Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative, 2017-2019

Projet terminé

By supporting the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI), at the moment where it is building its sustainability, Switzerland strives to ensure humanitarian organizations have a measurable tool to track their progress against effectiveness and accountability to affected populations, with their application of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), and continuously improve. This is done through the verification and certification processes of HQAI which acts as an independent organization.

Pays/région Thème Période Budget
Monde entier
Aide humanitaire & RRC
Efficacité humanitaire
01.01.2017 - 31.12.2019
CHF  500’000
Contexte In a step to concretize and promote an accountability culture within the humanitarian system as a whole, the Joint Standards’ Initiative (2011-13), encouraged by NGOs, donors and other stakeholders, led to the development of the CHS, in December 2014. The standard aims to bring guidance to organizations and for them to measure their progress with regards to effectiveness of their assistance and their accountability to affected populations. With the creation of the CHS Alliance in 2015, came the establishment of HQAI to serve as an accessible, high-quality verification and certification to the CHS for organizations worldwide.
Objectifs

Create a learning and improvement-oriented culture through robust monitoring, reporting and verification of the CHS. HQAI provides options for measurement of progress through independent verification and certification. 

HQAI enables stakeholders to be clear about what can be expected from organizations delivering assistance, and demonstrate with evidence what has been provided, and how, to the affected populations.

Groupes cibles All humanitarian practitioners and stakeholders
Effets à moyen terme

The aim is to help increase the operational capacity and effectiveness of organizations, through:

  • Independent benchmarking: as a first step for organizations to obtain an objective diagnosis    of where they stand in the application of the CHS.
  • Independent verification: is intended for the organizations that want an independent, objective and impartial public assurance that they are making demonstrated, measurable progress implementing the CHS.
  • Certification for the CHS: certifies an organization’s systematic compliance with the standard with the inclusion of a mechanism for its maintenance.
Résultats

Principaux résultats attendus:  

  • HQAI aims at financial sustainability by 2021.
  • It is foreseen that an increased number of organizations will have used/be using HQAI’s services (providing a revenue from services), the aim being 200 of them by 2021.


Principaux résultats antérieurs:  

HQAI was successfully established in 2015 in parallel to the CHS Alliance. It is registered as a non-profit organization in Geneva and is accredited.

In the previous phase, HQAI has developped a vision, a strategy and a business plan; an office set-up; and financial and accounting procedures are in place. A methodology and tools for verification and certification against the CHS has also been developed, as well as a communication and marketing strategy and a reporting mechanism, all of which have been implemented.


Direction/office fédéral responsable DDC
Crédit Aide humanitaire
Partenaire de projet Partenaire contractuel
ONG internationale ou étrangère
  • Other international or foreign NGO North


Autres partenaires
CHS Alliance
Coordination avec d'autres projets et acteurs HQAI is complementary to the CHS Alliance. HQAI was established to carry out independent verification and certification against the CHS.
Budget Phase en cours Budget de la Suisse CHF    500’000 Budget suisse déjà attribué CHF    500’000 Projet total depuis la première phase Budget de la Suisse CHF   200’000
Phases du projet Phase 6 01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024   (Phase en cours) Phase 4 01.01.2020 - 31.03.2021   (Completed)

Phase 3 01.01.2017 - 31.12.2019   (Completed)