Chapter Four - HAP International

THE 2008 HUMANITARIAN ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT
1. Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)
Introductory comments: Through ACFID’s transition from associate membership to full membership, ACFID continued to promote the HAP Standard to
ACFID members. In 2008, ACFID did not undertake any programme delivery functions apart from the original mandate. Therefore, in completing the
following report, it is appropriate for ACFID to report against those criteria/aspects that relate to activities, achievements and challenges in promoting the
HAP Accountability Principles.
In August 2007, HAP entered into a 12-month contract with the Australian Government (AusAID). ACFID was contracted by HAP to provide services with a
view of promoting the Standard and the benefits of HAP membership, and undertake further work on establishing an accreditation system.
Key goal for 2008 Achievements / challenges / lessons learned
Promotion of the Standard and
benefits of HAP membership to
ACFID members and the broader
NGO sector in Australia and the
Asia Pacific region
NGOs kept informed and interested about the HAP certification process: ACFID targeted agencies likely to
undertake accreditation. The key contacts identified were the international emergency managers of CARE Australia,
Caritas Australia, Oxfam Australia, Australian Red Cross, Austcare, ADRA, AFAP, Habitat for Humanity and World
Vision Australia. These stakeholders meet regularly as part of ACFIDs Humanitarian Reference Group (HRG).
Permanent observers of the HRG who also targeted, including MSF. ACFID utilised the HRG as a mechanism for
distributing information about HAP and providing a forum for discussion on the HAP Principles and options for
accreditation.
ACFID also followed up HRG members individually regarding both internal lobbying for HAP within their agencies and
updates on the progress of their agency and/or wider federation. Wider dissemination of HAP updates to the NGO
sector was done through the ACFID sector and member bulletins, which are distributed weekly and fortnightly. ACFID
also undertook direct lobbying at a strategic level, engaging CEOs of the agencies noted above.
The development of a certification process: In general, agencies strongly upheld the values that HAP promotes and
views global accountability standards as a very important issue. However, within the Australian context, the state of
play infers that, although Australian agencies uphold the HAP values, they are not yet in a position to move towards
certification/accreditation. This stems from a variety of challenges regarding managerial and federation issues, a lack of
resources and streamlined processes. Therefore, ACFID was not able to fulfil its contractual agreement with HAP in
2007-08, which included support and development of an accreditation system.
Promote and implement HAP certification in and around the Asia Pacific region:
• ACFID coordinated further consultation on HAP at the HRG meetings, which were held on 18 February, 20 May
and 20 August 2008.
• ACFID shared HAP updates and the Accountability Principles through the sector and member bulletins, which are
distributed weekly and fortnightly.
• HAP was discussed during the HRG quarterly meetings.
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