Organised by the Localisation Advocacy Group (LAG) and the Turkish Refugee Council (TMK) on behalf of the National Reference Group (NRG) in Türkiye, the workshop on overheads/indirect cost recovery for local and national actors presented global research findings and the IASC Guide. Current policies and practises in Türkiye were reviewed and a common roadmap for overheads and risk sharing was developed. The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss overheads/ICR, which is critical to the sustainability of the humanitarian sector.
This multi-stakeholder workshop was attended by local and national organisations, UN agencies, donors and public institutions. The meeting was also followed by the Grand Bargain Secretariat, which monitors localisation commitments at the global level.
It was also stressed that it is particularly important to address this issue in Türkiye at a time when many international organisations and donors, who emphasise the importance of maintaining the momentum of overheads practises, are reviewing their own in line with changing standards in the field of humanitarian assistance. The NRG in Türkiye is determined to promote positive change that brings out the power of local humanitarian actors and has taken an important step towards its goals with this workshop.
The specific objectives of the workshop were as follows;
- Provide an overview of the current policy debates on overheads/ICR, including commitments made by international actors as endorsed in the IASC Guidance, in order to bring all stakeholders up to the same level of knowledge,
- Take stock of the progress, policy and practice around overheads/ICR in Türkiye,
- Collectively develop a pathway on overhead/ICR policy and more generally on funding mechanisms and how they relate to equal partnerships between local/national and international actors, to be taken forward by the NRG in Türkiye.
- The workshop, which includes presentations by Development Initiatives, Oxfam and NEAR Network, is supported by STGM under the EU-supported Capacity Strengthening Centre for Civil Society Project" and UNICEF.
Who took part?
The workshop will bring together the diversity of key stakeholders in Türkiye, from local to national to
international organizations, both humanitarian and non-humanitarian:
- 9 members of the NRG: ECHO, PRM, GIZ, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNDP, Concern Türkiye, LAG and TMK,
- Donors, UN agencies and INGOs in Türkiye, many of whom are Grand Bargain signatories,
- Members of local and national NGO networks: LAG, TMK, LHF (Local Humanitarian Forum), Disaster Platform, among other relevant CSO networks,
- Turkish Red Crescent and the IFRC,
- Philanthropy organizations that have supported the 6 February earthquake response,
- Public authority representation.
About the Grand Bargain and the National Reference Group
In 2016, a World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul to increase the impact and efficiency of humanitarian aid between organisations working in the field of humanitarian aid and the parties (donors) providing funds in this field, and the Grand Bargain agreement was signed. Localisation commitments have been monitored since 2016 within the framework of the Grand Bargain and with the support of the signatories. To facilitate this monitoring, the establishment of national reference groups was envisaged in 2022 to bring together the relevant stakeholders in the countries where humanitarian aid is provided. The world's first National Reference Group was established and became operational in Türkiye in January 2023.
