A) Objectives of the pledge:
National Societies involved in the development of this pledge:
Colombian Red Cross, Ethiopian Red Cross Society, Honduran Red Cross, Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan, Lebanese Red cross, Malawi Red Cross Society, Central African Red Cross Society, Red Cross Society of Niger, Yemen Red Crescent Society, Australian Red Cross, Austrian Red Cross, The Canadian Red Cross Society, The Netherlands Red Cross, British Red Cross, American Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross and Spanish Red Cross.
This pledge is open for endorsement by the IFRC network and State partners committed to empowering local actors to deliver on their national strategies through coherent, unified, accountable, and trusted international cooperation.
The IFRC network, comprising the Secretariat and its member National Societies is a leader in the humanitarian sector through its community-based approach, commitment to localization, and practical implementation of global goals. However, there are areas for improvement in how we coordinate out international efforts.
The IFRC has worked to encourage a shift in mindsets towards a Federation-wide approach to membership coordination, leading to increased trust across the network. This is exemplified by the IFRC’s (New) Way of Working and its unified planning and reporting process, as well a Federation-wide approach in emergencies. The overall intended outcome of the IFRC network Way of Working is to ensure and enhance locally led, effective, inclusive, and accountable humanitarian action. Achieving this shift requires setting an example of the Way of Working initiative is also the participation in the “ECHO Pilot Programmatic Partnership (PPP)” in leveraging IFRC’s resource mobilization aligned to the local priorities.
Building on International Conference Resolution 4, which calls for enabling local leadership, capacity, and delivery in principled humanitarian action, this pledge establishes more specific in achieving their national strategies. This includes investing in National Societies (NS) to strengthen their service delivery, financial sustainability, and the impact of their programs to better meet community needs.
B) Action plan:
To enable locally led action, we commit to the following in our funding arrangements and coordination efforts:
- Leadership of NS in Country Operations: Ensure that National Societies lead coordination and cooperation platforms in their countries, respecting their sovereignty, auxiliary role, and centrality in humanitarian action.
- Predictable and Coherent Support: Ensure consistent humanitarian funding and support across countries and regions, aligned with local needs.
- Unity through One Federation: Foster a unified Federation focused on shared goals, with the National Society at the center of all efforts.
- Leverage the IFRC Network’s Capacity: Harness peer-to-peer support and resource generation across the IFRC network, utilizing the Secretariat’s ability to raise resources from multilateral sources for the broader benefit of the membership.
- Qualified, Impactful Red Pillar Presence: Ensure impactful, efficient presence of the Red Cross/Red Crescent in each country.
- Transformational Change: Promote a system-wide transformation to locally led, needs-based humanitarian models with innovative and flexible funding arrangements.
- Mindset Shift: Foster shared understanding and trust in local leadership, with open communication and solutions that reduce complexity and dependency.
- Transparency and Accountability: Commit to transparent partnerships, equitable collaboration, and accountability by ensuring clear financial reporting, supporting NS financial management systems, and reducing duplication.
- Strategic Long-Term Partnerships: Build equitable, transparent partnerships based on mutual respect, shared responsibility, and trust.
Mainstreaming the IFRC Way of Working (WOW)
We will integrate the following elements to strengthen coordination and local leadership:
- Full transparency on income and costs, including the proportion of funds transferred between partners.
- Commitment to funding core costs.
- Strengthening financial management and reporting systems of National Societies to meet established audit standards.
- Reducing duplication and transaction costs by using local systems whenever possible.
- Simplifying rules and procedures.
- Prioritizing the safety, security, and well-being of local volunteers, including RCRC volunteers.
- Streamlining due diligence and compliance requirements for local actors while investing in their capacity for integrity and accountability.
- Promoting clear coordination models based on defined roles and responsibilities at all levels, including branches.
- Supporting peer-to-peer learning.
- Celebrating and communicating successes to maintain momentum.
- Making the WOW framework a mandatory requirement for working in-country.
C) Indicators for measuring progress:
- # One HNS-led IFRC Network Plan: A shared plan that includes all partners, needs assessments, alignment, leadership, and joint marketing to external partners, promoting collective ownership and mutual interest.
- # One Joint Accountability Framework
- # One Joint Monitoring and Reporting Framework: Including a unified data collection system.
- # One Joint Federation-Wide Risk Management Approach
- # One Joint Resource Mobilization Plan and Fundraising Efforts
- # One Joint Implementation Model: Based on shared leadership and country support mechanisms.
D) Resource implications:
The above goals are not expected to increase resource requirements, except for potential commitments regarding indirect costs, where these may not yet be guaranteed.
We acknowledge that some goals may require internal policy changes, which may take time. Additionally, achieving certain outcomes may depend on donor agreements and policy adjustments. In such cases, we will advocate for the necessary flexibility while ensuring strong accountability and integrity measures. We will also clearly communicate any other challenges that may hinder progress toward these goals.