Quality and Accountability Initiatives
Since the late 1990s the humanitarian community has initiated a number of inter-agency initiatives to improve accountability, quality and performance in humanitarian action. Four of the most widely known initiatives are the Active Learning Network forAccountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP) , HumanitarianAccountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project.
Representatives of these initiatives began meeting together on a regular basis in 2003 in order to share common issues and harmonise activities where possible; since 2006 these original four have been joined by Coordination SUD (Solidarité, Urgence,Développement), Groupe URD (Urgence Réhabilitation Développement) and the Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB). It is hoped that the group may continue to expand in the future: if you work for an initiative that you think may be compatible with the aims of this group, please contact one of the members.
Taking the initiative
In 2009 the Sphere Project produce a paper introducing eight Quality and Accountability Initiatives. You can download the full paper, which was released in August 2009 by clicking here.
To read more about the other six Q&A Initiatives, visit the agency websites below.
A shared vision on quality and accountability (Q & A)
People affected by disasters have limited options and little power over their access to assistance and protection. Humanitarian organisations therefore have an ethical responsibility to respect the dignity of victims and to do their utmost to ensure that their assistance programmes are of the best possible quality.
Humanitarian agencies should respond meaningfully to needs, take into consideration local capacities and constraints, and respect and involve crisis-affected people. Any response should avoid or mitigate negative impacts while fostering positive effects.
Organisations have to manage and support their staff members well; they should evaluate and learn from experience, and use resources efficiently and transparently. Organisations should be able to demonstrate commitment to improving their performance through verification and reporting systems.
The different Q & A Initiatives are collaborating around this shared vision, through identifying possible synergies, and clarifying their differences, in order to offer a collective pallette of choices. Humanitarian organisations can then select the options best suited to their needs and priorities. The seven initiatives* currently participating in the Q&A Initiative are committed to working together to facilitate this process of selection, and to reporting progress to the larger humanitarian constituency.
* The seven initiatives are ALNAP, Coordination Sud, ECB Project, Groupe URD, HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project.
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The HAP International Secretariat commits to the People in Aid Code of Good Practice
In December 2009, the HAP International Secretariat made a formal commitment to implement the People in Aid Code of Good Practice. In essence this means the Secretariat will use the People in Aid Code as a management tool and as a reference for the continuous improvement of our human resources policies and practices.
As set out in the 2010-2011 workplan, the HAP International Secretariat will strive to implement the People in Aid Code from 2010, and then seek to achieve verified compliant status in 2011.
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