Our Activities
Our Activities
The Forum’s secretariat develops and runs on a yearly basis a comprehensive capacity-sharing assessment (CA), whereby LHDF members identify and prioritise areas where their organisation can either provide or require support. Areas covered include, among others, donor compliance, humanitarian principles, grants/project management, reporting, proposal-writing, fundraising, emergency-preparedness, advocacy, communication and campaigning, etc. Following the CA, a detailed capacity-sharing plan will be developed to cater to the needs identified, looking at matching existing capacities and resources with highlighted needs. Accordingly, the Forum will implement training sessions via capacity building experts and trainers on identified topics so they could meet potential donors requirements and minimum standards.
With advocacy at the core of the Forum’s mandate, LHDF strives to ensure that the voice of its members and the broader community of Lebanon LNNGOs effectively reaches decision-making fora in Lebanon, the region and globally. In particular, LHDF serves as a platform where LNNGOs can develop a unified and consistent voice in order to influence humanitarian and development policies and practice in the areas of concern for the whole membership. LHDF believes that advocacy is a fundamental tool that can enable the Forum to fulfill its mandate and accomplish its purpose.
LHDF defines advocacy as a set of deliberate and systematic activities aimed at influencing policies and practices, as well as the way decisions are made, to bring about change. Within this scope, LHDF is involved in public and private advocacy, including through policy research, campaigning, public events, lobbying and policy dialogue. LHDF’s approach to advocacy is member-driven, evidence-based and solutions-oriented, and it is underpinned by international human rights framework and standards.
LHDF advocacy efforts revolve, among others, around the following areas: Localisation, principled humanitarian action, preservation of civic space and Accountability to Affected Populations.
Localisation:
Calls to reform the formal international humanitarian system to be inclusive of local actors from crisis-
affected countries emerged firmly following the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in 2016. Ever
since, the need to transition towards a locally-led, people-centered aid system has been endorsed at
different levels by key actors in the humanitarian system globally, including notably through processes
such as the Grand Bargain or the Charter for Change .
Whilst there is no common definition of Localisation across actors, discussions around advancing the
Localisation agenda typically encompass recommendations to channel funds to local and national NGOs
(LNNGOs) as directly as possible, invest in their institutional capacities, ensure equity of partnerships,
and promote meaningful participation, representation and leadership of LNNGOs in formal coordination
and decision-making structures. For LHDF, Localisation is a collective process leading to a paradigm shift
within the humanitarian aid system whereby LNNGOs have equal access to power, funding and
resources. You can learn more about LHDF’s stance on Localisation
HERE.
LHDF is invested in a multiplicity of advocacy efforts focusing on advancing the Localisation agenda in Lebanon, including notably through its key role as member of the Coordination Committee of the Localisation Task Force.
As part of its core mandate, LHDF facilitates representation of LNNGOs in the main coordination and decision-making structures in Lebanon including: