Accreditation: a threat or an opportunity for humanitarian agencies?

With more and more controls, systematic evaluations and partnerships, are we heading towards certification? It has existed in the private sector for some time, and could be on the point of making an appearance in the international aid sector. Unthinkable a few years ago, certification and labelling of NGOs is now firmly on the agenda : certain NGOs are already certified using private sector norms and there is increasing interest from public funding bodies, business sponsors and the media.
What are the threats and opportunities of labelling or certifying the aid sector?

During the first two days, more than fifty representatives from more than twenty organisations (AFD, Coordination Sud, ECHO, CICR, Medair, OXFAM Belgique et Espagne, MDM, MSF Hollande, Handicap International, OMS, HAP-I, World Vision, VSF-CICDA, GREF, etc.) debated the thorny issue of certification of humanitarian organisations and the quality of programmes. The debate was extremely interesting and its content was recorded in minutes which can be consulted.
During the final half day, current projects were presented :
- work in progress at Groupe URD on the Dynamic COMPAS ;
- research on displaced populations in Colombia and Sudan

Participants were able to discuss practical aspects of the quality of assistance and the protection of populations, two issues at the heart of our sector.

Documents from the Autumn School on Humanitarian Aid 2005:
- programme (only available in French)
- theme (only available in French)
- detailed report (only available in French)