Contribution to the Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP)

In the humanitarian sector, there is a growing recognition that in an emergency, cash transfers and vouchers can be appropriate and effective tools to support affected populations in a way that maintains dignity and choice for beneficiaries while stimulating local economies and markets. CTP is arguably the biggest innovation in humanitarian assistance in decades.

CaLP has been instrumental, perhaps the lead, in improving capacity, evidence, awareness and collaboration around CTP to ultimately improve the quality of cash and humanitarian programming. CaLP has influenced attitude and practice in CTP, primarily through training, tools, research and coordination. It has been instrumental in budgetary increases and CTP policy and practice shifts in a number of humanitarian agencies. While CTP is increasingly used in humanitarian response, its full potential is far from being realized.

SDC has been an active advocate for the promotion of CTP in humanitarian response and CaLP is identified as the key partner on outcome 3 of SDC’s operational concept on CTP (“SDC/HA’s engagement on policy dialogue and advocacy related to CTP is strengthened”). Furthermore, SDC seeks to strengthen the partnership with CaLP on other areas, such as training and research in the next two years.

SDC aims at strengthening the partnership with CaLP in order to improve the quality of cash transfer and voucher programming across the humanitarian sector and to promote good practice through learning.

Furthermore, through its partnership with CaLP, SDC aims at establishing Geneva as the policy hub on CTP.

CaLP is an NGO consortium composed by Oxfam GB, the British Red Cross, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Action Against Hunger/ACF International. It has emerged as a major platform for lesson learning and institutional networking on adoption of cash transfer programming. CaLP has a well established and growing “Community of Practice” with over 800 members. CaLP is also working very closely together with SDC’s main partners in institutionalizing CTP programming within their organization, such as OCHA and UNHCR. Moreover, CaLP is regularly delivering trainings on CTP in emergencies with participants from UN agencies, NGOS, governments and private sector.

SDC’s objectives in regards to providing financial support to CaLP are:

1. Establish Geneva as the policy hub for CTP. CaLP plans to recruit a Geneva-based Advocacy Officer (pending on SDC funding), who will be crucial in establishing Geneva as the policy hub for CTP and contribute to the following actions:

• Strengthening the key role of OCHA in inter-cluster coordination.
• Vitalization of the humanitarian cash community through the formalization of a Geneva based Cash Working Group.
• Alignment of donors to support cash and strategic linkages with Good Humanitarian Donorship.
• Strengthened advocacy, lessons learnt (events) and operational guidance to organizations.
• Continued operational collaboration with IASC, UNHCR, OCHA, UNDP-BCPR, ICRC, IFRC, ACAPS, the Sphere Project and similar Geneva based programme quality or coordination groups.

2. SDC humanitarian partners have the tools, procedures and skills to coordinate and implement quality cash and voucher programmes rapidly, appropriately and at scale.

3. Emergency cash transfer programmes are designed and implemented using appropriate and consistent information from multi-secotral analysis (synergies with SDC’s support to Assessment Capacity Project, ACAPS);

4. Learning in the field of cash transfer programmes stays abreast of newest evolution in the field (evidence-based cash approaches and further development of tools);

5. CaLP facilitates coordination mechanisms and promotes collaboration of donors, implementing partners and governments. The aim is to have a clear coordination structure for cash transfer programming within the humanitarian sector at both global and country levels, to ensure shared learning, a consistent approach, and the evolution of best practice;

CaLP will achieve these objectives through the delivery of six outcomes (see implementation plan).

Erwartete Resultate:  

Not applicable, as the SDC contribution is considered a core contribution and thus aims to the outcome level.

Resultate von früheren Phasen:  

Main findings from a recently conducted review of CaLP (2005 to 2015):

• The direct influence of CaLP is difficult to measure, but there is widespread perception that CaLP has been instrumental, perhaps the lead, in improving capacity, evidence, awareness and collaboration around CTP to ultimately improve the quality of cash and humanitarian programming.
• CaLP’s success was largely driven by the visionary and strategic decision to establish and grow the initiative at a key point of change in relation to CTP, and by the commitment and hard work of key individuals in CaLP and the member agencies.
• CaLP has influenced attitude and practice in CTP, primarily through training, tools, research and coordination. It has been instrumental in budgetary increases and CTP policy and practice shifts in a number of humanitarian agencies.
• CaLP is perceived as having had most success with individuals and agencies already aware of and engaged in CTP, and less success at reaching out beyond the inner circle of humanitarian agencies and advocating and influencing the senior leadership of humanitarian agencies.

CaLP consortium members: Norwegian Refugee Council, Action against Hunger, British Red Cross, Save the Children, Oxfam GB

There are very synergies with the SDC engagement in the field of cash (bilateral and multilateral). Outcome 3 of SDC’s Operational Concept on CTP, which is SDC-HA’s engagement on policy dialogue and advocacy, specifically refers to strengthening the partnership with CaLP. CaLP is working closely with OCHA to strengthen the key role of OCHA in inter-cluster coordination.

CaLP collaborates with ACAPS on the Disaster Needs Analysis by providing information on cash transfer mechanisms of the country in question to support decision making and response planning.

Phase 2 01.01.2015 - 31.12.2016   (Completed)