Together We Stand

[ 96 ] Building capacities for sustainable partnerships Louise Julin, Funding Officer; and Kelly Kirk, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development–Legal Aid P artnerships with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are beneficial for local actors, which include national non-governmental organizations (NNGOs) and community-based organiza- tions (CBOs). Through partnerships, local organizations have access to expert capacity-building and high-level stakeholders which are otherwise inaccessible; this also gives them the opportunity to amplify outreach and advo- cacy on a regional and international level. On the other hand, these partnerships are valuable for INGOs. Collaboration gives larger organizations closer proximity to the situation on the ground and learning opportunities from local partners regarding the realities of affected populations and communities receiving aid and assistance. However, many inter- national actors assume local actors do not have the skills and experience to play a greater role in international development. The Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD)-Legal Aid, a Jordanian NNGO, has a long history of successful partnerships with international actors, includ- ing Oxfam GB and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). These partnerships have assisted ARDD-Legal Aid in its expansion, specifically through capac- ity-building and direct funding. ARDD-Legal Aid was born in response to the Iraqi refugee crisis in Jordan. We started by providing free legal assistance based on our deep under- standing of the legal challenges refugees were facing. Through our advocacy on these issues, our work was acknowledged as essential to the crisis response by UNHCR. Since this time our partnerships with UNHCR and other INGOS have enabled us to grow and provide comprehensive development program- ming for vulnerable groups in Jordan alongside our original provision of legal assistance. We have been able to sustain this funding and programming throughout both the Iraqi and Syrian refugee crises because of the demonstrated needs of the communities we serve, our strong working relationship with our partners, and mutual trust and confidence. For example, we communicate to our partners the importance of linking our relief, rehabilitation and development work. This is essen- tial in order to address the protracted nature of both crises and the sustainability of programmes. The Principles of Partnership (PoP), endorsed in 2007, attempted to address the underlying issues of partner- ships between INGOs and local actors following the Global Humanitarian Platform. It is based on the five principles of equality, transparency, results-oriented approach, responsibil- ity and complementarity. PoP aims to facilitate a more equal, constructive and transparent partnership model. While PoP does face obstacles, it provides a comprehensive framework for the most effective partnerships. The 2016 World Humanitarian Summit calls for increasing local actors’ involvement, a shift to localizing aid, and more equal partnerships between local and international actors. This recommendation comes from the widely recognized fact that local actors hold expertise in the realities on the ground. Yet, only 1.6 per cent of funding goes directly to local actors, allowing those with less understanding of the situation to set outcomes that may not be feasible. International organizations have a responsibility to trust the knowledge of local NGOs and consider this when designing programming and funding. This increases accountability between partners and the effec- tiveness of programme implementation. There are changes occurring within the development and humanitarian assistance fields due to the fluctuating nature of the environments in which we work. Therefore, it is necessary to generate new types of partnerships in an effort to work dynamically and responsively in these envi- Image: Mustafa Assi, ARDD-Legal Aid Community leaders in Zarqa, Jordan discuss the issues facing women in their community with ARDD-Legal Aid T ogether W e S tand