Pvo Standards

The Trend Toward NGO Transparency: Strengthening Governance & Accountability Updated December 2007

Protecting the Public Trust  InterAction

is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations.

 InterAction’s

more than 160 member organizations work in virtually every developing country and serve tens of millions worldwide each year

 Large

and small, faith-based and secular, InterAction members receive support from millions of Americans nationwide

Protecting the Public Trust  Collectively,

InterAction members raise over $5 billion in any given year from the American public, primarily from individuals and foundations, and several billion from other sources including the Federal Government.

 It

is vital, therefore, that the coalition and its individual members respect, protect, and preserve the public trust

The Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Standards: Their History, Purpose & Evolution WHAT  The

PVO Standards are a set of ethical guidelines covering governance, financial reporting, fundraising, public relations, management practice, human resources and program services WHEN

 The

PVO Standards were born at a meeting of the InterAction executive committee in 1989 and were unanimously approved by that body in 1992

The PVO Standards: Their History, Purpose & Evolution WHY  The

PVO Standards were developed in recognition of the growing size and consequence of the programs of InterAction members

 It

was believed that being held accountable to a set of standards would serve to help InterAction and its members earn and protect the public trust

 Indeed

both the media and donors recognize that being part of a standards-based network enhances InterAction members’ credibility

The PVO Standards: Their History, Purpose & Evolution GOALS  Just

as important as the public trust, they help member agencies to be more effective in management and programmatic performance

 The

PVO Standards are intended to serve as guides and incentives that help member agencies evolve continually into better-run organizations

The PVO Standards: Their History, Purpose & Evolution RAISING THE BAR 

By incorporating program standards, the InterAction PVO Standards add value beyond the prevailing standards of the Better Business Bureau and the Wise Giving Alliance



Program standards help establish markers in the areas of program design and assessment against which member agencies can move toward consistent monitoring and evaluation of their effectiveness



InterAction remains one of the few international humanitarian and development NGO networks that has standards, raising the bar for similar NGO associations both within the United States and around the globe

The PVO Standards: Their History, Purpose & Evolution EVOLUTION The PVO Standards are continually reviewed, added to, and strengthened: 1998: Gender and diversity amendments added to the standards 1998: Standards adopted guiding the child sponsorship programs 2000: The diversity amendments broadened to include people with disabilities

The PVO Standards: Their History, Purpose & Evolution continued

2003: Standards adopted offering guidance in the protection of beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and abuse 2003: Standards adopted guiding NGOs in the appropriate use and movement of pharmaceutical and medical resources 2005: Standards adopted covering whistleblower and document destruction policies 2006: Standards adopted offering guidance on providing staff security

Compliance A

board-level committee oversees the PVO Standards, as well as member compliance with the PVO Standards

 By

agreement among members, the CEO and/or board chairperson of each InterAction member must certify compliance annually with the standards using the Selfcertification-plus process.

 Member

agencies that do not comply with this policy will face suspension from membership until they submit their selfcertification compliance form and check list.

Enforcement  When

not in compliance with a standard, member agencies are given one year to come into compliance and/or to explain concrete steps they have taken to attain compliance

 Members

that cannot come into full compliance or demonstrate to the PVO Standards Committee deliberate progress toward compliance in that year face possible suspension from membership

New Member Screening  Compliance

with the PVO Standards is also used to assess eligibility of prospective members to InterAction

 Membership

applications are rejected whenever a prospective member cannot come into compliance with the PVO Standards

Compliance Support  An

interpretive guide is included at the back of the PVO Standards

A

questionnaire has been posted on InterAction’s website to assist members in their bi-annual compliance selfassessments

 InterAction’s

website also provides access to useful documents such as InterAction’s bylaws and other sample policy language, such as Conflict of Interest and Whistle Blower Policies

Technical Assistance  Requests

for technical assistance in standards compliance are increasing among InterAction members

 InterAction

is in the midst of gathering referrals for technical assistance, sample policy language, and other relevant materials to support member compliance with the PVO Standards

Requests for support should be directed to Member Services at [email protected] or [email protected]

Accountability Today  Demands

and expectations for greater levels of accountability, transparency, and evaluation are emanating from donors, stakeholders, and beneficiaries

 InterAction

member agencies are assessing how the standards can be strengthened and enforced as well as whether having standards leads to greater program effectiveness

 InterAction

is currently responding in two specific ways through the Child Sponsorship Accreditation Pilot Project and SelfCertification Plus

Self-Certification Plus  Building

upon the child sponsorship project, in February 2004, InterAction launched another standards compliance pilot called Self-Certification Plus (SCP)

 The

goal of SCP is to assist with and make more rigorous and uniform the way in which InterAction members annually selfassess their compliance with the PVO Standards

Process 

50 InterAction member agencies volunteered to pilot in SCP 2004 and 2005.



These member agencies self-certified their compliance with the PVO Standards by gathering the evidence defined for each standard



Each agency indicated on a checklist for each standard whether they passed or fell short of compliance and indicated what evidence was used for their determination



Members that are not in compliance with a standard must develop and implement an action plan, or face possible suspension

Evolution On March 10, 2005 the InterAction Board of Directors passed a resolution that requires all InterAction members to use Self Certification Plus beginning in 2006 100% of InterAction members now complete the full Self Certification Plus process as required every other year. The next year of mandatory compliance is 2008.

Testing New Models  InterAction

will continue to update our PVO Standards and to test different models of self-regulation and verified compliance with the PVO Standards

 Plans

are to launch a new pilot testing of peer review and other models of verified compliance in 2008

Child Sponsorship Pilot Accreditation Project 

Five InterAction child sponsorship organizations (CSOs) are engaged in a accreditation pilot project: Plan USA, World Vision, Christian Children’s Fund, Children International, and Save the Children



Launched in 1999, this two-phased accreditation pilot project culminated in 2005 with a third-party certification of their compliance with the PVO Standards



Described as “cutting-edge” by accrediting bodies, this pilot is widely believed to be among the first such external certification of compliance to any set of standards by a group of international NGOs

Accreditation Process 

The CSOs developed a certification manual



Evidence of compliance was defined for each standard to make it objective as well as auditable for an external certifying body



A third-party certification of CSO compliance with the PVO Standards began in October 2004 and was completed in July 2005



Certifying bodies audited each U.S. headquarters and a sampling of field sites outside the U.S. for each CSO



The audits were accredited (overseen) by Social Accountability International (SAI), known for its world-recognized SA8000 labor rights standards

Certification Review  Once an audit was completed, the audit report was submitted to a multi-stakeholder Certification Review Panel (CRP) 

This CRP rendered the final certification decision



Serving on each CRP were a child sponsor (an individual U.S. citizen, who sponsors children), an institutional donor, a representative of the auditing firm awarding certification and a subject matter expert, who was familiar with child sponsorship programs in the field

Acknowledgements Through its actions, InterAction continues to raise the bar for NGO accountability and transparency. InterAction would like to acknowledge and extend gratitude to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for their financial support and leadership in fostering this important process.

For more information about InterAction and the PVO Standards:  Visit

our website at www.interaction.org

 Call

Member Relations at (202) 667-8227, extension 529 or 552

 E-mail

Barbara Wallace [email protected] or Taina Alexander at [email protected].