This position paper is founded on the concern within our organisations around the persistence of poverty and growing inequality inmany countries around the world. Both these issues have been well-documented in successive UN Human Development Reports. Despite increasing global prosperity in the last decades, relative and absolute poverty in many countries in the South continues.

More than a quarter of the world’s population survives on the equivalent of less than one US dollar per day. Almost half strugglesto survive on less than two. The first of the Millennium Development Goals – the reduction of poverty and of the number of hungry and malnourished- is where least progress has been achieved.

The FAO notes that the number of hungry and malnourished has increased since 1996. This persistence of poverty remains alarming, particularly given the wealth and possibilities at the disposal of mankind. Resources, knowledge and skills are available to develop and implement policies that could and should contribute to a sharp decline in poverty. It is this gap between what is possible and what is actually being done, together with the clear signs of a general lack of political will to address theses issues, that encourages us to explore how we and our partners can act and work together more effectively to contribute to better policy answers to the current challenges.

Enrichment and exclusion are not necessarily but are often two sides of the same coin. It is entirely feasible to redistribute welfare gains more equally within a society in such a way that even the poorest segments of a society can eventually escape poverty. However, too often policies stimulate the enrichment of small elites and lead to or cement the social exclusion of poor and marginalized groups.

This paper elaborates on these issues and is available in English, French and Spanish.

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(ACT Policies and guidelines)

Capacity development takes place in several different ways within the ACT Alliance. Some members develop their own capacity using their own and locally-raised resources; some develop their capacity with support provided by other ACT members; some develop their capacity with support provided by partners from outside the ACT Alliance. For some, developing capacity is about seeking organisational change, either at an individual member level or at a forum level.

These might be internal organisation capacities (such as vision, mission strategies etc.) or external relations capacities to enable linkages with actors outside the organisation. For others, the focus is more on developing technical capacity in the range of issues the alliance is engaged with, across the three pillars of humanitarian, development and advocacy work. This strategy seeks to provide a common framework for capacity development within the alliance, providing a strategic focus on the areas of leadership, forum development and capacities for impact through an applied learning approach.

In the past, ACT International, and subsequently ACT Alliance, has taken different approaches to capacity development. Between 1998 and 2004, this was predominantly through the Emergency Management Training (EMT) programme. An evaluation in 2002 recognised that while the training was of high quality, the benefits accrued largely to individuals rather than the member organisations that they worked for.

In response to this evaluation, and a desire to seek to put capacity development “…at the heart of ACT’s work”, the Capacity Development Initiative (CDI) was developed which aimed to support ACT members and forums to undertake a process of organisational assessment leading to a capacity development plan and subsequent implementation of that plan. The CDI ran from 2008-2013 and a number of members and forums used the Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tool to assess their capacities and then sought funding to implement different capacity development activities. The CDI evaluation in 2013 culminated in a “Learning and strategy workshop on capacity development” which found that while the impact of the CDI was significant for those who had undergone the process, the low-take up rate had meant that the impact on the overall capacity of the alliance had not been as high as had been hoped. In addition, the ‘shared learning’ aspect of the CDI had largely been overshadowed by the development and application of the OCA tool.

This strategy seeks to build on the lessons learned from the CDI evaluation and intentionally strengthen key areas of capacity in the alliance through an applied learning approach.

The ACT Alliance Capacity Building and Learning Strategy is available in English, French and Spanish.

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(ACT Policies and guidelines)

Many members of the ACT Alliance offer assistance to people in natural and man-made crisis situations. Striving to reach people in need across front lines and national borders, they provide assistance without discrimination.

Since the 1990s, however, there has been an unprecedented increase in the protection needs of those we seek to assist. In particular, deliberate or indiscriminate attacks during armed conflicts that kill, injure and forcibly displace civilians; the increase in the use of rape as a strategy of war, the recruitment and abduction of boys and girls as child soldiers and sexual slaves, and persistent sexual exploitation and abuse and other gender-based violence such as rape, female genital mutilation, forced child and teenage marriages and domestic violence.

Core Principles for ACT Alliance Humanitarian Protection Work

Principle 1: Prioritise the safety, dignity and empowerment of all women, girls, boys and men at all times without discrimination.

Principle 2: Make a core commitment to mainstream gender and protection into all humanitarian assistance programmes.

Principle 3: Adopt a community-based approach to protection work that enables the active participation of communities in determining appropriate risk reduction measures.

Principle 4: Ensure that all humanitarian needs assessments address risk, taking into consideration threats, vulnerabilities and capacities of individuals and communities.

Principle 5: Ensure mechanisms are in place to prevent and respond to the occurrence of sexual abuse and exploitation and gender-based violence.

Principle 6: Ensure that organisations having ‘specialised’ protection programmes observe professional standards and have the capacity and expertise to meet the standards required.

Principle 7: Ensure all personal and protection-sensitive information is managed responsibly.

Principle 8: Protection advocacy must be based on a careful risk-benefit analysis involving field staff and affected communities and be part of an integrated protection strategy.

Principle 9: Recognise that the State has the primary responsibility for protection and ensure that the ultimate aim of protective humanitarian action is to reinforce, not replace, the State’s responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.

Principle 10: In situations of international and non-international armed conflicts, recognise and promote the obligations of States and armed non-state groups under international humanitarian law, including to respect and protect civilians, as well as to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations working in areas affected by armed conflict.

Principle 11: Seek to work in a complementary and collaborative manner with other humanitarian actors in order to strengthen the impact of collective protective action and avoid unnecessary duplication.

The ACT Alliance Protection Policy is available in English, French and Spanish.

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(ACT Policies and guidelines)

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME), along with other standards, provide the main vehicle through which issues of Q&A are addressed in the work of ACT Alliance. Systematic and regular monitoring will ensure collection, analysis and utilization of vital programme information to inform programme decisions while ACT evaluations will help identify lessons and leverage learning within ACT. It is envisaged that this handbook will provide a common Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) reference for promoting evidence-based decisions making and expanding opportunity for sharing lessons for improving programme quality and results of ACT appeals and Rapid Response Funds (RRFs) as well as development practice across the Alliance.

Better planning and functional monitoring and evaluation systems help in translating Q&A issues into real practice of programme management and implementation.

The ACT PME Handbook is available in English, French and Spanish.

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(ACT Policies and guidelines)

In emergencies when people have lost their homes and belongings, Material Aid such as food, medicines, blankets, quilts, clothing, and health kits, are essential items for survival. Material Aid may be purchased locally, or, if not readily available or too expensive, may by ACT implementing member or partner be requested from ACT Material Aid donor agencies.

In the latter case, it may free up a budget line item amount for blankets / quilts etc., to use the cash coming in for the already covered needs for other essential emergency needs. At the same time it is important that Material Aid donations through lack of transparent and clear reporting cause problems for raising the necessary cash donations needed for the emergency operation (the value of Material Aid reported may result in an impression, wrongly, that an appeal is better funded than it in reality is).

In other cases, where implementing partners are prepared for emergency response and have stockpiled material resources for immediate distribution upon impact, the shipment of Material Aid , to replenish their warehouses for the next emergency, is an expedient, cost effective contribution.

The ACT Guidelines on Material Aid are available in English, French and Spanish.

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(ACT Policies and guidelines)

ACT Alliance has developed guiding principles to assist ACT staff, consultants and volunteers in providing community-based psychosocial support work with countries around the world. Community-based Psychosocial Support adds a mental and social dimension to traditional humanitarian aid and has assumed considerable significance as a focus for relief efforts. It has been shown that when the affected people’s psychosocial wellbeing has been addressed, they are more likely to benefit from the other components of recovery efforts.

These guiding principles are meant to serve as a reference for psychosocial support initiatives held by the members of ACT Alliance. These guiding principles uphold the standard of quality of psychosocial work and represent best practices in this area. They are based on the principles of respect for human beings and their human rights, gender equality, understanding and enablement.

Community based psychosocial support (CBPS) is an approach in which humanitarian relief integrates psychosocial aspects into the response. Psychosocial well-being depends on many aspects of a person’s life.  To achieve a sense of well-being, people rely on social interaction; mental stimulation and learning; physical security and safety; and religious and spiritual beliefs.  Their material and biological as well as their psychosocial needs must be met in terms of food, water, shelter, sanitation, physical and mental health. They also need economic stability. Following a disaster, the manner in which people’s basic needs, safety and security are met has an impact on their well-being and recovery.

The foundation of all community-based psychosocial work is the recognition of the affected community’s capacity for recovery, resilience and future rebuilding and development. Psychosocial support goes beyond the initial phases of emergencies and distressing events. It is important to foster capacity building towards self-governance and collective decision making for ongoing community development. All communities and individuals have resources and strategies for dealing with difficulties, illness, and distress. It is the responsibility of humanitarian workers to respect, understand and enable the community and individuals in their own recovery. The strategies for dealing with difficulties can never be supported when individuals’ basic human rights are abused.

The ACT CBPS Guiding Principles are available in English, French and Spanish.

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Civil society organisations are a vibrant and essential feature in the democratic life of countries across the globe. CSOs collaborate with the full diversity of people and promote their rights. The essential characteristics of CSOs as distinct development actors – that they are voluntary, diverse, non-partisan, autonomous, non-violent, working and collaborating for change – are the foundation for the Istanbul principles for CSO development effectiveness. These principles guide the work and practices of civil society organizations in both peaceful and conflict situations, in different areas of work from grassroots to policy advocacy, and in a continuum from humanitarian emergencies to long-term development.

1. Respect and promote human rights and social justice
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … develop and implement strategies, activities and practices that promote individual and collective human rights, including the right to development, with dignity, decent work, social justice and equity for all people.

2. Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women and girls’ rights
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … promote and practice development cooperation embodying gender equity, reflecting women’s concerns and experience, while supporting women’s efforts to realize their individual and collective rights, participating as fully empowered actors in the development process.

3. Focus on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … support the empowerment and inclusive participation of people to expand their democratic ownership over policies and development initiatives that affect their lives, with an emphasis on the poor and marginalised.

4. Promote Environmental Sustainability
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … develop and implement priorities and approaches that promote environmental sustainability for present and future generations, including urgent responses to climate crises, with specific attention to the socio-economic, cultural and indigenous conditions for ecological integrity and justice.

5. Practice transparency and accountability
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … demonstrate a sustained organizational commitment to transparency, multiple accountability, and integrity in their internal operations.

6. Pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … commit to transparent relationships with CSOs and other development actors, freely and as equals, based on shared development goals and values, mutual respect, trust, organizational autonomy, long-term accompaniment, solidarity and global citizenship.

7. Create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … enhance the ways they learn from their experience, from other CSOs and development actors, integrating evidence from development practice and results, including the knowledge and wisdom of local and indigenous communities, strengthening innovation and their vision for the future they would like to see.

8. Commit to realising positive sustainable change
CSOs are effective as development actors when they … collaborate to realize sustainable outcomes and impacts of their development actions, focusing on results and conditions for lasting change for people, with special emphasis on poor and marginalized populations, ensuring an enduring legacy for present and future generations.

Guided by these Istanbul principles, CSOs are committed to take pro-active actions to improve and be fully accountable for their development practices. Equally important will be enabling policies and practices by all actors. Through actions consistent with these principles, donor and partner country governments demonstrate their Accra Agenda for Action pledge that they “share an interest in ensuring that CSO contributions to development reach their full potential”. All governments have an obligation to uphold basic human rights – among others, the right to association, the right to assembly, and the freedom of expression. Together these are pre-conditions for effective development.

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The world we seek to change is itself changing. Economic power is gradually shifting from the US and Europe to the growing economies in the global East and the South, and emerging economies are playing new roles as donors and in international trade. Therefore major changes in development and humanitarian finance are foreseen in addition to increased competition for limited financial resources.

This is compounded by increased negative perceptions of non-governmental organisations across world, trends towards shrinking civil society space, and the private sector’s entrance into the development arena making use of technological advancements competing on efficiency and effectiveness with NGOs. At the same time, extreme weather events are reported to intensify and cause increasing climate-induced displacement.

Therefore, increased resources towards emergency response, human rights and climate justice advocacy is foreseen. It is within this changing arena that the 2015-2018 communications strategy, with its goal of increasing brand recognition to ensure ACT Alliance remains relevant and competitive, must be effectively implemented if the alliance is to bring about positive change to those most affected by poverty and injustice

The 2015-2018 global ACT Alliance strategy has significantly departed from the previous term strategy, creating the new narrative of the alliance as member-driven. Whereas the previous strategy detailed what members, forums and the secretariat should achieve, the new strategy focuses more on the creation of an overall framework direction of the alliance based on mutual ways of working that show the added value of being part of the network.

The communications strategy, therefore, will support this narrative, contributing to all aims of the global strategy, and specifically the enabling aim: that of increasing brand recognition to support the growth of the ‘robust alliance’. The communications strategy must enable members to work together towards increased brand recognition and reputation enhancement, and increased engagement and pride in the alliance. Therefore, the success of the communications strategy rests on setting clear stakeholder targets, working to strengths, and overcoming weaknesses to access new and existing opportunities.

The ACT Communications Strategy is available in English, French and Spanish.

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1. It is easy to send a concern, feedback or complaint to the secretariat. Simply email the complaintsbox@actalliance.org or send a message to the complaints focal point via a personal contact at the secretariat or by mail or phone. (See #9 and go to the policy, page 8, for contact details.)

2. Don’t worry; we are trained on how to handle complaints, particularly the sensitive ones, with the utmost care and confidentiality.

3. We want to know about any violations in the code of conduct, breaches of any ACT policy or even a concern about the quality of work you may have.

4. You will hear back from us within ten days of our receipt of your concern.

5. Did you know that all employees of ACT members and the secretariat are required to report allegations, concerns or suspicions of breaches related to abuse, exploitation and fraud and corruption?

6. There are some types of complaints we don’t accept, such as those received six months after the alleged incident. (See #9 and go to the policy, pages 6-7, for more details.)

7. We aim for all ACT members to have their own functioning, safe & accessible complaints mechanism for staff and communities. (See #9 and go to the guidelines, pages 4-10, for how-to guidance.)

8. Ensure your communities know how to raise a concern or complaint; the ACT complaints mechanism is also meant for them – help them access us if the need arises!

Top 8 things to know about the ACT complaints mechanism