Common Humanitarian Fund - CAR (CHF-CAR)

Governance

CHF-CAR Concept Note | Memorandum of Understanding | Standard Administrative Arrangement

Humanitarian Coordinator

The overall management of the Common Humanitarian Fund – Central African Republic (CHF-CAR) activities is led and coordinated by the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). According to the CHF-CAR Concept Note, the HC is responsible for:

• Approving allocations and disbursements;
• Defining the level of the Emergency Reserve, usually not higher than 20% of available funding;
• Reporting to donors, in accordance with the CHF-CAR Concept Note and the Standard Administrative Arrangement (SAA);
• Managing the process of monitoring and evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the CHF-CAR;
• Asking the Advisory Board to select, every six months, a proportionate number of completed projects to be evaluated.

In his/her role the HC is supported by OCHA providing technical support to the CHF-CAR, and the Administrative Agent.

Advisory Board

The CHF-CAR Advisory Board is constituted of two donor representatives, two representatives of participating Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and two representatives from the UN. UNDP, in its role as administrative agent, participates as an observer. The Advisory Board holds meeting at the beginning and end of each six-month tenure and can hold additional meetings, if necessary. Membership on the Board is for six-month intervals and renewable to allow members to get acquainted with the CHF mechanism, and encourage consistency in advice given to the HC regarding projects under review. If the Board is reviewing a project of one of its members, that organization is temporarily replaced by another one.

The Advisory Board is responsible for:

• Reviewing the general functioning of the fund every six months and advising the Humanitarian Coordinator on necessary adjustments to its rules;
• Selecting a set of completed CHF-funded projects to be evaluated in the coming semester;
• Reviewing the draft CHF allocation paper for standard allocations and providing comments to the Humanitarian Coordinator;
• Reviewing projects that do not fall within an established cluster (multi-sector, coordination, or security projects).

Administrative Agent

The Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) serves as the Administrative Agent (AA) and is responsible for concluding Standard Administrative Arrangements (SAAs) with donors and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Participating UN Organizations. It receives, administers and manages contributions from Donors. It disburses these funds to the Participating UN Organizations in accordance with the decisions of the HC. The AA also maintains an Emergency Reserve as directed by the HC. Finally, the AA prepares and submits consolidated financial reports, as well as financial statements on the CHF-CAR account to the HC, each donor that has contributed to the CHF-CAR, as well as Participating UN Organizations.

The MDTF Office has delegated the AA responsibilities to UNDP CAR.