Disasters Emergency Committee [to 29 November 2014]
http://www.dec.org.uk/
[Action Aid, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Plan UK, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision]

DEC publishes review of member agency assurance mechanisms
27/11/2014
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has published today an independent report which shows how its member agencies provide assurance that they are following agreed ways of working when they respond to emergencies.

The report “DEC Accountability Self-Assessment Validation 2013-14” was prepared for the DEC by consultants from One World Trust who validated members’ self-assessed performance against 21 ‘Ways of Working’ [PDF] which DEC members are committed to following.

The report shows that DEC member agencies continue to report performance improvements and that the large majority of these self-assessments were likely to be accurate. Importantly however it also drew the attention of a minority of members to areas where their self-assessments were insufficiently supported by evidence.

DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said: “The DEC Accountability Framework shows that our members do not simply sign up to commitments to observe best practice, they also put in place systems to ensure they live up to these commitments.”

“The process members go through to demonstrate they are following the agreed DEC ways of working can seem very abstract because it is about assurance mechanisms that provide evidence that policy and procedures are appropriate and systematically implemented. In reality, this approach is at the heart of the way the DEC works because it helps ensure our members are consistently working to the highest possible standards and continually seeking systematic improvements in their work.

“What it comes down to in the end is that getting aid work right isn’t just about good people who know what they doing delivering good work. If you want to ensure you are delivering consistently excellent work you also need good processes.”…