Accountability
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The Humanitarian Forum is committed to enabling under-resourced humanitarian and development organisations to become well regulated, accountable, transparent organisations. We work towards this on several levels:
Accountability to the law and government
We bring together organisations with Governments to create a culture in which organisations can adhere to national laws and standards, and Governments can hold them accountable and see them operating honestly and transparently. It's about getting the balance right between regulation and freedom of movement. Once again, opening up space for crucial dialogue and cooperation is key; The Humanitarian Forum provides the bridge and the space for discussion.
Internal accountability
It's just as important to have good internal dialogue as it is for an organisation to communicate with external bodies. Our training provides the necessary tools for an organisation to ensure its Board is well informed, its staff and supporters have a clear understanding its aims, and the organization commits to and fulfils its mandate, thus reaching the full potential of its performance and impact.
Accountability to peers
At the core of what we do is our belief that humanitarian and development organisations should be accessible and accountable to its peers - other organisations, and civil society organisations where it works. Partnership, not rivalry maximizes benefit to the people the organisation exists to help. Our training encourages actors to be open to collaboration. We also show that, through collaboration, accountability can improve across civil society as a whole, and that this can give organisations a stronger voice nationally in developing sectoral codes of conduct. Our work creates organisations which inspire and share success, and through open accountability, ultimately to lead to a stronger civil society.
Accountability to stakeholders
We realize that one of the most important relationships for an organisations is the one it has with its stakeholders and donors. So we work to implement the standards of the Charity Commission - who also regulate The Humanitarian Forum itself - which empower NGOs to make themselves more transparent and accountable - which ultimately helps those who benefit from them.
Accountability to beneficiaries
Perhaps the most vital relationship for any organisation is its relationship to its beneficiaries and the communities it works in. Through training, monitoring and peer support, we help organisations ensure they hear their beneficiaries We ensure they get their message across by enabling good communication with communities. We ensure that they access and accept feedback from their beneficiaries, and use this to constantly improve their programmes and stay relevant as society's needs change and evolve. Our research and work shows that increased trust between the community and the organisation can not only improve the impact for beneficiaries, but also improves security for the staff.
Access resources on how to make your organisation more accountable.
Case Study: Yemen
In June 2009, HFY organized a workshop on accountability for 25 Yemeni NGOs. The aim was to increase understanding of accountability and transparency, share best practice and tools, and plan specific intervention on financial management, to reduce the risk of financial leakage and increase effectiveness in NGOs .
Ben Evans, of the International Programme, Charity Commission for England and Wales, led the workshop, demonstrating that accountable NGOs are more effective: they know how their money is being spent and how effective it is; they get feedback, enabling them to identify new opportunities and improvements. The increased trust this creates leads to more funding and help, and accountability makes it harder for fraud or abuse to go undetected.
Working groups presented action plans for preparation of an HFY Code of conduct, based on Islamic concepts and beliefs.
Since the meeting a small group has started to prepare the HFY Code. These are Ahmad Sharaji, Mr. Nabeel Al Sadii, Yehia El Deba, and Mr. Ahmed Ziad.
