Country-based Pooled Funds Global Guidelines [EN/AR]

Introduction

1.1. Purpose and scope of the Global Guidelines

1. The purpose of these Global Guidelines is to ensure a coherent and harmonised approach to the governance and operations of Country-based Pooled Funds (CBPFs). These Global Guidelines set out arrangements that enhance the quality of CBPF practices and their accountability to stakeholders, including United Nations (UN) Member States, donors, humanitarian operational partners (hereafter referred to as ‘partners’), and people affected by disasters and emergencies.

2. The Global Guidelines describe minimum global standards for effective and efficient management of CBPFs, aligning approaches while recognising the contextual specificity of each Fund. They build upon the extensive experience of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) over many years of managing CBPFs in different country contexts. The Global Guidelines comprise this main body and annexes, providing further details on certain topics.

3. The Global Guidelines also apply to the Regionally-hosted Pooled Fund (hereafter referred to as ‘Regional Fund’), which is being piloted in Central and West Africa. This innovation aims to bring the benefits of pooled funding to new geographies where establishing a fully-fledged CBPF may not be feasible while strengthening regional approaches to programming. Regional Funds also have the potential to support a coherent approach to regional emergencies and/or promote cross-border collaboration and synergies between country-specific allocations. The concept builds on the learning and good practices related to CBPFs. The pilot will capture emerging practices, draw lessons learned and provide an evidence-based analysis about its utility. Explicit references are made when differences exist in the application of the Guideline provisions to the Regional Fund. The Regional Fund concept and characteristics will continue to evolve and be refined subsequent to the issuance of these Global Guidelines.

4. Primary users of these Global Guidelines are OCHA Country Offices, in particular their Humanitarian Financing Units (HFUs), which support and manage the CBPFs. The Guidelines also serve as a reference document for partners, as they also describe the roles and responsibilities of Humanitarian Coordinators (HCs); OCHA; partners, including UN agencies, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs);1 coordination platforms, including sectors/clusters; and other stakeholders.

5. Six CBPFs (Afghanistan, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia) are administered by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) Office. At the time of issuance of these Global Guidelines, OCHA and MPTF Office are in discussions on the transition of the MPTF Office’s administrative role. For further information, please refer to the MPTF Office Website (https://mptf.undp.org/) and relevant documents provided by the Office.

6. Each CBPF functions in a specific context and is managed by OCHA at the country level. While the Funds are required to align practices with these Global Guidelines, they retain the flexibility to build upon the minimum standards and adopt additional provisions to best meet the demands of that context. Where humanitarian objectives and operational requirements require deviation from minimum standards for financial and risk management,2 the HC may request approval of an exceptional waiver by OCHA’s Executive Officer (EO) – which will be considered in light of the corresponding justification and risk management implications. Under the leadership of the HC, OCHA HFU, in consultation with the Advisory Board (AB), will develop an ‘Operational Manual’, describing specific arrangements appropriate to the context. Key elements of the Operational Manual will include membership of governance bodies; steps in the allocation process; the accountability framework, including procedures for risk management, and financial and budgetary administration. In the case of a Regional Fund, a regional Operational Manual will be established with country-specific details set out in annexes as required.

7. These Global Guidelines are subject to periodic review, indicatively every three to four years or when required by a significant change in the context, in line with learning and the continuing evolution of good practices (see section 1.6). Annexes may be revised more frequently as and when necessary, potentially coming into effect ahead of the next review of the entire Global Guidelines.