Coordination
Background
Effective coordination can prevent gaps and overlaps in humanitarian responses, ensure the impact of CVA is optimised for the benefit of crisis affected populations, whilst also making the most of limited humanitarian funding. But the CALP Network’s State of the World’s Cash report found that cash coordination is seen as weak and ad hoc, and that this is having serious operational impact.
Ninety-five donors, international and national NGOs, private sector actors and one UN agency have called for clarity on two key issues surrounding cash coordination:
- Who should be accountable for ensuring effective cash coordination, and
- What the scope of Cash Working Groups should be, including in relation to multipurpose cash.
We urgently need to build on what works and provide clarity at the global level on the questions above, whilst adapting to different contexts. Clear decisions based on the impact on affected populations rather than agency politics are long overdue.
Current priorities
We aim to contribute to progress on this issue on three levels: supporting Cash Working Groups at the regional level; contributing to practical solutions for cash coordination at the global level; and convening evidence-based discussion on the key issues, highlighting critical decision points and opportunities for progress.
Featured content
Cash Coordination – LIVE timeline
Page
The latest updates on cash coordination as they unfold.
95 Organisations Sign Letter Calling for Strengthened Cash Coordination
News
Today a letter signed by 95 organisations was handed into the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) urging the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to take a decision on the leadership and scope of cash coordination in the coming year.
Is cash transforming the humanitarian system or is the system limiting how cash is used?
Blog Post
At the State of World’s Cash 2020 launch event, Sorcha O’Callaghan, Director of Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI warned that, “Cash offers a huge transformative potential, but as far as the system is privileging the interest of the agencies over people in crisis, we won’t be able to see it”. If you missed the State of the World's Cash 2020 launch we're sharing highlights. Quote 4...
State of the World’s Cash 2020 Chapter 5 summary: Coordination
Report
There has been very limited progress on cash coordination since 2017. Cash continues to challenge the established coordination and funding architecture, and efforts to resolve outstanding questions around cash coordination have failed. Despite the lack of global agreement, Cash Working Groups are pushing forward and contributing to improved programming, and generating new approaches. This...
Cash Coordination Tip Sheet
Guidelines and Tools
This tip sheet sets out established best practice, key guidance and resources for all aspects of cash coordination, intended as a clear, accessible and action-oriented guide for those engaged in coordination of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) at the field level.
Introducing the Cash Coordination Tip Sheet
Webinar
The CALP Network has developed a tipsheet setting out established best practice and key guidance and resources for all aspects of cash coordination, intended as a clear, accessible and action-oriented guide for those engaged in coordination of cash and voucher assistance at the field level.
Cash Coordination: A proposal from members in MENA
Blog Post
Earlier this year the CALP Network undertook regional consultations to explore options for cash coordination. This blog lays out recommendations from participants from the Middle East and North Africa who sketched out what cash coordination, and coordination more broadly, could look like in future to support a more effective, efficient and accountable response.
Thematic lead
Latest
Multipurpose Cash Assistance in Ukraine: How do DEC member agencies operate the sustainability and shock-responsiveness of multipurpose cash assistance in Ukraine?
Report
The humanitarian response following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggered the fastest and largest scale-up of cash programming in humanitarian history. Humanitarian actors transferred over US$1.2 billion in the form of multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) to approximately 6...
Cash Working Group terms of reference template
Guidelines and Tools
This terms of reference (ToR) template for response-level Cash Working Groups (CWG) defines the purpose, structure and the
roles and responsibilities of the CWG. This ToR template serves as the foundation for developing country-specific Cash Working
Group ToRs that should be adapted as necessary. This...
Iraq Cash Forum ActivityInfo Reporting Manual 2023 – Cash and Voucher Assistance
Guidelines and Tools
This manual aims to assist Iraq Cash Forum (ICF) members and, specifically, their Activity Info (AI) focal points during the reporting period in the AI platform. The document serves to ensure the quality of the reporting and that reporting deadlines are met. The ICF supports Cash and Voucher Assistance...
Cash Catch Up
Event
Never been to a Cash Catch Up event? Maybe they were too early for your time zone in the past? Now is your chance to join us! We are planning something dynamic, multilingual, interactive, and best suited for people in time zones from UTC and west. This 1-hour event will help you to: Learn about...
Cash Programming Somalia Review 2018 – 2022
Case Study
From 2018 to 2022, over half of ACTED’s projects in Somalia included unconditional and/or conditional cash activities making up an integral part of ACTED’s programming. To review the effectiveness and design of its past and current cash programming, ACTED used monitoring and evaluation data of 10 of...
Turkiye and Syria Earthquake Response: Advice and resources for cash practitioners
Blog Post
Drawing on learning from comparable crises, we have compiled useful information and advice for anyone involved in Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) programming in Turkiye and Syria following the recent earthquakes.
Monthly factsheet of the Cash for Protection Taskforce (C4PTF) for the Ukraine Response
Report
This Factsheet is produced on a monthly basis for Protection and Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) specialists who are considering, planning for, or already using CVA integrated into protection programming to support protection outcomes for individuals and households inside and outside of Ukraine. Key...
A Minimum Guideline for Implementers: Cash for work
Guidelines and Tools
This guide is to be used as a recommended practice for CfW programming and mainstreaming gender and protection measures, based on global best practices and the Philippines’ context. It should be used as complementary to the DSWD Cash-for-Work guidance. The details outlined in this guide pertain to CfW...
Coordinating with the Petrol Sector to Enhance Early Warning
Case Study
For far too long humanitarian actors and coordination mechanisms have witnessed sharp price variations of core commodities without the capacity to forecast them. While to date some Cash and Vouchers Working Groups (e.g., Afghanistan) establish mechanisms to continue monitoring and adapt transfer values in...
Ukraine: Unlocking a more effective humanitarian response (Webinar recording)
Webinar recording
Ukraine has rapidly become one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises as a result of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Millions remain displaced within Ukraine and other countries and many communities have been devastated by the conflict. Cash transfers have been prioritised as the main form...
Musical Money Messages – Mobile Innovation from Mercy Corps
Blog Post
We don’t usually put music, quizzes and voice messages in the same category as effective humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA). So, our interest was piqued when Mercy Corps won USAID’s ‘2022 Digital Development Award’ for a human-centered program which used songs, games, and quizzes sent...
Ukraine: Unlocking a more effective humanitarian response
Event
Join this webinar with representatives of the Government of Ukraine, local and international organisations and donors to discuss how we can overcome the limitations of the international humanitarian system to deliver more effective assistance in year two of the Ukraine crisis.
Ukraine: Unlocking a more effective humanitarian response (Presentation)
Presentation
This slide deck was used in the 8 February 2023 webinar organised by CALP, Ground Truth Solutions and Humanitarian Outcomes title: “Ukraine: Unlocking a more effective humanitarian response”. Agenda Brief presentations Key findings from Ground Truth Solutions, Marina Key findings from the Ukraine...
Cash Transfers and Digital Financial Inclusion: Regional evidence from the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal
Case Study
The study examines the barriers and opportunities to strengthening digital financial inclusion for cash transfer recipients in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal. Specifically, it maps the existing evidence on the landscape of digital financial inclusion and cash...
Call for Communication, Collaboration, and Cash: Perceptions of aid in Ukraine
Case Study
People in Ukraine have relatively low expectations of how aid should be provided, potentially because most people in Ukraine, except people living in eastern Ukraine, had little experience with humanitarian aid before the full-scale February 2022 invasion. Qualitative enquiry helped us understand better...
Pacific Regional Cash Working Group (PRCWG): Quarterly meeting
Report
Agenda/ Minutes of Meeting on the Quarterly Meeting (26 January 2023) of the Pacific Regional Cash Working Group (PRCWG).
Evidence and Practice Review of the Use of Cash Transfers in Contexts of Acute Food Insecurity
Report
The Global Food Security Cluster (GFSC) commissioned an operational research to explore the untapped and/or underused potential of cash transfers, and strengthen evidence of the use of cash transfers for food security outcomes in contexts of acute food insecurity (IPC/Cadre Harmonisé (CH) Phase 3-5, or...
Community based targeting: The ‘best-worst’ thing for limited humanitarian resources?
Blog Post
A recent blog by Development Pathways argued that Community Based Targeting (CBT) posed a risk to social stability. Whilst acknowledging the risks, the article below asserts that transitioning from CBT is not immediately possible, and in that light, provides a checklist and additional resources for...
Livelihoods Cost-Effectiveness Brief – Anticipatory Cash
Case Study
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) implemented an anticipatory action cash-distribution pilot among six agro-pastoralist communities in Northeast Nigeria, focused on reducing the damaging effects of flooding. Prior to the flood season of 2022, the IRC set up an early warning system with local...
New cash coordination – Frequently asked questions
Report
All your questions answered about the new cash coordination model, the new Cash Advisory Group and how they both relate to Cash Working Groups.
