The SHF prioritizes allocation of funds according to the overall emergency needs in the country as defined by the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). Funding decisions are guided by a strategy developed in consultation with the field offices, Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and SHF Advisory Board (AB) and endorsed by the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC).
The SHF has two inclusive and efficient allocation processes for timely allocation and disbursement of donor resources to the most critical humanitarian needs:
The standard and reserve allocations are completed within a specified time frame to allow partners to respond in a timely manner. For all allocations, the HC publishes an allocation strategy, which specifies the sectors and activities eligible for funding. It is developed by OCHA in coordination with the relevant IASC sectors. The SHF Advisory Board reviews and endorses the allocation strategy paper. All allocations fit within the SHF 2020 Position Paper agreed with the Advisory Board each at the beginning of the year.
The allocation strategy paper also lists the key strategic and technical criteria for project proposals, including beneficiary targeting, programmatic approaches, guidance on cross-cutting issues of accountability to affected populations, environmental protection, protection mainstreaming, addressing the needs of people with disability and gender responsiveness in humanitarian response.
The SHF project cycle is managed through an online platform known as the OCHA’s Grant Management System (GMS). Information on all 18 OCHA managed country-based pooled funds (CBPFs) is housed here. The fund managers and implementing partners work online to manage all aspects of project management such as project proposals submission, revision and both programmatic and financial reports. OCHA also uses the system to coordinate project review, monitoring and partner performance