The ACT Alliance Child Safeguarding Policy and the Child Safeguarding Guidance Document has been developed utilizing global best practice and standards in child safeguarding (‘child safeguarding’ refers to the internal-facing, business critical policies, procedures and practice that agencies employ to ensure that an organisation is child safe). This Policy is developed based on decades of experience by dozens of international and local organizations working in both development and humanitarian settings. It meets the minimum standards of government donors, including the Australian government, the first to make child safeguarding policies a mandatory requirement of development funding.

Most international NGOs will develop organizational policies at the level of the global headquarters. Many, however, will consult with field offices on the content of the policy. This is particularly important when developing child safeguarding policies. While there are recognized, global minimum standards for the format and sections which a child safeguarding policy should contain, all child safeguarding policies can and should be adapted to the local context of the countries where it is being used. This includes the political, cultural, faith, humanitarian or development setting. It should be tailored to the needs and the program context of the agency implementing the policy. Most importantly, national staff from a variety of cultural, socio-economic, and faith backgrounds should be involved in the contextualization of the policy.

Agencies should consider any other ways of preventing harm to girls and boys from staff and others, in the context of their programs. This includes clear guidelines for all staff to follow, tailored to the context of specific locations and programs, and harmful cultural traditions and practices that occur in the area; conducting police background checks, or, in locations where this is not possible, verbal reference checks; and ensuring all staff understand the policy and comply with the Code of Conduct. Ideally, ACT Alliance members should consider supporting local partner organizations to develop their own policies, code of conduct, and reporting protocols.

It is expected that all ACT Alliance members will include an appropriate clause in their Child Safeguarding policy which references local and international legislation on child welfare, child abuse and child exploitation.

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

Child Safeguarding Policy_English

Child Safeguarding Policy_French

Child Safeguarding Policy_Spanish

(Policies and guidelines)

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As one of the largest global humanitarian and development alliances, ACT’s commitment to communicate the work of the alliance and global matters of injustice is paramount. ACT commits to base communication on journalistic values of timeliness, accuracy and high quality, and communicates in ways that respect the dignity, uniqueness, human rights and intrinsic worth of every woman, man, girl and boy. It does not portray people as helpless victims but recognises their immense capacity for resilience and action with strong community, cultural, and human resources. ACT responds to human suffering irrespective of race, gender, belief, nationality, ethnicity or political persuasion. Its communication is independent of any particular government’s policy and is not a tool for groups, companies and other organisations’ self-interest, including those of ACT members.

This policy establishes the principles for communications issued by the ACT secretariat or people on its behalf, such as by freelance and member writers, photographers, bloggers, and social media users commissioned by ACT, for internal or external audiences and gives guidelines on decisions that influence communications. It will help achieve the organisation’s strategic vision and objectives and ensure a consistent and coherent approach to both internal and external communications.

The ACT secretariat relies on its members to be sources of information. The secretariat acts as a facilitator and coordinator of initiatives taken by communicators in the alliance, who are, additionally, sources of communications input. This policy does not cover communicators in member organisations. ACT members are encouraged to have similar policies that meet the legal requirements of their own countries or regions and stakeholders.

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

ACT Communications Policy updated 2020 EN

ACT Communications Policy updated 2020 SP

ACT Communications Policy updated 2020 FR

(Policies and guidelines)

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The incidence of corporate fraud and corruption has risen in recent years making it essential for companies and organisations to put in place effective deterrence mechanisms. Non governmental organisations, including members of the ACT Alliance, have also been affected.

The purpose of this Anti-Fraud and Corruption policy is to minimise the chances of occurrence of fraud and corruption within the ACT secretariat and within ACT Alliance member organisations which access funds through the ACT funding mechanisms, thereby ensuring that the funds and the assets that have been raised are protected from fraud and corruption-related losses.

The policy aims to:

• Ensure that financial and other resources are used solely for the intended purposes
• Promote a culture of honesty and openness among the staff and management of ACT
• Ensure that vulnerable populations are not disadvantaged or exploited by staff members or their associates who commit fraudulent and corrupt acts, and
• Assure members of staff and target populations that they can safely and confidently raise and report all serious concerns about unethical conduct, suspected fraud and corruption

This Policy applies to all ACT employees (full time, part time, temporary and casual), ACT members, and to non-ACT implementing partners who access funds from ACT members through the ACT funding mechanisms.

The ACT Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy is available in English, French and Spanish.

PolicyAnti Fraud and Corruption ENGLISH

Anti-Fraud Corruption Policy FRENCH

Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy SPANISH

(Policies and guidelines)

ACT Alliance is committed to being transparent in its work and in upholding the highest professional, ethical and moral standards of accountability. A key dimension is addressing the legitimate information needs of its stakeholders, especially the people with whom ACT works, its donors, and the general public. ACT is equally accountable to its members, staff and supporters.

As a general principle, ACT believes that information should be accessible and disclosed, subject to the limitations outlined in this policy. To build trust and confidence between ACT and its stakeholders, ACT believes interested stakeholders should be able to openly obtain relevant and reliable information on:

• who we are
• what we do
• where our money goes
• who and what holds us to account, and
• our overall financial position and performance

As an alliance of independent members, ACT encourages its members to increase the amount of quality information available to their stakeholders and especially to the people with whom they support in their humanitarian, development and advocacy work.

For the purposes of this policy, ‘information’ means any content in paper, electronic or other medium, concerning a matter relating to ACT Alliance.

The policy is available in English, French and Spanish.

Public Information Disclosure Policy EN

Politique de l’Alliance ACT en matière de divulgation publique des informations

Política de divulgación de información pública de ACT Alianza

(Policies and guidelines)

Under the terms of the ACT Alliance (ACT) Founding Document, members of ACT are obliged to incorporate the ACT brand in their communications. Commonly described as ‘co-branding’ (the duality of two brands together) the aim is to strengthen the identity, recognition, and coherence of the Alliance among the members, partners, supporters, communities ACT members serve, and the general population. Co-branding promotes, under a shared family name, the visibility and identity of the Alliance.

The ACT Branding Policy and Guidelines provides detailed criteria and examples on how to implement co-branding in a wide variety of contexts and media.

New members should begin using the ACT Alliance name and logo and work under this branding policy. All members are expected to use the logo in connection with all new publications, business cards, brochures, etc, but are not expected to re-design old or destroy old publications.

The ACT Branding Policy and Guidelines is available in English, Spanish and French.

ACT Branding Policy & Guidelines updated 2020 EN

ACT Branding Policy & Guidelines updated 2020 SP

ACT Branding Policy & Guidelines updated 2020 FR

ACT Branding Guide 2020 English

(Policies and guidelines)

The ACT Code of Good Practice is an organisational level commitment to continuous improvement and movement toward best practice principles. It complements the ACT Code of Conduct 2 which serves as a guide for individual ACT staff to make ethical decisions in their professional lives and at times in their private lives.

The Code of Good Practice for the ACT Alliance sets out common values, principles and commitments that will shape the humanitarian, development and advocacy work of ACT members. It outlines the minimum professional and ethical standards required from all ACT members.

The Code of Good Practice provides principles for all ACT members focusing in four key areas:

1. Overarching principles – the fundamental principles that guide our work as an alliance
2. Organisational principles – the principles that promote professional management, leadership and support in ACT member organisations to guide how we work. They provide the foundations for effective and accountable programming
3. Programmatic principles – the principles that guide our actions in ACT member programmes addressing capacities and promoting justice and equality in line with ACT policies and guidance
4. Relational Principles – the principles that support ACT members working together and promote collaboration, cooperation and partnership among alliance members

The Code of Good Practice is available in English, French and Spanish.

ACT Code of Good Practice & Appendix 2016 EN

ACT Código de Buenas Prácticas y apéndice 2016 SP

ACT Code de Bonne Pratiique et annexe 2016 FR