinvolvementindecisionmakingprocess.
Forexample,wewereinvolvedinprocurementprocess
toawardcontracts,whichhelpedtoimprove
transparency.Accountabilityisabottomupprocess.It
needstoinvolvecommunitymembers,becauseweare
keyinrespondingtodisasters.Ihavealsolearntthat
womenleadershipiskeyinanyresponseefforts.
Mymessagetodayisthatthecurrentaccountability
modelwherewearemoreconcernedwiththedonors
doesnotworkforcommunities;ratherwhatweshould
haveisaccountabilitytowardsboththecommunityand
thedonors.Thankyouforrespondingwithsolidarity.
AlejandroMaldonadoExecutivesecretary,
CONRED,Guatemala
Fromthepointofviewofgovernments,lookingat
standardsisslightlydifferent.Asagovernment,we
believeintheimportanceofstandards,especially
Standardsalsopushustoimprove,evenwhenitmeans
fightingwithourownlegislation.Wechangedour
approachintermsofwhatkindofmattresseswere
providedtopeopleaffectedbycrisisbasedonthe
standard,eventhoughitwasn’teasytoachieve.
Standardsareindispensabletoolsforabetterresponse.
Theyhelptobetterprepareourresponse,allowto
reducethetimeneededtorespond,andareimportant
forouraccountabilityandtransparency.
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WHSsideevent:QualityandAccountability:Itisnotenoughtodothethingsright,therightthingshavetobedone
Thishasallchanged.Becauseoftheeffortsofmany
organisationsandmembersstatesandpeople,the
accountabilityagendaismoving.Oneofthebest
examplesofthisaretheninecommitmentswhichmake
uptheCoreHumanitarianStandard.These
commitmentsareamanifestoofhowweshouldbe
working,andit’sgreatitfeaturesintheGrandBargain.
TheStandardisaveryclearstatementthat
humanitariansmustseeaccountabilitytothepeoplewe
serveasourfundamentalresponsibility--somethingallof
usareobligedtodo.TheStandardisawayof
concretisingourethicalcommitmentandputtingit
literallyatthecentreofeverythingwetrytodo.Asthe
Bargaingainstraction,manyofuswillbeworkingto
ensuringthishappens--sothatwedon’thavetolook
backin10yearssayingwetried,butunfortunately
failed.
LiseGrande,ResidentHumanitarian
Coordinator,Iraq
We'dliketomakethreekeypointsaboutthe
accountabilityagenda:
First,wewanttoacknowledgehowimportantthis
agendaisandtocelebratethehugeprogressthathas
beenmadeinthepastseveralyearstobringmoreand
moreattentiontoourcollectiveresponsibilities.
Second,we'dliketoreflectontheconcretestepswecan
takeatthegroundleveltoensurethattheaccountability
agendaisputrightatthecentreofourcollectiveefforts.
Thirdly,we'dliketoreflectgentlyonsomeofthekey
threatstotheaccountabilityagenda.Whenwe’retoldto
domorewithless,well,that’sathreattothe
accountabilityagenda.
OursecondpointisaboutimplementingtheCore
HumanitarianStandardintoourhumanitarian
operations--Alejandrohasspokenabouthow
Governmentsaredoingthis,Aminahasspokenabout
howcommunity-basedorganisationsaredoingthisand
I'dliketoreflectonhowtheclustersystemand
HumanitarianCountryTeamscandothis.
Whenwethinkbackonwhereweweretenyearsagoin
termsofaccountabilityandwherewearenow--it's
incredibletoseetheprogress.Tenyearsago,everyone
knewmoreneededtobedonetoensurewewere
accountabletothepopulationswewereserving,but
therewasdrift--somemightevencharacterizeitas
outrightavoidance.Wewouldsay--theSphere
standardsaregreatbutwedon'thaveenoughmoneyto
fundthem,wedon'thavetoolstoensurethe
operationalcyclehasintegrity;conditionsinthefieldare
toorestrictive,donorswon'tpay,ourcoordination
architectureisn'tdesignedforthis,andsoforth.When
(inSudan,inthe90s)weactuallyaskedpopulations
whattheyneeded,peoplesaid“Wedon’twantplastic
buckets,wewantcash”andofcoursewewouldignore
that.Accountabilitywasrecognisedassomething
aspirationalbutthelackofanagreedapproachgaveus
analibi,allowingustoavoidreallyhavingtodoanything
seriousaboutit.
We'dliketosuggestthatthereareatleastfourwaysin
whichHumanitarianCountryTeamscantaketheCHS
andreallymakeitwork.
First,wecaninsistthatallorganisationswishingto
submitprojectstoaHumanitarianResponsePlanshow
thattheyareworkingtoreachSpherestandardsandthe
qualitycriteriaintheCoreHumanitarianStandard.A
dashboardcanbeusedtodothis.
Second,wecaninsistthatallclustersdevelopwork
plansbasedontheCoreHumanitarianStandardcycle
andthatallclustersareworkingtodeliverassistanceat
Spherestandards.TheHCTcancollectivelyreviewthese
workplanstoensurefullsupportforthemacrossthe
operation.
Third,wecaninsistthatonlyorganisationswhichare
workingtoreachSpherestandardsandthequality
criteriaintheCHSareeligibletoseekfundsfromtheincountrypooledfundandfromtheCERF.
Fourth,wecaninsistthatHCTsconductbiannual
strategicreviewsoftheiroperationstomonitor
collectiveprogressagainsttheCHSandSphere
standards.Ifwedojustthesefourthings,thiswillput
accountabilityattheverycentreofourcollectiveefforts.
MakingsurethatallHumanitarianCountryTeamsdo
thesefourthingsrequirestwosteps:First,theIASC
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WHSsideevent:QualityandAccountability:Itisnotenoughtodothethingsright,therightthingshavetobedone
needstochangethetermsofreferencefor
HumanitarianCoordinatorstoincludedirect
responsibilityforintegratingtheCoreHumanitarian
Standard,andSphereStandards,intotheoperations
theypresideover.Second,theIASCneedstodoexactly
thesamethingforallclusterleadsagencies.
Accountabilityistooimportanttoleavetothegoodwill
andgoodintentionofhumanitarianactors.It'stimeto
makeaccountabilitycompulsory.
Ourthirdpointismoresensitive--it'sabouttheveryreal
threatstotheaccountabilityagendathatthecurrent
fundingcrisisrepresents.IfyouallowI'dliketousethe
exampleofIraq,whereIamcurrentlybasedasthe
HumanitarianCoordinator,tomakethispoint.
Iraqisinmanywaysakindofdonororphan.Thedonors
whoarecontributinggenerouslytootheroperationsin
themiddleeast,byandlarge,havebeenhesitanttodo
thesameforIraq.Therearemanyreasonsforthis-whateverthemeritsofthesereasons,intheend,there
aremorethan7millionIraqiswhodesperatelyneed
helpandaren'tgettingwhattheydeservebecausethe
fundingisn'tthere.Lastyear,thedonorsinsistedthat
theIraqicountryteamprioritisewhatwasthenaUSD2
billionappeal.Weweretoldthatifwedidn't,our
operationwouldn'tbecredible.Soweprioritised.Itwas
averydifficultprocesswhichobligedustodosomething
noneofuswantedtodo.Ratherthancalculatingthe
costsofprovidingassistancetomillionsofpeopleat
Spherestandards,wewereforcedtoretrenchfromthe
standardsandcalculatethecostsofmuchsmaller
emergencypackagesforeachcluster.Thedifference
betweentheemergencypackagesandthestandards
representanethicalgap.Weexpected,ingoodfaith,
thatatleasttheemergencypackageswouldbefunded.
Theyweretosomedegree;butinfact,onlypartially.
Weshouldmakenomistakeaboutthis--prioritisation,
thestep-childofunder-funding,isnotaneutralprocess-itforcesustostepawayfromourcommitmentto
upholdinternationalstandards.
Myownviewisthathumanitarianactiononlyreally
makessensewhenitisprincipled.Let’sbefrank.A
principledresponsecostsmoney.Thishastocomefrom
somewhere;humanitarianassistanceistooimportant
tobevoluntary.Weneedtoconsideralloptions
includingassessedcontributionsfrommemberstatesor
fromtaxesimposedbymemberstatesonthesaleof
gunsormaybeevencigarettes.Aprincipledapproach
meansweneedtoassessneedscollectively,onthebasis
ofanagreedmethodology,thencalculatethecostsof
meetingtheseneedsatSpherestandardsandusethe
CoreHumanitarianStandardtoensureweare
accountabletopopulations.Anyotherapproach,
honestly,isn'treallyethical.
FrançoisGrünewald,ExecutiveDirector,
GroupeURD,France
Theroadtothissideeventwasabumpyone.Therehas
beenmuchdebateovernearly20yearstogettothe
CoreHumanitarianStandard.Ibelievecontextis
everything.Sohowcanwecapturecomplexitythrough
standards,orensureouractionsaccountforcontexts
thatchangefromonedaytotheother’Howwillthings
thatarevalidtodaystillberelevantin5years.Justthink
abouttherathersuddenriseofcashor3Dprinting?
ThegoodthingabouttheCoreHumanitarianStandardis
thatisisnotatechnicalsolution,it’saboutasking
questions.AtGroupeURD,welikebeingconfrontational
andasking(theright)questions.Attheendoftheday,
weneedtoavoidjustcomingwitharecipebookand
usingstandardsassuch.Accountingforcontextisnotan
easytaskanditrequiresmorethanabook.Itrequires
engagementwithlocalactorsifyoudon’twanttoend
updoingbythebookthingsthataretotallystupid.
EvenattheICRC,doctrineisrevisited.Revisitingour
standardsiswhatweshoulduseevaluationsfor.Wealso
needtoacknowledgethatsometimes,wedon’tcomply
withstandardsbecauseofstaffingorsecurityissues.We
needtoknowwhywecan’tmeetthestandardtofigure
outhowtoimprove,andasthemigrantcrisisisshowing
us,weneedtobeagiletoadapttoquicklychanging
situations.That’swhyweneedtokeepaskingquestions
suchasthoseintheCoreHumanitarianStandard.
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