Attachments
Executive summary
Half-way through the Grand Bargain 2.0 iteration, endorsed at the Annual Meeting 2021, the Signatories gathered at Sherpa-level in Geneva on 30 June 2022, and virtually at Principal-level on 1 July 2022, for the Grand Bargain Annual Meeting. A high level of renewed energy was demonstrated by the Signatories, who committed to a number of concrete actions in the next twelve months to advance progress on the enabling priorities – quality funding, localisation and participation revolution (full list in Annex I).
The Grand Bargain Annual Independent Report 2022 noted progress in the last year, but also remaining challenges – urgent action is needed now to ensure that the Signatories can capitalise and expand upon progress already made since 2016. While there has been an increase in absolute terms, the distribution of quality funding is not equitable and a huge gap remains between funds and humanitarian needs. Despite high-level political commitment to advancing localisation, the report finds gaps between policy support and implementation, with the impact of changes slow and scant evidence of onward flow of funds down the transaction chain. The participation revolution was another area where while there is ample commitment at political level, there is little evidence of and few incentives for genuine change. The recommendations included increasing the provision and more equitable distribution of quality funding, supporting local leadership and enhancing institutional capacities, giving affected people real influence over the aid provided, enhancing coordination of efforts to maximise multiplier effects, strengthening the governance and accountability of the Grand Bargain 2.0, and simplifying monitoring and reporting to better track progress.
The conversation of the first day focused on confirming outcomes by July 2023 and agreeing how the Signatories will achieve them collectively and individually. The EP and Facilitation Group introduced planned next steps on localisation, quality funding, and participation of affected people. Key stakeholders shared lessons on what has been driving the Grand Bargain progress both at individual and collective level, and how the synergies to existing fora can be further strengthened. Speakers included the caucus champions, the IASC, the Friends of Gender Group, the Platform on Risk Sharing, a representative from a National Reference Group in North-West Syria, and the MOPAN/OECD.
Mobilised by the EP Jan Egeland, who called for urgent action and committed his own institution to several actions in the year to come, the Signatories made concrete individual commitments on how they will advance progress towards the enabling priorities, namely to make aid as local as possible, to ensure that affected people are part of the response and to make quality funding available. On the second day of the meeting, both the Grand Bargain Facilitation Group Principals and several Signatory Principals continued committing their institutions to a wide range of actions in the year to come, such as increasing funding as directly as possible to local partners, changing internal systems to better track funding or to decrease bureaucracy to allow faster and more quality funding; increasing the volume of multi-year funding and the flexibility of funding, strengthening institutional capacities of frontline responders, etc.
The EP and Facilitation Group also started the conversation on the future of the Grand Bargain after 2023 – although all options remain on the table as the consultation with the Signatories is just starting, there was a sense of strong support for continuation of the Grand Bargain.
EP Jan Egeland welcomed the renewed energy at the Annual Meeting, but reiterated that more Grand Bargain Signatories need to take leadership roles and actively participate.