The Grand Bargain at Five Years: An independent review

At the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016, representatives of 18 donor countries and 16 international aid organisations from the United Nations, international NGOs and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement agreed a ‘Grand Bargain’, with its 51 commitments it aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of international humanitarian aid. This review, describes that over the years, there has been some progress in all thematic areas and work streams of the Grand Bargain, but the level and scope of that progress has varied significantly from one theme to another and from one commitment to another. Over the five years there have been a number of consistent stand-out performers – work streams where progress has been particularly significant and where the Grand Bargain can be seen to have driven, or at least significantly contributed to, a system-wide shift in policy and, to a lesser though still important extent in practice. These are cash assistance, localisation, joint needs analysis and harmonized reporting.

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