What is a National Reference Group (NRG)?
During the “World Humanitarian Summit (WHS)” held in Istanbul in May 2016, local and national NGOs in Türkiye, who played an active role, emphasised the need to strengthen local leadership and locally-driven action for a more effective, efficient and accountable humanitarian response system. Immediately after the World Humanitarian Summit, they established networks that promote the localisation of humanitarian aid interventions in development, peace and human rights work.
The Localisation Advocacy Group (LAG), the Refugee Council of Türkiye (TMK) and the Türkiye Local Humanitarian Forum (LHF), which are committed to transferring humanitarian and development efforts to local leadership, have made significant progress in this regard. As a result of this progress and in line with the recommendations of the Grand Bargain 2.0 framework, the National Reference Group Turkey was officially launched in January 2023 during the event “From Global to National: Moving Localisation Forward in Türkiye through the Launch of the National Reference Group" led by LAG and TMK and supported by UNHCR and UNDP on behalf of the 3RP.
Purpose and Mission
The main task of the National Reference Group (NRG) is to ensure that humanitarian aid and development systems in Turkey are programmed and implemented based on local realities. In this context, the URG provides an environment in which the shortcomings of the localisation agenda can be discussed, common goals can be set and joint efforts can be made to achieve these goals. The NRG was established in line with the recommendations of the Grand Bargain 2.0 and is the first example created in this framework in the world.
Structure and Functioning
The NRG is supported by joint decretariat of the Refugee Council of Türkiye (TMK), the Localisation Advocacy Group (LAG) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These structures coordinate and manage the NRG, whose members include UNHCR, UNDP, ECHO, UNICEF, Concern Worldwide, GIZ and the US Government (PRM). The Steering Committee meets once a month to assess the activities of the NRG and to manage the NRG.
Thematic working groups within the NRG meet as required to work on the topics of “Coordination”, “Partnerships” and “Funding”. The working groups are led by local and national associations.
Working Groups
Coordination: The aim is to ensure more effective and efficient coordination of humanitarian and development activities at local and national level.
Partnerships: The aim is to strengthen co-operation between local and international actors and to establish equal partnerships.
Funding: The aim is to ensure that local actors have access to more and better quality funding.
Planned Actions
In the area of coordination, greater support and funding will be channelled to strengthen the leadership and influence of local institutions. In the area of partnership, more genuine, equal and strategic partnerships will be promoted and subcontracting reduced, and in the area of funding, flexible and multi-annual funding will be provided directly to local institutions and their networks.
Membership and participation
Membership of the NRG is open to members of TMK, LAG and LHF as well as other civil society organisations that are not members of these networks. In addition, members of donors, UN agencies and international organisations can also become members.
Our activities
The NRG working groups have prepared a draft action plan in line with the recommendations made at the conference “From Global to National: Moving Localisation Forward in Türkiye through the Launch of the National Reference Group”, which took place in January 2023, and are acting within the framework of this plan. The plan prepared by the working groups aims to outline the short and long-term work on issues such as the coordination and funding mechanisms of the humanitarian system, partnerships and capacity effectiveness. Once finalised, the plan will detail how success will be defined, areas of progress, challenges and opportunities, and how this work will be linked to advocacy activities.
The activities undertaken by the NRG to date are as follows:
1. Meeting with the Ambassador of the Grand Bargain Manuel Bessler
On 25 June 2024, the Ambassador of the Grand Bargain, Manuel Bessler, met with various stakeholders within the National Reference Group of Türkiye in Ankara. During the meetings, which took place at the office of the Civil Society Development Centre, Ambassador Bessler met with representatives of local and national civil society organisations working in the field of humanitarian aid, donors and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT+).
Organised by the National Reference Group, which was established for the first time in Türkiye and supported by the Localisation Advocacy Group Secretariat, the “Workshop on Overheads/ICR for Local and National NGOs” took place in Ankara on Wednesday, 26 June 2024.
To reach NRG and get information:
- UNHCR: Umay Atik, [email protected]
- Localisation Advocacy Group (LAG): Ceren Can, [email protected]
- Refugee Council of Türkiye (TMK): Ceren Topgül, [email protected] ve Nisa Göçmenoğlu, [email protected]
