Eu cord 2012 annual report

Annual Review 2012 Streams in the Wasteland

2

Core Values

The network is defined by the quality of its relationships and the

degree to which Members cooperate, helping each other to

establish good practice and quality in all areas of work. This goal

will be achieved in a spirit of servant-hood, strengthening and

supporting each other while respecting each agency’s specific

identity. The network is committed to working according to

Christian ethics as well as promoting integrity, accountability and

a professional standard of work. The network is inclusive in its

approach to potential members, with clearly defined criteria and

application process.

Who We Are

EU-CORD is a network of 22 European Christian non-governmental

organisations engaged in relief and development activities.

Founded in 1997, the network has an established Secretariat

based in Brussels.

Our Vision

A world without poverty, where people are no longer excluded

and all have a voice in shaping the future.

Our Goal

Through mutual cooperation to make a significant and

recognisable contribution towards the eradication of poverty and

social exclusion, and to enable the voice of people living in

poverty to be heard.

Cover photo: A slum lacking sanitation in Kenya. Copyright Alexandra Höner/Kindernothilfe e.V.

3

Opening Remarks

Letter from the Chair of EU-CORD

EU-CORD is pleased to release its Annual Review for 2012. With its 22 member agencies

from 12 European countries, EU-CORD believes in working together in order to strategically

and effectively reach the poorest and most vulnerable people. In spite of many efforts to

make our world a better place to live, we still are faced with many challenges.

Water, something we find so important and common, is still a luxury to many people.

Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 aims to reduce by half the proportion of people

without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. While the target for

access to safe drinking water has been met, 11% of the world’s population—783 million—still

don’t have access to an improved water source.

Diarrhoea is the world’s leading cause of illness and death. Lack of access to sanitation

facilities, together with unsafe drinking water and inadequate availability of water for

hygiene, lead to 88% of all diarrhoeal deaths globally.

It is a sad fact that today 2.5 billion people live without even basic sanitation. This vast

figure includes almost one billion children. Poor sanitation causes a child’s death every 20

seconds. That's 1.5 million preventable deaths every year.

Lack of proper water facilities goes hand in hand with shortage of food. One in eight

people go to bed hungry every night. Under-nutrition is a factor in 2.6 million deaths of chil-

dren under five each year.

Such statistics can either discourage us or encourage us to do more. We opt for the latter

and despite difficult economic times we believe we can do much more to alleviate

suffering. As it is written in 1 Corinthians, “if one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” Global

suffering, global inequality, requires global solutions.

And so, without prejudice, EU-CORD Members are to be found working worldwide,

amongst different communities, faiths and circumstances, to meet these two basic needs.

We believe in the word that was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“They will feed beside the road and find pasture on every barren hill. They will

neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat of the sun beat down on them. He

who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of

water.”

Leif Zetterlund

Chief Executive Officer

International Aid Services

Figures and statistics from www.unwater.org/statistics_san.html and www.wfp.org/hunger/stats. Correct at time of printing.

4

Contents

Improving Practice and Capacity Through facilitating knowledge sharing, mutual learning and joint

innovation, in response to Members’ requests.

Page 5 Introduction

Page 6 Training

Page 7 Working Groups

Page 8 Communication

Page 9 Collaboration

Engaging with The European Union Inform Members and their local partners on developments in EU

external aid funding and increase Members’ access to that funding.

Page 10 Introduction

Page 11 Development Aid

Page 12 Development Aid

Page 13 Humanitarian Aid

Influencing Change Achieve change in EU position on international development and

humanitarian aid policies and practices, so that they respond better

to the needs of people living in poverty and affected by disasters.

Page 14 Introduction

Page 15 Changing the Way We Influence

Page 16 Other Advocacy Areas

Maintaining Relevance Page 17 Logo, History, Structure and

Affiliations

Page 18 Introducing New Members

Page 19 Members in 2012

Copyright 2013 http://www.naela.org/Public

Photo credit: Ruth Faber/EU-CORD

Copyright 2012 European Union

Copyright 2013 EU-CORD

5

Improving

Practice and Capacity Introduction

In 2012 EU-CORD began a process to move towards more intentional

collaboration. At the level of the General Assembly, strategic thought has

gone into how the network and individual Members can better understand

changing dynamics in the relief and development sector, and crucially,

how to ensure that we adapt to respond. As part of this dialogue, a

mapping exercise was undertaken to explore the different ways in which

Members connect, be it with funding, training, logistics or project actions.

The results were surprising, with many more connections than anticipated.

The network is providing a space, sometimes physical sometimes virtual,

where collaboration and learning is fostered. Read on for some examples of

what this collaboration looks like and how the network has been adapting

to meet Members’ needs.

Diagram from the General

Assembly showing different

types of collaborative links

between EU-CORD

Members

Photo credit: Stephanie Beecroft/EU-CORD

6

Improving

Practice and Capacity

Training In 2012 EU-CORD offered specific training events

aimed at improving Members’ capacity to access

funding. Training targeted local civil society

organisations through the Regional Workshop and

staff of Members’ European offices through the

Head Office Training.

Regional Workshops Adrian Hawthorn, from Tearfund UK, co-facilitated

our most recent regional workshop in Niger

In September 2013 delegates from EU-CORD

partners gathered in Niamey, Niger for a workshop

entitled ‘Donor Awareness and Writing Responsive

and Compelling Proposals’. A total of 27 delegates

drawn from partner organisations in six West African

countries participated in the training. Two

facilitators, Adrian Hawthorn (Tearfund) and

Stephanie Beecroft (EU-CORD Secretariat)

organised the sessions over four days.

Highly interactive exercises enabled delegates to

take a ‘guided tour’ through the institutional donor

funding landscape of West Africa. A mix of

information and team participation ensured that

motivation remained high throughout the workshop.

Information concerning donor opportunities within

the countries represented was provided. Team

participation was enabled through delegates the

grouping of delegates into teams. Each team then

responded to a typical but imaginary donor call for

proposals by scoping a potential project. The teams

developed their own logical framework and

concept note. Role plays were used to show how to

hold an effective donor meeting. The workshop was

designed to address three of the key needs of

delegates:

· Who are the donors?

· How do I approach them?

· How can I write a winning concept note?

Working in French and English, the facilitators gave

guidance and advice drawn from extensive donor

application experience. A representative from the

Niger EU delegation attended to explain EuropeAid

funding opportunities and to answer questions. An

Feedback from the Niger Workshop…

“The grouping together of people from

different countries and with different levels of

experience was very beneficial. It’s good to

learn from others.”

“This workshop has taught me that applying for

EU funds is not impossible. My organisation can

receive EU funding, but we won’t if we don’t

try. Thanks to this workshop, we now have the

tools to try.”

“One of the positive points of this workshop

was the good, participatory facilitation and

lively presentations.”

extensive workshop manual in French and English

was provided for every delegate to help equip all to

be active in donor research and interaction after

returning home.

Head Office Training

In 2012 the network was able to offer training in fine-

tuning development applications for Member staff

working in Europe. The two-day course was aimed

at those who are responsible for coordinating or

reviewing concept notes and applications. Run as

an advanced course, the workshop covered rights-

based programming design, mainstreaming gender

and disability, and what EuropeAid really means by

sustainability. In a funding environment where

success or failure with EuropeAid can rest on a single

point this was all about receiving that extra point.

Training was provided by Sander Schot (Light for the

World Netherlands) and Ruth Faber (EU-CORD

Secretariat).

Delegates and facilitators at the Niger Workshop


7

Improving


Working Groups

Working Groups

The core face-to-face platforms for information

sharing and knowledge exchange are the various

network working groups. In 2012 working groups were

convened around institutional fundraising,

communications and private fundraising, and

finance.

Specific activities of working groups included:

From a financial perspective, reviewing

approaches and challenges to working in

consortia with international and local civil society

partners;

Sharing experiences on different approaches to

‘accountability from below’ and their

effectiveness in promoting transparency;

Exchanges on donor development and funding

trends;

Identifying synergies in emergency response

actions in the Horn of Africa and South Sudan;

Use of external speakers to enhance Members’

knowledge, including on subjects such as social

media, generational habits and fundraising

through a presentation given by KomMed, a

Swedish company specialising in fundraising and

member management.

New Working Group - Child Rights

Children make up over half of the population of

the developing world. As relief and development

actors, it is important that we consider the needs

and rights of children in our work. Several EU-

CORD Members do just that, and in 2012 these

Members came together to drive forward a new

working group within the EU-CORD network. The

Child Rights Working Group brings together EU-

CORD Members who would like to improve

practice on the rights-based approach, child

rights and child rights programming in the

network.

The inaugural meeting of the working group, a

workshop on the basics of child rights as they

relate to development projects and

programming, took place in June 2012. The

workshop was organised over three days and

brought together ten participants from six EU-

CORD Members to share and learn about the

pillars and principles of the child rights approach,

how Christian values match the rights-based

approach to development, some thoughts on

child protection and the EU perspective on child

rights. Discussions at this first workshop led to the

creation of a workplan for 2012-13, with further

workshops focusing on child sponsorship, child

participation and child rights programming.

October 2012 saw the organisation of a second

workshop, this time centered on the first focus

area identified by the group: child sponsorship

and child rights. This second workshop brought

together 13 participants from seven EU-CORD

organisations. The working group plans to move

forward in 2013 with workshops on child

participation and child rights programming, and

reflection on how to engage with partners in the

field on the subject of child rights.

Copyright Jens Großmann/Kindernothilfe e.V.

8

Improving


Communication

Successful Collaboration - Light for the World

and The Leprosy Mission Netherlands

In 2012 Light for the World Netherlands, The

Leprosy Mission Netherlands and their local

partners CDD and TLM Bangladesh were

implementing a disability component in an EU-

funded food security programme for ultra poor

women in Bangladesh. The lead organisation of

this large programme is ICCO. Seven local

organisations are involved in the implementation.

The food security programme has enrolled 40,000

ultra poor women in women’s groups where they

receive support to start their own income

generating activities. A quarter of the households

(10,985 households) have a member with a

disability, leprosy or a chronic illness. In total 6,377

women with disabilities are enrolled in the

women’s groups. These women and their family

members have received rehabilitation support

where needed. 2013 is the last year of

implementation of this five-year programme. In

the coming months the disability mainstreaming

process in this programme will be evaluated. By

the end of the year a publication with lessons

learned on disability mainstreaming in food

security programmes will be launched.

Paulien Bruijn, Light for the World

EU-CORD Collaboration and Communication

Increasingly, information sharing and opportunities

for collaboration take place in a virtual space.

Responding to this shift, the Secretariat launched a

number of tools in 2012 to help the network to be

more efficient in its communication.

The core tool was the development of an extranet,

linked to the public website of the network, which is

accessible only to Members. Through these pages,

Members are able to:

Find information on all network events,

including past meeting minutes and workshop

documents;

Participate in real-time collaboration and

information sharing on activities related to

disaster response, funding initiations, in-country

coordination, and consultations which require

a combined network response;

Access a calendar for an overview of the work

of the Secretariat and key network dates.

In addition to the monthly ‘Member Update’ email a

new publication called ‘The Digest’ was launched.

’The Digest’ shares information on new publications,

conferences and articles on subjects relevant to the

network.

Copyright The Leprosy Mission International

Access to a good water source is important for market

gardening and food security in Niger


9

Improving


Collaboration Successful Collaboration - Woord en Daad

and Red een Kind

Recently, agriculture, food security and rural

development have started to receive more

attention from development organisations, donor

governments and international institutions. The

need for investing in skills development in Africa

has also come back on the agenda. So far,

however, sufficient attention has not been paid

to the link between the two. EU-CORD Members

Woord en Daad and Red een Kind, both with

longstanding experience in Technical and

Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and

skills development, organised an expert meeting

to specifically address this gap.

The expert meeting took place in October 2012 in

Kampala, Uganda. Participants came from more

than ten African countries, most from partner

organisations of Woord en Daad and Red een

Kind. However, by collaborating with the

international Agri-ProFocus network, a network for

stimulation of farmer entrepreneurship, the two

organisations gained access to a wide range of

real experts in the area of Agricultural Vocational

Education and Training (AVET).

Woord en Daad and Red een Kind take as their

starting point the need to invest in skills

development in order to make agricultural

development sustainable. Farmers need to

organise their farm as a business, link themselves

to markets in order to commercialise their

produce and strengthen their position in the

market. Skills development, ranging from

technical agronomic skills to business, financial

and marketing skills, is needed for farmers. In 2013

Woord en Daad and Red een Kind will develop

concrete programmes with their alliance partners

to make AVET a reality.

Evert-Jan Brouwer, Woord en Daad

Benefits of Collaboration - Medair and

Mission East

Mission East and Medair are collaborating with

each other in Afghanistan. Each organisation

brings its relevant expertise in food security and

nutrition to implement the different activities of

the project, effectively carrying out parallel

approaches in the two target areas, namely the

Central Highlands and Takhar. The project has

enabled a valuable sharing of ideas and

information amongst staff, and helped to ensure

a wider dissemination of each organisation’s best

practices and lessons learnt.

Joohi Haleem, Mission East

Successful Collaboration - Tearfund UK and

CORD

Two UK-based EU-CORD Members, CORD and

Tearfund UK, have been working together on a

Toilet Twinning Project. Toilet Twinning is an

innovative scheme, working towards tackling the

awful statistic that one in three people in the

world lack somewhere safe to go to the toilet,

opening them up to disease, attacks and many

far-reaching negative effects. Sixty pounds allows

supporters to twin their toilet with a latrine in

several of the countries where Cord and

Tearfund are working. The money raised is being

used by the two organisations to build thousands

of toilets around the world, and to educate

people about domestic hygiene and the

importance of clean water. In 2012 the scheme

reached 10,000 toilets twinned.

10

Engaging with

The European Union

Introduction 2012 was a year in which linking and collaboration took centre-stage in EU external

policy thinking, whether this meant better linkages within the European Commission’s

own policies and services, engagement with civil society, or increased cooperation

between the Commission and Member States. The ideas of linking and collaboration are

evident in the Commission’s Communication on resilience published in October 2012, in

the Communication on civil society published in September 2012, and in the joint

programming between the Commission and Member States which is starting in several

priority countries. Linking and collaboration is also evident in the EU’s efforts to find a joint

position on the post-Millennium Development Goals framework, a task which began in

2012 and helped the EU and those who engage with it to think about the future of

development cooperation outside the EU’s own policies.

Collaboration is central to the EU-CORD network. But it is not only within the network that

we engage with others. Engagement with the EU, collectively the world’s largest donor

of development and humanitarian aid and a big player in global policy, is a key element

of the work of EU-CORD. As a network we engage with the EU in many ways, including

through funding partnerships for humanitarian aid and development projects, which you

can read about in more detail on the following pages. We have first-hand experience of

the impact that the funding that our Members receive for EU projects can have on the

lives of the poorest and most vulnerable. A desire to ensure that the impact of EU funding

and policies is just as positive on a larger scale pushes us to engage in wider issues and

the big debates around the EU’s external action budget and instruments. These were a

focus of EU-CORD’s EU engagement in 2012.


11

Engaging with

The European Union Development Aid

Fact Box

Members are active in 99 countries from

Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and much of the work is

implemented in partnership with over 1,000 local

partners.

A map showing EU-CORD

Members’ development and

humanitarian projects around

the world

Development Aid 2012 saw an increasing number of EU-CORD

Members working together to access EU

development funds, bringing niche expertise to

partnerships and widening the scope of

applications.

Seventeen projects in the development sphere are

being implemented with EU-CORD Members making

use of a coordinated approach.

In 2012 nine EU-CORD Members were responsible for

41 EuropeAid development projects at just over

€37.6 million. A further 11 projects financed by other

development donors for a value of just over €9

million were undertaken by EU-CORD Members in

collaboration.

The Secretariat keeps Members informed on funding

availability by circulating news of EU funding

opportunities relevant for Members’ areas of work.

Fact Box

The scope of projects reflects the network’s

diversity but there are some common themes in a

variety of countries:

Child Rights Programming: Guatemala,

Haiti, Kenya

Disability Programming: Afghanistan,

Armenia, Tajikistan, Thailand

Education, including vocational training:

Bangladesh, Kenya, Sudan, Zambia

Food Security: Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, South

Sudan, Sudan

Water and Sanitation: Democratic Republic

of Congo, Nepal

Fact Box

EU-CORD Members access EuropeAid funds from

a wide range of instruments: Food Security, Non

State Actors and Local Authorities, Human Rights,

Investing in People and the Energy Facility.


12

Engaging with

The European Union Development Aid

The EU at a Local Level

In September 2012 EU-CORD held its second

regional workshop of the year in Niamey, Niger

(see page 6 for more details about regional

workshops). This workshop included a session with a

representative from the EU delegation in Niger.

Inviting a delegation representative to the meeting

allowed the partner organisations present to have

a greater understanding of how the EU works in-

country. The representative’s presentation

provided all participants with a greater

understanding of how EU development policy

dialogue and funding works, giving valuable

advice on how to engage with the EU in the future.

This included emphasising the need to engage

with the national government and local authorities

before approaching the EU. The visit from the

delegation was considered a highlight by several

participants at the EU-CORD regional workshop

feeling that it had taught them the importance of

developing a good relationship with the EU

delegation.

While in Niger the EU-CORD Secretariat was also

able to help set up and facilitate a meeting with

the EU delegation’s civil society representative for

EU-CORD Member Tearfund UK and one of their

local partners. Bringing knowledge and

understanding of processes going on in Brussels,

the Secretariat was able to facilitate and

contribute to a discussion focusing on the EU’s

priorities in Niger, making the link with the work of

the Member and its partners, particularly in the

context of food security. Discussions around policy

and practice in Brussels can often seem far away

from what happens in the field, but in reality

knowledge of these processes and discussions can

be useful in building relationships and engaging

with EU delegations.

Tearfund’s local partner, UEEPN, is engaged in water and food

security programmes in the Dosso region of Niger

Photo credit: Janet Whalley/Tearfund

13

Engaging with

The European Union

Humanitarian Aid

Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

In 2012 ECHO (The European Commission

Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Directorate)

celebrated 20 years of partnership in the delivery of

its humanitarian action. ECHO’s partners, including

nine EU-CORD members, work with ECHO to

implement humanitarian projects targeting

forgotten crises and more visible disasters.

While Members focus on working with ECHO on

project delivery, the Secretariat leads in pulling

together feedback and concerns at policy level.

The Secretariat engages in this through participation

in the VOICE network, the official NGO interlocutor

with ECHO, which is also based in Brussels. Over the

past year this work has included participation in the

ECHO Partner Conference, representing the network

in the FPA (Framework Partnership Agreement)

Watchgroup and participation in the Disaster Risk

Reduction working group.

The Secretariat also coordinates EU-CORD feedback

linked to formal consultations launched by the

European Commission on the subject of

humanitarian aid.

EU-CORD’s 9 Framework Partnership Agreement

Holders

Cord, Fida, International Aid Services, Medair,

Mission Aviation Fellowship, Mission East, Tearfund,

PMU and ZOA.

Fact Box

In 2012 MAF, Medair, Tearfund UK and ZOA were

running ECHO grants between them totalling

€14.6 million in countries such as Afghanistan,

Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar,

Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Sudan and Sudan.

Sectors of expertise within the network include

health, nutrition, water and sanitation, disaster risk

reduction, livelihoods, food security and shelter.

Fact Box Looking ahead, 2013 has been designated as the

International Year of Water Cooperation. Water is

a vital part of human existence, necessary for life,

sanitation and sustainability. But the Food and

Agriculture Organisation estimates that by 2025,

1.8 billion people will be living in countries or

regions with absolute water scarcity. The need for

this focus on water is clear; currently, around one

in nine people worldwide lack access to improved

water sources. That is over 783 million people. EU-

CORD Members have been working to combat

this and will continue fighting during the

International Year of Water Cooperation.

EU-CORD Disaster Response Actions in 2012

EU-CORD’s collaborative response in disaster

situations was revised in order to make use of the

new online collaborative tools. Members can now

share information in a crisis on a ‘live’ basis. The

intention is to keep the collaboration modality

light and flexible, sharing the minimum amount of

information for maximum effect. In 2012 this new

tool was used to facilitate Members working on

the Sahel drought, Mali, Burma and Syria crises.

Copyright International Aid Services

A water drilling programme

14

Influencing

Change Introduction The EU is an important actor in international development and humanitarian aid

worldwide. It is unsurprising that its policies and practices have a huge impact on those

living in poverty and affected by disasters around. Through EU-CORD Members’

experience of working with partners and communities affected by poverty and disasters,

we can monitor policies and practice and push for improvements to ensure that the

impact of the EU’s action in developing countries is as positive as possible. Working

together as a network allows EU-CORD to draw on more experiences, gives us all a

bigger voice and provides a larger channel to enable the voice of people living in

poverty to be heard.

During 2012 EU-CORD continued its involvement in advocacy at EU level, focusing in

particular on on-going EU policy processes for development and humanitarian aid,

including the EU budget discussions. 2012 was also a year of reflection and discussion

around EU-CORD advocacy, working to ensure that our work as a network continues to

be relevant, inclusive of members and effective.

Making sure EU policies and programmes are the best they can be for the people that

EU-CORD members and their partners work with is not something we can do alone. In our

attempt to influence policies and effect change we work in close collaboration with

allies in Brussels and further afield.

The Multiannual Financial Framework continued to be a big part of EU-CORD’s advocacy work.


15

Influencing

Change Changing the Way We Influence

2012 was a year of change in EU-CORD advocacy.

Advocacy, or influencing change, is a central part

of EU-CORD’s five-year strategy which was voted in

2011. As part of this, we aim to be taking a

strategic approach to our advocacy work with

clear strategies in place for every advocacy area.

The strategy does not identify models of advocacy

that EU-CORD should follow, or list issues that should

be the focus of our work. 2012 was therefore taken

as a year to reflect on advocacy priorities to

ensure that our work as a network continues to be

relevant, inclusive of members and effective, and

has a greater positive impact on poverty,

vulnerability and injustice.

Through conversations with Members, discussions

within the network leadership, identification of a

contact person for advocacy for each Member

and a two-day workshop dedicated to the subject,

we succeeded in gaining growing and continued

commitment to advocacy within the network.

One of the first questions which needed to be

addressed in this period of reflection and discussion

was why EU-CORD should be involved in

advocacy. The overwhelming response to this

question reinforced the network’s commitment to

influencing and achieving change for the world’s

poorest and most vulnerable people at all levels,

and in particular in relation to EU policies and

practice.

As a network, we identified that we have a story to

tell, a story which needs to be told from a Christian

perspective and with a focus on Christian values.

The experiences, knowledge and understanding of

EU-CORD Members, their partners and the

populations we aim to serve deserve to be told. By

coordinating efforts to bring these experiences,

ideas and calls for change to EU decision-makers

we can have greater visibility and help achieve

change in the right direction.

The advocacy workshop held in 2012 looked at

why advocacy is an important part of EU-CORD

membership, the approaches to advocacy taken

by different Members, and the opportunities for EU-

CORD advocacy, aiming to reach some

conclusions on common issues for EU-CORD work

and ways of working. The workshop led to the

drafting of a framework for EU-CORD advocacy

and a suggestion of potential issues to take

forward in our advocacy in 2013 and beyond.

Looking ahead to 2013 we expect new and

invigorated working groups to form around

selected issues to be taken forward for advocacy.

These issues must reflect Members’ priorities and be

driven by the network membership.

Discovering similar focus areas at the Advocacy Workshop


Developing a framework at the Advocacy Workshop


16

Other Advocacy Areas

Influencing

Change

Continuing the Fight for a Pro-Poor EU Budget

In 2012 EU-CORD continued working on the EU’s next

seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial

Framework (MFF). Ensuring that the EU’s policy

priorities and funding are favourable to

development cooperation and humanitarian aid in

the next MFF from 2014 is critical in the fight to

reduce poverty and social exclusion. The

negotiations on the next MFF are marked by the

political and economic situation in the EU, including

austerity and crisis, and will stretch out far into 2013

before the framework, amounts and funding

instruments are agreed.

Nonetheless, 2012 saw progression in the MFF

negotiation process and EU-CORD’s work adapted

to pre-empt or fit the focus at different times of the

year. We focused on the overall budget figures and

the amount that will be available for the EU’s

external action, particularly in advance of European

Council Summits, the forum where these decisions

would be made. At other times during the year the

network focused on the negotiations for the new

Development Cooperation Instrument, including

work on the European Parliament’s Report on the

instrument. We participated in formal and informal

meetings with key MEPs, key actors in the European

Commission and civil servants in national capitals in

order to influence the MFF negotiations in support of

the poorest and most vulnerable people around the

world.

EU-CORD worked together with CONCORD, VOICE

and IDDC on different aspects and themes of the

EU’s MFF, and will continue to do so in 2013. From the

Secretariat we are active in leading CONCORD’s

work around the MFF and have contributed to

several reports, position papers and briefings for

decision-makers, while still aiming to support EU-

CORD Members to engage with the debate in EU

Member States, or in the countries in which they

work, where programming for the next budgetary

period has begun.

EU-CORD will continue working on the MFF process in

2013.

Post-2015, Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and

Development and Inclusive Development

Discussions and thinking around what will replace the

Millennium Development Goals after their 2015

deadline took off in 2012. These discussions around

post-2015 are taking place in various fora and EU-

CORD engaged in some of these throughout the

year. The network’s natural focus on EU

development policy means that we were involved in

influencing the EU’s position on post-2015,

responding to the European Commission’s

consultation on the subject during the summer of

2012, based on the experiences and input of EU-

CORD members.

For a network which brings together organisations

working in relief and development, a policy focus in

2012 on Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and

Development (LRRD) and resilience provided an

opportunity to put forward our views. EU-CORD

actively participated in a collaborative piece of

work with VOICE and CONCORD on LRRD, feeding

into the EU policy agenda.

EU-CORD is committed to promoting inclusive

development and attention to the rights of persons

with disabilities in the EU’s development agenda. In

2012 we were active in this field through working with

the IDDC EU Task Group.

Involvement in other policy discussions in 2012

included preparation for human rights dialogues,

discussions around the role of the private sector in

development, the EU’s Humanitarian Consensus

Action Plan and other humanitarian aid issues.

Copyright 2012 CONCORD

What should a post-2015 development framework look like?

17

Maintaining

Relevance

History and Structure Founded in 1997, EU-CORD is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) independent of any political,

economic, social or religious authority. It is an inter-denominational network of Christian relief and

development agencies, inspired by its Christian values to accomplish its work.

The Secretariat is based in Brussels. EU-CORD was legally established as an ASBL (Association Sans But

Lucratif) in Belgium in 2003 with statutes signed by all members. It is funded entirely by Members’ annual

subscriptions.

EU-CORD is governed by an elected Administrative Council, which in 2012 consisted of:

Leif Zetterlund, (Chair), International Aid Services

Johan Mooij, (Vice-Chair), ZOA

Max Gove, Mission Aviation Fellowship

Dicky Nieuwenhuis, Woord en Daad

Lars Saaghus, Strømme Foundation

Affiliations In 2012 EU-CORD continued to be a member of the following three networks.

CONCORD is the European NGO Confederation for Relief and

Development. Its 27 national associations, 18 international networks

and 2 associate members represent over 1,800 NGOs which are

supported by millions of citizens across Europe.

VOICE is a network of 82 European NGOs who are predominantly

holders of an ECHO Framework Partnership Agreement. Its purpose is

to influence EU humanitarian aid by involving members in advocacy,

lobbying and common positioning. It is the main NGO interlocutor with

the EU on emergency aid, rehabilitation and disaster risk reduction.

IDDC is a network of 26 member organisations, including disability and

development, mainstream development and disabled people’s

organisations. It aims to promote inclusive development

internationally, with a particular focus on promoting human rights for

all people with disabilities living in economically poor communities in

lower and middle-income countries.

EU-CORD Logo The logo demonstrates the network’s acronym, Christian Organisations in Relief

and Development, and this verse from Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be

overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly

broken.” It stands for the strength that we have in unity: unity as a network, and

unity with those we are called to serve.

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Introducing New Members Tearfund Ireland

EU-CORD Membership

Tearfund Ireland is a sister organisation of Tearfund UK, a founding Member of EU-CORD. Tearfund has

been working in the island of Ireland for more than 40 years and in 2008 Tearfund Ireland became an

independent charity. Tearfund Ireland prioritises the most vulnerable people; those who are hungry,

unable to access education, the vulnerable, the sick and those affected by disaster. Recognising the

complexities of poverty, the organisation works closely with local partner churches to empower people

from within communities, creating opportunities for sustainable development.

Tearfund Ireland has contributed to water and sanitation

projects, providing hygiene and sanitation training, and

access to clean water. In Malawi, Tearfund Ireland equipped

3,750 people with access to clean water.

During 2010 Tearfund Ireland responded to the natural disaster

that affected Pakistan, and continued its aid assistance to

support the recovery work in Haiti. Because of this intervention,

Tearfund Ireland estimates that 48,154 people received food

packages and medical assistance.

EU-CORD places a high value on relationships and the degree to which Members cooperate. This

includes knowledge sharing to establish best practices in all areas of work. In 2012 EU-CORD had

Members from 13 European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland,

the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Members are very diverse

in size, with annual turnover ranging from €300,000 to €85,000,000. Members’ work covers both

humanitarian and developmental responses. The network encourages this diversity in origin, size and

focus of work as we find strength and synergies in the different experiences and expertise of the

Members. EU-CORD is committed to ensuring the outworking of our Christian ethos in good practice, as

evidenced by our Members’ commitment to our Statement of Quality Assurance.

If you are interested in becoming a Member of the EU-CORD Network, please visit our website to find out

more.

Back cover photo: A child receiving food at a nutrition centre in DR Congo. Copyright Lars Klingsbo/PMU

Copyright © Tearfund Ireland 2009


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EU-CORD Members in 2012

Medair (Switzerland)

www.medair.org

Mission East (Denmark)

www.miseast.org

Red een Kind (Netherlands)

www.redeenkind.nl

Mission Aviation Fellowship (UK)

www.maf-uk.org

Alianza Solidaria (Spain)

www.alianzasolidaria.org

CORD (UK)

www.cord.org.uk

Erikshjälpen (Sweden)

www.erikshjalpen.se

Fida (Finland)

www.fidadevelopment.fi

Hungarian Baptist Aid (Hungary)

www.baptistasegely.hu

International Aid Services (Sweden)

www.ias-intl.org

Kindernothilfe (Germany)

www.kindernothilfe.de

Läkarmissionen (Sweden)

www.lakarmissionen.se

Light For The World (Netherlands)

www.lightfortheworld.nl

SEL (France)

www.selfrance.org

Strømme Foundation (Norway)

www.stromme.org

Tear (Netherlands)

www.tear.nl

Tearfund (Belgium)

www.tearfund.be

Tearfund (Ireland)

www.tearfund.ie

Tearfund (UK)

www.tearfund.org

The Leprosy Mission Int. (UK)

www.leprosymission.org

Woord en Daad (Netherlands)

www.woordendaad.nl

ZOA (Netherlands)

www.zoa.nl

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Ruth Faber

Director

[email protected]

+32 (0)2 234 38 77

Stephanie Beecroft

Advocacy Officer

[email protected]

+32 (0)2 234 38 74

Georgina Morgan

Communications and Admin Assistant

[email protected]

+32 (0)2 234 38 76

www.eu-cord.org

Rue Joseph II, 166

Brussels 1000

Belgium

Eu cord 2012 annual report

Documents

Transcript of Eu cord 2012 annual report