At the end of 2008, HAP member agencies and the Secretariat embarked upon a process of reviewing the HAP 2007 Standard in Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management to reflect learning from its application over the past two years and to incorporate emerging good practice on humanitarian accountability and quality management in the sector. The result of the review process will be an updated and improved HAP 2010 Standard and a new edition of The Guide to the HAP Standard.
Other relevant documentation
Why review the HAP 2007 Standard?
Since its adoption in January 2007, the HAP Standard has been used by NGOs and their partners, donors and host governments, communities and other civil society groups to measure, validate and improve humanitarian action. For the Standard to maintain its relevance and continue to drive improvements on accountability and quality management in the sector, it needs to reflect learning from its application to date, emerging good practice, changing expectations of relevant stakeholders and other system-wide developments. The Guide to the HAP Standard will also be revised and a new edition prepared for publication.
Aims of the review
- To consider known impact of the HAP 2007 Standard upon the lives of disaster survivors
- To identify lessons learned from experience with the HAP 2007 Standard and the certification scheme
- To ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the current Standard and the certification scheme and to identify areas for improvement
- To highlight positive and negative consequences of compliance with the Standard for Board and General Assembly approval
- To reach consensus on areas for revision, including options for making the Standard and the Standard certification system more explicitly applicable to multi-mandate agencies, and prepare a draft HAP 2010 Standard
- To develop new and consolidate existing materials for managing, communicating and promoting the Standard and the quality assurance certification system to key audiences
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The review process
Through an extensive process of engagement, communities affected by disasters, field practitioners and managers of HAP member agencies, the UN, donors and other relevant stakeholders contribute to revising the different elements of the Standard. An improved HAP Standard will be submitted to the HAP Board for adoption in 2010 following research and analysis, regional consultations and testing at field locations such as Bangladesh – where there is a high risk of recurring emergencies, and where a large number of HAP members, partners and other agencies committed to the Principles of Accountability have expressed an interest in the Standard review. Options for making the HAP Standard more explicitly applicable beyond the humanitarian emergency domain are also explored.
Robust stakeholder involvement, including participation of disaster survivors and staff from member agencies and their partners is observed at all stages in the process, as is complementarity with planned processes of other relevant quality and accountability initiatives, particularly the Sphere Handbook revision and the ECB Phase II. Options for improving coherence and moving towards convergence with relevant standards and codes of conduct such as those of the Sphere Project and People In Aid are explored. As in the development of the HAP 2007 Standard, the review process uses the ISO guidelines for the development of international standards.
A Steering Committee provides leadership and retains an oversight function of the process; individual members provide input and feedback at different stages, depending on their area of expertise. The following are members of the Steering Committee as of October 2009:
- Dr Ivone Atar Adaha, Independent
- Marie-Luise Ahlendorf, Transparency International
- Kitty Arie, Save the Children UK
- David Bainbridge, Tearfund
- Niels Bentzen, Danish Refugee Council
- Avishan Chanani, Sphere Project
- Steve Darvill, OECD
- Nicole Gaertner, US Department of State
- Jan Pieter Lingen, International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions
- Nicholas Morris, Independent
- Esther Mujawayo, Independent
- Yeshey Pelzom, Independent
- Ed Schenkenberg, ICVA
- Maria Thorin, SIDA
- Pauline Wilson, Independent
See the Terms of Reference for the Standard Review Steering Committe.
A Reference Group provides the basis for wider consensus building on changes proposed to the HAP 2007 Standard. Members of the Reference Group:
- Share their expertise, skills and knowledge on improving accountability and quality management;
- Provide timely input and feedback to the Secretariat at different stages in the process, both in relation to the Standard and to the Guide to the Standard;
- Facilitate consultation meetings or host the HAP team during programme site consultations and field testing, where relevant and appropriate;
- Receive regular updates from the Secretariat on the review process;
- Promote accountability and quality management in and beyond their organisation.
Technical Working Groups were established under guidance from the Steering Committee for those areas that require more extensive revision. At the Steering Committee meeting in May 2009, two technical working groups have been agreed:
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Partnerships Working Group: to review the Standard from the perspective of agencies working with partners. For more information on this, contact the current lead agency focal point, Richard Cobb via richard.cobb@merlin.org.uk.
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Working Group on Handling Complaints of Exploitation and Abuse: to review the Standard with specific focus on prevention of and response to exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries by aid workers. See the Terms of Reference for the Working Group on Handling Complaints of Exploitation and Abuse. For more information on this, contact the lead agency focal point, Richard Powell at Save the Children UK via R.Powell@savethechildren.org.uk or Coleen Heemskerk at the HAP Secretariat via cheemskerk@hapinternational.org.
Literature Review: Save the Children UK commissioned a literature review for the Working Group on Handling Complaints of Exploitation and Abuse. Complaints Mechanisms and Handling of Exploitation and Abuse, by Veronika Martin, was commissioned to highlight what research, tools and other information is available on handling complaints of exploitation and abuse by aid workers, including sexual exploitation and abuse, in the humanitarian context.
The review focuses on existing practice and is not an exhaustive list of all resources, but rather, a summary of the most relevant and informative sources, with an eye towards highlighting emerging best practice and providing practical guidance on the use and effectiveness of complaints mechanisms. A focus is placed on lessons learnt and examining barriers to reporting. A review of eight case studies demonstrates the successes and challenges of handling complaints of a sexual and non sexual nature. By reviewing successes and failures of complaint mechanisms, it helps the reader better understand what components of effective mechanisms are, and what the direction of emerging good practice looks like. This review researched over 50 reports, training manuals, declarations, and guidance on issues of abuse and exploitation between 2002 and 2010 authored by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and various agencies of the United Nations. Recommendations related to complaints mechanisms by each of these entities are also outlined in the report.
The review has directly informed suggestions from the working group on making the HAP 2010 Standard more explicit on prevention and response to exploitation and abuse
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Main activities and timelines
1. Planning, research and preliminary consultation, January- June 2009
Preliminary consultation with member agencies and other key stakeholders to identify major suggestions and recommendations for revision took place during this period, alongside a review of latest developments related to humanitarian accountability and quality management. The Steering Committee, Reference Group, and technical Working Groups were established and inter-operability options explored, with the Sphere Standards and the People In Aid code in particular.
2. Steering Committee meeting, May 2009
The Steering Committee oversees the review process. The purpose of the first meeting was to reach agreement on the scope of the review, key elements for consideration and working arrangements. Technical Working Groups were also set up then. Notes from the Steering Committe meeting in May 2009 are available here.
3. Consultations, July 2009 – March 2010, locations tbc
HAP staff facilitated wide consultation with beneficiaries and staff, including at three locations chosen based on the following criteria: beneficiaries and agencies have first hand experience with implementing the Standard; high risk of recurring emergencies; HAP members, partners and other agencies committed to the Principles of Accountability have expressed an interest in the review process; potential for working jointly with the Sphere Handbook revision, ECB Project activities, or other relevant processes. A host agency and a local facilitator, with first-hand experience of disasters or who was a recipient of aid worked closely with the HAP team at these locations. Members and other interested agencies were encouraged to host HAP Standard Review consultation meetings or joint HAP-Sphere consultations and contribute to improved coherence between the HAP Standard and the Sphere Project's Handbook.
Wide consultation through the Reference Group and beyond took place until the end of March 2010.
4. Workshops, Sept 2009 – March 2010, tbc
Findings from the consultations were complemented through workshops led by the HAP Secretariat staff.
5. Steering Committee meeting, 29 March 2010
A synthesis of outcomes from consultations was discussed at a Steering Commitee workshop on 29 March 2010 in Geneva. Notes from this meeting will become available in early May.
6. Prepare drafts, April - July 2010, tbc
Two drafts of the HAP 2010 Standard will be edited by the Policy Coordinator with the support of, and to reflect recommendations from, the Steering Committee. Unresolved issues emerging from a preliminary draft of the Standard will be discussed at the HAP General Assembly in May 2010. Following broader consultation on two drafts, it is expected that the 2010 Standard will be adopted and launched before the end of the year.
Work on the revision of the Guide will take place as part of the Standard Review process and will be underway once the Standard is approved.
Note that changes are likely to take place in the activities and timelines above based on ongoing feedback from key stakeholders.
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Other relevant documentation:
For more information
Contact Monica Blagescu, Policy Services Coordinator by email: mblagescu@hapinternational.org.
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