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The Grand Bargain is a landmark agreement between more than 50 of the biggest donors and aid agencies to improve how actors within the sector work together.

At the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016, world leaders agreed to a package of ten reforms, clustered around workstreams to make financing for humanitarian response more efficient and effective. This agreement, called the ‘Grand Bargain’ (GB), was one of three solutions proposed by the High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing in their report to the UN Secretary General, ‘Too Important to Fail: addressing the humanitarian financing gap’. The reforms of working practices of donors and aid organisations outlined in the GB is envisaged to deliver an extra US$ 1 billion in savings over five years for people in need of assistance. While the GB alone cannot solve the issue of the funding gap, it represents a great opportunity to improve the way the aid sector operates.

The first year of the GB was largely focused on internal reflection, with key actors taking time to review each commitment and workstream. A consensus emerged from the experience that clear synergies and complementarities among workstreams are essential, and collaboration between agencies and donors is key in moving forward. The Facilitation Group established to provide impetus to each workstream has identified top priorities for the coming months and if focusing on mobilizing change at the operational level through pilot projects and initiatives. A key priority for the pilots is to ensure the Quid Pro Quo principle is respected amongst all actors.

World Bank CEO, Kristalina Georgieva, has returned in the leadership role of ‘Eminent Person’, offering a welcomed opportunity to further advance the agenda and support political momentum for the entire process. Owing to a new collaboration between NRC, including NORCAP, and the World Bank, the GB Secretariat has also been strengthened with an additional resource staff, former NRC Country Director Gianmaria Pinto. Gianmaria will play an instrumental role in improving communication and enhancing much-needed synergies between actors and initiatives of the GB process.

NRC will continue to take a strong leadership role within the ‘NGO Co-Champion’ framework launched by InterAction and other NGO networks. NRC is co-champion for two workstreams: multi-year funding and planning, and reduced duplication of management costs.

All signatories need to invest proactively in the fulfilment of GB commitments. The rest of this document gives a brief overview of NRC’s engagement and objectives within the GB.