Strengthening donor coordination at country level

In development circles it is well established that strong donor coordination contributes to aid effectiveness. In humanitarian contexts the need for donor coordination is arguably even higher, given the tight time frames, multiplicity of actors and the high human costs of failure. Deepening donor coordination on humanitarian issues at field level should contribute to more coherent and adequate funding, more effective planning, monitoring and evaluation and better advocacy.

The humanitarian operation in Sudan is among the largest and most complex in the world. Approximately $1.2 billion of humanitarian aid is being used to respond to the diverse challenges facing the country, which range from the brutal conflict in Darfur, to the process of political transition in the South, to extreme chronic poverty elsewhere in the country. As part of the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative, donor representatives in Sudan have committed to further strengthening coordination between themselves and with operational partners. The existing donor group has been formalised, chaired by the UK. This group will work with the UN and relevant NGO forums to strengthen coordination around key issues including financing, security and protection issues. For further information please contact: j-patrick@dfid.gov.uk.

Since the beginning of the GHD initiative, donors have aimed to make sure that their global commitments are translated into practice at field level. In July 2006, donors reaffirmed that commitment. By July 2007, the GHD group aims to have 6 countries in which there is a strong forum for donor discussion on humanitarian issues. Their work will draw upon the Practical Guidance for field staff implementing Good Humanitarian Donorship is available here .

The Netherlands is leading such a group in the Democratic Republic of Congo and plans for a second group are now underway in Sudan, with further countries to follow.

In developing these fora, the group is drawing on the lessons learnt from two pilot studies were conducted in Burundi and in DRC to identify ways in which donors could better work together and with the wider humanitarian community.

These lessons included a need to:

• Form a donor group in country, which can meet regularly and is Chaired by one donor;
• Develop guidance for donor field offices to make clear what they can do to support implementation of GHD principles;
• Ensure that any donor group meets regularly with the Humanitarian Coordinator and other key stakeholders, including the government, and IASC agencies.

Burundi

Following theexternal baseline evaluation of the Burundi Good Humanitarian Donorship pilot(English language version) evaluation externe et etat des lieux du projet pilote de bonnes pratiques des donateurs de l'aide humanitaire (GHD) au Burundi (Version Français) carried out in May 2004, the UK-led pilot narrowed its focus to establishing indicators of donor behaviour.

A Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP) was drawn up in September 2004. The following month a Donor Humanitarian Strategy Forum, attended by 11 donor countries, focused on bringing the CHAP and donor priorities into line. It also provided the opportunity to explore the application of Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) principles in Burundi.

Coordination

Work is underway to improve information exchange and coordination between donors, and within donor agencies. The Donor Humanitarian Strategy Forum will be held twice yearly in Bujumbura, and its outcomes will help to shape the CHAP.

A small group of donors met with the United Nations (UN) Humanitarian Coordinator and the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Burundi after the first forum. This meeting resulted in a commitment to donor representation at UN Country Team meetings, and the involvement of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the CHAP process.

Further coordination strategies include the creation of both an in-country, and a virtual humanitarian donor group. Donors will also demonstrate their support for OCHA's lead role in coordination by providing inputs into its Financial Tracking System. They continue to press OCHA for a comprehensive analysis of needs.

The meeting to finalise the 2006 CHAP took place in September 2005.

Lessons Learned Report December 2005

A recent DFID report found that GHD had contributed to a general improvement in donor behaviour in Burundi, most obviously through its role as a focal point for discussion and change. Several recommendations emerged including the need to evolve concrete, country-specific objectives from the general principles, a greater need for transparency, and a more robust role for OCHA in providing services and coordination.

Key contact:

The UK is leading the Burundi country pilot.

The key contact is Sue Hogwood.

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Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

The focus of the country pilot is monitoring trends in donors' response to the crisis in DRC and finding ways to strengthen it. Donors in DRC recognise that if they are to allocate their resource according to need, they require a robust assessment of that need. TheTimetable of Activities and Impact Indicators for the DRC Pilot were set out at the end of 2003.

Survey of donor behaviour 2004

A survey of donor behaviour was undertaken during 2004. The survey evaluated donor behaviour against fourteen indicators, devised by a sub-group of the GHD in Geneva. A series of recommendations for encouraging GHD were produced.

Donor agencies have used the GHD indicators to evaluate their own performance, and consider ways to improve their planning. Nine donors, ten UN agencies, three Red Cross organisations and eight NGOs participated in peer reviews and procedures for setting common strategies and prioritising projects. Donors strongly supported the use of the UN Needs Analysis Framework as a basis for standardised data collection.

Action Plan

The CAP and the CHAP have now been replaced by a single format Action Plan. The Action Plan consists of three pillars: Saving lives, Reducing vulnerabilities, and Transition. It will include both UN and NGO interventions.

Relief-Development transition

A U.S.-hosted donor meeting in Kinshasa in April 2005, highlighted the need to focus on the area of transition and the links between humanitarian relief and development. A number of follow up meetings were held to explore this area. It was decided to include transition activities in the Action Plan for 2006.

Common funds

At least six donors have agreed to contribute to a Trust Fund for humanitarian action, under the control of the Humanitarian Coordinator. This mechanism should help to ensure that priority needs are met quickly.

Other activities

Regular meetings of the donor group will continue. Two posts have been funded within OCHA, in Kinshasa and Goma, to support the GHD project.

A workshop on the Fragile States Initiative in Kinshasa in October 2005 looked at what lessons can be learned from the implementation of GHD in DRC.

Key contacts:

Belgium and the US are leading the pilot.

Last updated: 10 August 2006

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