Development of a CARE International Accountability Framework

1. Development of a CARE International Accountability Framework March 2011

2. Why is an Accountability Framework needed? • CARE has too many standards, principles and guidelines, leaving staff confused. • Current performance management systems and donor incentives don’t often reward application of relevant standards. • CARE is not sufficiently accountable to communities, partners or even within the CARE membership.

3. Increasing criticism of NGOs • Governments questioning the lack of transparency, cost-effectiveness and marginal impact by NGOs. • A Google search for “NGO Watchdog” returns over 1½ million hits. Clicking on most of these links bring up articles and blogs questioning the value-added of NGOs.

4. 2008 One World Trust GAP Transparency Rankings CARE

5. What they are saying: • “NGOs in Haiti face new questions about their effectiveness” Washington Post Headline – Feb. 1, 2011 • “CARE appears to regard its “indirect cost rate” and “cost share” as confidential. To hide this information, USAID also had to black out the budget’s bottom line” www.aidwatchers.com Blog – Aug. 18, 2010

6. Accountability “Cloud”What are we actually accountable for? Sphere Standards Local Culture Local Partner Codes National Laws Procurement Rules Code of Conduct PARs Govt. Standards HAP Standards CARE Operations Manual CARE Program Principles Donor Compliance CARE’s HAF UN guidelines Cluster Standards Ubora CARE Project Standards

7. Stakeholder Accountability “Cloud”Who is actually accountable for what? Peer NGOs Communities Local Partner National Government Contractors Lead Member HQ Govt. Tech Depts. CARE Member Country Office UN Resident Coordinator UN Agency Donor CEG RMU Humanitarian Coordinator Cluster Coordinator

8. Stakeholder Power Relations More power Less power Host Govt. Donor Reps Beneficiaries Trad. Leaders Donor Govts. Women Senior Mgmt Communities Nat. Tech Depts. Vulnerable Groups UN Agencies Armed Groups National NGOs Agency Local Partners Cluster Coordinator Peer Agencies

9. No!!! CARE managers just ask for something simple that pulls together existing accountability commitments. They want a framework that can help managers and their teams to be more accountable where it counts. Is the Accountability Framework just another new initiative?

10. Dropping the “H” from the HAF CARE’s POC agreed that: • They take the lead in developing a CI-wide Accountability Framework • The AF will be organizational as well as program-oriented • Communities are a central focus of the AF • The HAF would be used as a starting point as many CARE staff were already using it • A Task Force be set up to steer this work

12. Start with…a Map! Step one: know where you’re heading… • What internal and external standards, principles, etc. is CARE signed up to? • Who within CARE has a key role in promoting accountability and how do they define it? • What ongoing processes can this complement? • What are the relevant lessons from peers? • What should a CARE Accountability Framework look like?

13. What were the main findings from this mapping study? • CARE staff wish to incorporate accountability more fully into their work; • CARE is not sufficiently accountable to communities, our partners, our advocacy targets or the environment; • A big challenge is to reconcile donor compliance while increasing our accountability to communities; • Need more accountability between CARE members; • CARE staff want a robust compliance mechanism for an Accountability Framework so that it is actually applied; • There are many examples of existing good practice which CARE can build upon.

14. Why is accountability important?

15. What might an Accountability Framework look like? CARE staff strives to be accountable both for our contribution to achieving lasting change in people’s lives and for the way that we work, including how we: • Uphold our values, principles and standards   • Fulfil our agreed goals and commitments • Wisely use the funds entrusted to us  and respect local statutory requirements • Ensure the welfare and support of our staff • Manage and reduce our environmental footprint 

16. How could an Accountability Framework be put into practice? Accountability processes • Give stakeholders a voice in our decision making  • Communicate in an open and honest way  • Actively seek feedback and complaint from others  • Demonstrate impact, quality and effectiveness • Learn with and from others  Accountability enablers • Demonstrate attitudes and behaviours that reflect our principles and values  • Develop appropriate systems to support accountability • Encourage leadership in accountability at all levels

17. Main recommendations • Communicate and discuss the AF development process across CARE more broadly • Pilot the AF in a selected number of different CARE organisational units • Develop draft guidance on how to put the AF into practice, including how to adapt it to local contexts • Agree a high-level statement, alongside CARE’s Vision & Mission, of what CARE will hold itself accountable for • Plan for the adoption of the AF as a change management process across the organisation • Consider setting up an external reference group to support CARE

18. Some Key Questions… • How can we rationalize and prioritize all our commitments to produce a useful AF? What will we have to leave out? How will we need to change ourselves? • Can we consider potential impact on communities during our decision-making processes? • How do we ensure that CARE has the necessary motivation, capacity & resources to put the AF into practice? • How can we still fulfill our accountability commitments when working via partners?