Humanitarian Financing the basics

1
Humanitarian Financing the basics

• DEMAND / NEEDS
• - agency/organisation appeals
• - consolidated appeals (incl CAP, Flash Appeals)
• - appeals by NGO umbrella organisations
• - Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement appeals
• SUPPLY (funding)
• - bilateral donors
• - multilateral donors
• - private sector
• - pooled funds (CERF, CHF, ERF)
• - internal organisational funding (including
  DREF)

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What is the CAP?

• More than an appeal for funding a tool for
  coordination, strategic planning, programming,
  and funding
• Helps humanitarian community at country level to
  jointly plan, implement, and monitor their
  activities
• Strengthens cross-cluster coordination,
  partnership, ensures more coherence with govt,
  donors
• CAPs developed when acute humanitarian need, govt
  unwilling/unable to address, single agency
  cannot cover all needs

3
How does the CAP work?

• Annual cycle of analysis, needs assessment,
  setting priorities, planning the response,
  issuing appeal, monitoring revision
• HCT leads process of CAP development at country
  level, under RC/HC leadership, cluster/sector
  leads have critical role to play
• IASC CAP SWG at global level to support process,
  improve practices, organise training
• Donors fund agencies directly in response to
  projects included in appeal (sometimes pooled
  fund created for CAP)

4
What is the Flash Appeal?

• Strategic humanitarian response plan
• Tool for coordination, planning, and programming
• Outline of priority life-saving needs, within a
  week of emergency onset
• Contains rapid needs assessment information,
  common humanitarian action plan, sectoral
  response plans, projects

• Addresses acute needs for up to 6 months (can
  be incorporated into CAP if emergency continues
  and needs persist)

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When to issue an appeal?

• Any emergency requiring a
• coordinated cross-sectoral
• humanitarian response that
• exceeds the capacity of the affected countrys
  government,
• exceeds the capacity and/or mandate of any one
  organisation
• Affected government may also
• (formally) request international
• assistance in the form of a
• flash appeal.

www.undp.org/cpr/disred
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Who is involved in the process?

• RC/HC (leading process, with OCHA support)
• UN agencies, IOM
• NGOs (international national)
• Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (ICRC, IFRC,
  national society) different funding mechanisms
  but involved in strategic planning process
• Donors (field office representatives)
• Affected country government, line Ministries, etc
  (appeal is developed in consultation with
  government)

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Flash Appeal Revision

• Compromise between speed and precision the early
  first edition not based on comprehensive
  information
• The 2nd edition (or revision) is prepared when
  better info is availableusually 4-6 weeks later.
  It may also include more early recovery
  programmes which could not be assessed in time
  for the first edition
• NB New Flash Appeal guidelines developed 2009

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Central Emergency Response Fund

• Established 2005 to enable more predictability,
  reliability, timeliness in humanitarian
  financing (pre-positioned)
• Managed by ERC with assistance from CERF
  Secretariat
• Complements, rather than substitutes, existing
  financing coordination mechanisms
• A multi-donor trust fund (119 donors almost
  500 billion)

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Criteria for CERF grants

• Projects included in a CERF application must be
  life-saving or time critical
• Only UN agencies and IOM can apply directly for
  CERF funding (NGOs can receive funds as partners)
• All actors should be
• involved in process of
• prioritisation of projects
• for CERF funding
• Field-driven decision-
• making process, led by
• RC/HC HCT

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CERF Funding Allocation Process

• Rapid Response Window
• (1) sudden onset disasters, (2) unexpected
  deteriorations or (3) time-critical interventions
• HC/RC calls HCT to jointly agree on priority
  projects
• Projects compiled in template submitted to ERC
• CERF Secretariat reviews submissions funds
  disbursed for agreed projects to agency HQs
• Under-Funded Window
• Allocations made twice annually to chronically
  under-funded emergencies
• To select countries and set allocations, CERF
  Secretariat conducts consultation with agencies
  and analyses funding data
• ERC makes final selection and communicates
  decision and funding allocations to HC/RC, with
  deadline for submission of projects
• For countries selected, HCs/RCs lead HCTs to
  prioritize core emergency/life-saving projects

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Role of Cluster Lead Agencies (CAP, Flash
Appeals, CERF)

• Inclusiveness all partners participate
• Consultation with government
• Needs analysis strategy development
• Sectoral response planning
• Ensuring complementarity of projects
• Leading project selection vetting
• Prioritisation
• Funding advocacy
• Monitoring evaluation (including revision)

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Pooled Funds (country level)

• Common Humanitarian Fund (since 2006, Sudan, DRC,
  CAR)
• - managed at country level by HC
• - provides early, strategic, predictable funding
  to critical needs outlined in CAP
• - inclusive allocation process (clusters)
• - all partners can access funds
• - by end 2008, 838 million (10 donors)
• - emergency reserve also maintained

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Pooled Funds (country level)

• Emergency Response Funds
• - managed at country level by HC
• - provides small, rapid, flexible response
  (mainly NGOs) for unforeseen needs
• - scope of funds adapted to country context,
  variation in size
• - 12 active ERFs currently, 2 more in pipeline
• - 201 million by 2008 (14 donors)
• - complementarity of pooled funds

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Financial Tracking Service (FTS)

• Web-based searchable database of funding
  requirements and contributions
• Tables with breakdowns by donor, sector,
  appealing organisation
• Allows users to produce custom-made tables
• Useful for humanitarians and donors, for
  advocacy, monitoring decision-making
• Useful for appeal revision, to view funding
  status and review humanitarian strategy
• NB FTS only includes information that is
  reported to OCHA

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Further information atwww.reliefweb.int/fts
online financial tracking database for
humanitarian appealswww.humanitarianappeal.net
repository of all CAPs and flash appeals,
training guides, best practice,
etc.www.cerf.un.org detailed information about
the CERF, procedures and where funding has been
received