In contrast to its position in recent years, when it faced severe financial difficulties and suffered from a loss of direction, ICVA has taken important measures to ensure a complete turn around since autumn 1997.

At the forefront of ICVA's revival are its dedicated members, international (UN) agencies and governments. Their continued support is based on a well-founded belief in the need for an organisation such as ICVA that provides a global forum for linking NGOs among themselves and to the international agencies, so as to add value to the members’ work and help them build capacity to achieve their objectives.

Since the beginning of 1998, ICVA has concentrated on resolving two major issues:

The first and most pressing issue has been to resolve the heavy financial liabilities. A seemingly insurmountable debt burden has significantly reduced. For the remaining part of the debt ICVA is in the process of making appropriate arrangements.

Equally vital to ICVA's revival is the need to re-affirm and re-establish the organisation’s focus. The membership has undertaken a fundamental review of ICVA’s structure and activities. As a result of this review, it has been agreed that the new ICVA will be:

• A catalyst for connecting, bringing together and representing NGOs.

• An instrument for timely exchange of issues, concerns, and information among NGOs, international (UN) agencies, and governments.

• A ‘broker’ for NGO capacity building.

While not excluding sustainable development, it has been decided that ICVA will primarily focus on humanitarian affairs.

In order to deliver these three services to the fullest extent, a new structure must be put in place and appropriate working methods developed. An eighteen month Work Plan (July ‘98 - Dec. ‘99) has been prepared which defines the prioritised activities. Timely completion of the Work Plan is indispensable for a successful transition from the old to the new ICVA.

In the coming two years, the membership will make a significant contribution towards further reducing the debt burden. As a result, ICVA will need additional funding during this period. In addition, a number of Southern and Eastern NGOs have repeatedly made it known that their capacities to contribute financially to ICVA are limited.

ICVA's core funding strategy for the year 2000 and beyond is firmly based on successful implementation of the restructuring plan. Once this plan has been implemented, ICVA will be able to deliver the full extent of its services thereby adding value to the members’ work. In this way, ICVA can support its present membership and reach out to potential new members. After 1999, ICVA will strive:

• To increase its membership by at least 5 percent each year.

• To become self-sufficient by covering its entire core costs from its membership fees by the year 2003.

The members have re-affirmed that ICVA has a vital role to play, in the timely exchange of information among and with members, in providing an advocacy role especially for Southern and Eastern NGOs, and in promoting and supporting NGO capacity-building initiatives. These are huge tasks but the benefits will be substantial considering that a more effective and better informed NGO community which is key to alleviating human suffering, to promoting human rights and sustaining human development.

ICVA therefore believes that the members, international agencies, governments and foundations that support ICVA’s activities are investing in the re-establishment of a vital, cost-effective, and durable mechanism, where true North-South and South-South NGO dialogue and cooperation will take place.

ICVA is committed to act as an instrument for facilitating global NGO work that aims to:

• alleviate human suffering in natural and man-made disasters
• protect and promote the respect for human rights
• strengthen civil society and democracy
• uphold social and gender equity
• eradicate poverty
• sustain human development

ICVA is committed to providing the highest quality of service to its members and to the principles of institutional transparency and accountability.

ICVA aims to become a catalyst and a tool for accurate, timely, and effective exchange of information, concerns and issues among member NGOs, Geneva-based international humanitarian agencies and governments, working for common objectives.

ICVA aims to strengthen the networks among NGOs and to promote humanitarian principles and best practices, so that high quality, coordinated, and effective NGO response and participation are ensured.

ICVA aims to act as a ‘broker’ for NGO capacity-building, particularly among its members. ICVA will facilitate, promote and support capacity-building initiatives to institutions and governments. In order to give shape to this supporting role, ICVA will make extensive use of its WEB facilities. The purpose of ICVA’s support to NGO capacity-building will be to enhance NGO contributions to humanitarian policy making, especially by Southern and Eastern NGOs.

ICVA membership will not be geographically limited. Globally, all NGOs that meet membership criteria can become members of ICVA.

ICVA’s services are aimed at adding value to the members’ work. To attract new and to retain old membership, ICVA will undertake actively to promote its services.

Appreciating that ICVA needs to communicate with members in languages other than English, ICVA envisages to extend its information services into other languages too. However, due to its limited resources all services will be in English during the first two years.

Based in Geneva, ICVA will mainly concentrate on humanitarian issues, linking NGOs, facilitating exchange of information, and providing a platform to develop working relations with agencies and bodies such as OCHA, the IASC and UNHCR/EXCOM-Standing Committee. ICVA should provide these bodies in particular with field-based, Southern and Eastern NGOs’ perspectives and information.

To ensure rapid and effective exchange of views and information among NGOs and international agencies, ICVA will make use of modern information technology, including the Internet. It will make available a WEB site and a ‘Hot page’ allowing member NGOs to interact and raise urgent humanitarian and development issues in a virtual (meeting) environment. It is ICVA's view that most of the NGOs qualifying for membership (will) have access to the Internet. For those without access to the Internet, alternate arrangements will be made.

ICVA will follow up and lobby the international agencies on the issues its members raise. In view of its position as a focal point for members’ concerns, ICVA may have the ‘helicopter view’ to identify policy issues that may be of concern to the whole membership.

To be effective in its humanitarian advocacy work, ICVA will develop and further strengthen its ties with the major international, humanitarian NGO networks and with regional/national NGO networks, including InterAction, the Steering committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR), ECRE, VOICE, FAVDO etc.

As to sustainable development and other specific subjects requiring in-depth interventions and/or a field-based presence, ICVA will facilitate the formation of NGO consortia by using a lead-agency model and/or existing consortia.

• During the transitional period, ICVA will use both membership fees and institutional grants for its core funding requirements.

• From January 2000 ICVA will work on increasing its membership and implementing a new funding structure so as to reach self-sufficiency for its core budget by 2003.
• Specific activities will be funded through project proposals.

ICVA's services will benefit:

NGOs: Improved contacts with each other and international agencies, access to information, and cost effective means to advocate for their concerns.

International (UN) Agencies: Easy access to a reliable and efficient mechanism to coordinate with NGOs.

International Community & Governments: Improved and coordinated joint efforts between NGOs and international agencies, resulting in sustainable and effective use of humanitarian resources.

Using of modern information technologies of e-mail and the Internet, ICVA will be able to perform a leading role in channelling and exchanging information. ICVA members will be able to exchange their views rapidly and effectively among themselves at a virtual meeting place: "the ICVA-WEB" i.e. a tailor-made web site and pages accessible only to ICVA members.

1. To design an outline of the type and range of information to be placed on ICVA's WEB site.

• To obtain members’ input on the ICVA-WEB outline through a questionnaire so as to ensure that it meets their needs.

1. To present a project funding proposal to establish the ICVA-WEB. The proposal will include details about requirements for human resources, hardware/software packages and installation of the network, and the running costs for one year.

• To recruit a consultant
• To submit a project proposal for funding.

1. To establish the ICVA-WEB information mechanism.

• To set up and operationalise the system.
• To introduce ICVA staff to the system so that they can take over after the installation phase.

• To maintain the ICVA-WEB and regularly update the Hot page for urgent issues.
• To publish a bi-weekly electronic newsletter to keep the members up to date on ICVA's activities, the action taken on the issues raised and the results obtained.
• To publish information aimed at NGO capacity-building.

The members will bring up issues of importance with ICVA, the NGO community, the UN system and governments. In turn ICVA will raise and advocate these issues to the agencies and governments based in Geneva. Given the fact that NGOs can now address the UNHCR Standing Committee, ICVA will play a major role in coordinating the participation of NGOs.

1. To raise the issues which the membership brings up through the ICVA-WEB in appropriate fora.

1. To form alliances with other NGO networks for issues requiring wider lobbying fronts and to strengthen relationships with the major humanitarian NGO networks including InterAction, SCHR, ECRE, VOICE, FAVDO etc.
2. To develop a role as stimulator and initiator to debate humanitarian issues that may be of concern to ICVA members in order to assist the members in developing policies on humanitarian issues.
3. To produce an analytical paper every six months to determine whether the way and the type of issues raised has led to any progress.

ICVA will put in place a governing structure conducive to its new aims and working methods.

1. To develop an effective and flexible governing structure that ensures maximum transparency, control and accountability.

• To convene a General Assembly in autumn 1999 to evaluate the restructuring process until then.

1. To use the lead agency model to address issues requiring specific expertise.
2. To develop a method to initiate, promote and assist in the formation of NGO consortia for projects requiring operational and field-based involvement.
3. To develop standard terms and conditions by drafting a framework memorandum of understanding between ICVA, the lead agency and/or the NGO consortium on how to use ICVA’s name in carrying out these projects (see b. and c.).
4. To develop and put in place a member-driven system of checks and balances, ensuring sound institutional accountability and transparency.
5. To communicate ICVA's revised objectives and work plan to the members, governments, and international agencies by inter alia presenting new promotional material such as the brochure "ICVA at a Glance", and to publish ICVA annual reports.

ICVA has played a coordinating role in the process of PARinAc and the 1994 Oslo Conference. It will continue to support the implementation of the Plan of Action adopted by the Conference.

1. To work on presenting a project proposal to review the implementation of the PARinAc Plan of Action together with UNHCR and to determine possible actions for further implementation.
2. To periodically review ICVA’s involvement in implementing the PARinAc Plan of Action.

5. To act as a ‘broker’ for NGO capacity building.

ICVA will facilitate, support and promote NGO capacity-building initiatives by ‘brokering’ these initiatives among NGOs and between NGOs and governments.

• To identify NGO capacity-building initiatives that are suitable for ICVA support.
• To promote these NGO initiatives to institutions and/or governments and seek financial and human resource support for them.