Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) Operational Manual (February 2024)

Introduction

The Syrian Cross-border Humanitarian Fund was established in July 2014 following UN Security Resolutions 2139 and 2165 in view of the magnitude and complexity of the Syria crisis.

The Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) is a multi-donor country-based pooled fund whose objective is to expand and enable humanitarian assistance in Syria. It supports activities in line with the strategic and sector objectives of the Syria Response Plan. The SCHF provides flexible and timely resources to partners thereby expanding the delivery of humanitarian assistance, increasing humanitarian access, and strengthening partnerships with local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The SCHF's objective is to support lifesaving and life-sustaining activities, fill critical funding gaps, support prepositioning of stock and contingency planning, capacity building of local partners, support to logistics and coordination services, and support to resilience and early recovery needs wherever possible.

The SCHF is managed locally by the United Nations Office for the Coordination (OCHA) Türkiye under the leadership of the Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis (DRHC).

Purpose and Scope of the SCHF Operational Manual

The primary purpose of the SCHF Operational Manual (OM) is to enhance the quality of SCHF practices and ensure accountability to stakeholders, including United Nations Member States, donors, humanitarian partners, and affected communities, and to serve as a comprehensive guide to the governance and operations of the Fund.

The SCHF Operational Manual February 2024 is developed in alignment with the Country Based Pool Funds (CBPFs) Global Guidelines and ensures a coherent and harmonized approach to managing the Fund while addressing the specific context of northwest Syria, retaining the necessary flexibility, building upon the minimum standards, and adopting additional provisions to best meet the demands of its context. Therefore, the Operational Manual should be read in conjunction with the CBPF Global Guidelines.

Key elements of the Operational Manual includes membership of governance bodies; steps in the allocation process; the accountability framework, including procedures for risk management, and financial and budgetary administration.

The primary user of the SCHF Operational Manual is the OCHA Office in Gaziantep, Türkiye, in particular the Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU), which is responsible for the daily management of all programmatic and financial aspects of the SCHF.

This Manual also serves as a reference document for partners, as it also describes the roles and responsibilities of the DRHC; OCHA; partners, including UN agencies, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Red Cross/Red Crescent movement origination; coordination platforms, including sectors/clusters and other stakeholders.

The Operational Manual may be reviewed once a year, or when required by a significant change in the context, and in line with changes in the Global Guidelines, learning and the continuing evolution of good practices.

The OM incorporates a list of Annexes that constitutes integral part of the OM itself.

DISCLAIMER

This OM 2024 version replaces the previous OM 2021 and any earlier version.

All rules and regulations included in the OM 2024 apply to all projects approved during the 2023 allocations and for the future.

This OM may go through a light revision as required on an annual basis to include minor changes and developments agreed by the SCHF Advisory Board.

In-depth review will be carried out in response to significant changes in the context or global guidance received from headquarters.

All revised and new versions will be published online and shared with the partners here and in other OCHA online resources.

All correspondence and general inquiries about the Operational Manual should be sent to the OCHA Humanitarian Financing Unit at: ocha_schf@un.org

For more information, visit:

· CBPF Data Hub

· SCHF on Reliefweb

· SCHF on OCHA Website

· CBPF Global Guidelines

· OneGMS