This webinar introduced the revised UNDG HACT Framework to UN Country Teams and provided an opportunity for experience and knowledge sharing. It was led by the headquarters’ HACT Advisory Committee.

The UNDG HACT Framework was first issued in 2005 and adopted by the Funds and Programmes as a common operational framework for transferring cash to Implementing Partners. The Framework aimed to support a closer alignment of development aid with national priorities and strengthen national capacities for management and accountability. It introduced a risk-based management approach to cash transfers.

In 2012, the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) called for continued commitment and support from UN agencies to increased harmonization of business practices and operations.

The inter-agency HACT Advisory Committee revised the HACT Framework in 2013, based on various assessments, including the Global HACT Assessment(December 2011) and the Joint Audit of the Governance Arrangement for HACT(November 2012). Furthermore, it accounted for comments from agencies’ country offices and inputs from UN Country Teams throughout the revision process. As a result, the Advisory Committee reaffirmed some key principles of HACT while identifying solutions to prevalent challenges in its effective implementation. Endorsed by UNDP, UNICEF, and UNFPA, the revised HACT Framework was finally approved in the UNDG meeting on 6 February 2014.

The new Framework supersedes the 2005 version and applies to all countries and contexts, including emergency, crisis and post-conflict countries. It is acknowledged that some agencies may require a transition period to fully roll-out the framework. Furthermore, the agreed principles and processes will be mainstreamed into the guidelines of the adopting agencies with due consideration of agency specific business model and existing business processes.

For more information on HACT, please follow this link.