Unification of ACT Development with ACT International

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Unification of ACT Development with ACT
International
Photos Paul Jeffrey/ACT International
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Background

• 1995 ACT International founded
• bringing churches and related agencies together
  to
• respond to emergency situations
• in 2009, ACT International has 136 members

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World Council of Churches Consultation Feb 2005

• In February 2005, WCC convened a consultation of
  churches and ecumenical agencies to discuss the
  need for increased cooperation in development.
• Outcome of consultation
• we agreed that in the long term, the ideal model
  is to bring together ecumenical work with
  emergencies, advocacy and development under a
  common umbrella with a common brand name,
  preferably Action by Churches Together. We would
  like to see this happen within 3 years.
• This ideal model would take time, so a new
  provisional alliance for development would be
  established

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ACT Development Assembly February 2007

• ACT Development (the provisional alliance)
  launched following a two year consultation
  period.
• The Assembly agreed
• that ACT Development enter into discussions with
  ACT International on the issue of
  a structural relationship
• that a final decision regarding the structural
  relationship needs the approval of the
  ACT Development Assembly

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Why Unify?

• Most members are engaged in both humanitarian and
  development work
• Many organisations are members of both alliances
• Both alliances have similar mechanisms for
  coordinating (eg national forums)
• Risk of duplication is reduced
• Greater opportunities for working more
  strategically
• A stronger, more coordinated approach to advocacy
• Greater opportunity for the ACT brand to receive
  higher visibility
• More effective use of resources

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Purpose of this Session

• To ensure that you have all the information
  required to make an informed decision on whether
  ACT Development should unify with ACT
  International.
• Process
• Outline of process since the 2007 Assembly
• Founding Document of the Proposal Unified ACT
  (not seeking wording changes at this stage)
• Funding the unified ACT
• Co-branding policy
•  

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Voting

•  
• The ACT International Assembly voted on April 20
  2009 to unify with ACT Development, but ACT
  Development must make its own decision.
• ACT Development vote will be held by secret
  ballot
• Wednesday 27 May 2pm.
• The decision (as outlined in the Guide to ACT
  Development) will be by simple majority.

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Progress since ACT Development Assembly 2007

• 2007-8 Joint Executive Committee meetings of ACT
  International and ACT Development ( 6 meetings to
  date)
•  Early 2008 Proposal for the Unified ACT agreed
  by Joint Executive Committee
• Regional Consultations (April-August 2008)
• Series of 8 regional consultations discussed
  proposal.
• Bangladesh, Macedonia, Switzerland, USA, Kenya,
  Burundi, Honduras, Brazil
• 80 member organisations (from a combined
  membership of 160) attended these consultations 

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• Synthesis Report from each consultation presented
  to Joint Executive Committee.
• Overall, general support for the unification.
• Many changes suggested to wording of the
  proposal.
• Founding Document re-written in light of these
  proposals.
•  

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What is being proposed?The Founding Document
Action by Churches Together - ACT Alliance is a
global alliance of World Council of Churches
(WCC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member
churches and related organizations committed to
working ecumenically.
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Vision

• United in the common task of all Christians to
  manifest Gods unconditional love for all people,
  ACT works towards a world community where all
  Gods creation lives with dignity, justice, peace
  and full respect for human rights and the
  environment.

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Mission

• As churches and church-related organisations, we
  work together for positive and sustainable change
  in the lives of people affected by poverty and
  injustice through coordinated and effective
  humanitarian, development and advocacy work.

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Statement of Commitment

• We believe that all persons are created in the
  image of God.
• We believe that God the Father as known through
  his Son Jesus Christ and revealed through the
  Holy Spirit and Scriptures, is the God of love
  who stands beside the poor and oppressed.
• We believe the church is called to manifest Gods
  gracious love for all people and work towards a
  reconciled human community. This witness is more
  clearly communicated to the world when we work
  together as members of one body of Christ.   

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• We believe that the earth and all it contains are
  Gods gifts, given out of love and care for all
  created being. 
• We believe that the resources available to us
  are not our own, but are a gift from God, and our
  vocation to service calls us to be faithful to
  principles of good stewardship.

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ACT Objectives

• Be engaged in high quality and effective
  transformational development programmes that
  contribute towards a positive change in peoples
  lives
• Respond quickly and effectively to humanitarian
  emergencies to save lives, ease suffering and
  support communities
• Work together on disaster risk reduction
  programmes, emergency preparedness and
  post-emergency rehabilitation and reconstruction
• Analyse, prioritise, plan and respond together at
  the national, regional and global level

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ACT Objectives

• Work and advocate together for changes in the
  structures and systems which impoverish and
  marginalise people, with particular attention to
  the needs of women and other vulnerable groups
• Actively engage in national, regional and
  international debates advocating for positive
  change for poor and marginalised people
• Promote, under a shared family name, the
  visibility of the development work, humanitarian
  assistance and advocacy initiatives being
  undertaken by the alliance

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ACT Objectives

• Continually increase its effectiveness through
  capacity development and the sharing of
  knowledge, learning and experiences
• Work closely with other national, regional and
  international ecumenical, inter-faith and civil
  society organisations who share similar
  objectives
• NB While the proposed unified ACT will have a
  funding mechanism for responding to emergency
  situations, it is NOT envisaged that there will
  be a multilateral funding mechanism for
  development

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Membership Renewal

• All members of ACT International and participants
  and observers in ACT Development will be asked to
  renew their membership as part of the unified ACT
  in mid-2009

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Membership Criteria

• Churches and church-related organisations that
  meet all of the following criteria are eligible
  to apply for membership in ACT
• Be either
• a member church of the World Council of Churches
  (WCC) or Lutheran World Federation (LWF), or
• a specialised ministry for humanitarian
  assistance and/or development of a member church
  if it is constituted as a separate legal entity,
  or
• an organisation affiliated with at least one
  member church of the WCC or LWF through
  governance

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Membership Criteria

• An exception may be made for
• an organisation which was previously part of a
  member organisation but has become independent
  (such applications must come with the endorsement
  of the member organization)
• an ecumenical organization that has had a long
  historical programmatic working relationship with
  the WCC and/or a regional ecumenical
  organisation, referring to AACC, CCA, CLAI, CEC,
  CCC, MECC and the PCC
• ecumenical organisations from countries where
  there are no member churches of either the WCC or
  LWF.

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Membership Criteria

• the primary mandate of church-related
  organisations must be to work in the area of
  humanitarian assistance and/or development
• all members must have a commitment to high
  quality development and/or humanitarian
  assistance activities
• should be either a national, regional or
  international organisation
• A Membership and Nominations Committee will
  consider all applications and make
  recommendations to the Governing Board for
  approval. The Governing Board has the right to
  reject any application for membership.

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Membership Observer Status

• The following types of organisations may also
  apply to be Observers
• Regional ecumenical organisations and national
  councils of churches who do not have their own
  development or humanitarian assistance programmes
• Mission organisations belonging to member
  churches of the WCC and/ or LWF
• Global ecumenical bodies who wish to work closely
  with the alliance

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Observer Status

• Observers will be
• v    regularly updated on ACTs work
• v    able to participate in the appropriate ACT
  Alliance national and regional forums.
• v    pay an annual observer fee.
• v    may not participate in the governance of the
  ACT Alliance and cannot co-brand with the ACT
  Alliances name or use the logo.
• NB If an organisation meets the membership
  criteria, they must apply for membership status
  and cannot apply for observer status. The
  observer status is restricted to those
  organisations outlined above.
•  

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Obligations of Members

• adhere to the ACT vision, mission and commitments
  
• adhere to the policies of the ACT Alliance
• 3. adhere to the Code of Good Practice for the
  ACT Alliance
• 4. co-brand with the name ACT according to the
  co-branding policy
• actively participate in national and regional
  forums where they exist and work with and
  strengthen other ACT members

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Obligations of Members

• 6. pay the annual membership fee and any other
  financial obligation as set by the Governing
  Board
• 7. agree to submit annual audited financial and
  narrative reports upon request
• 8. meet the ACT criteria as set by the Governing
  Board for accessing appeal funds for humanitarian
  assistance and related activities

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Membership and Nominations Committee
National/Regional Forums
Governing Board( up to 23 people, annual)
Governance Structure
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Procedure for Funding the Unified ACT Alliance

• Principle to have a funding mechanism which
  enables a fair sharing of the costs across the
  alliiance
• 4 elements comprise the funding base
• 1. Membership fee (paid by all)
• Members US500 Observers US250
• 2. Income-based fee for all organisations with
  income
• of over US1 million (as a of total income)
• 3. An Appeal Fee which is levied on all appeals
  issued
• by the ACT Secretariat
• 4. Programme Support for Specific Initiatives
  (optional)

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Branding and visibility

• Our current lack of high visibility as one family
  impacts on our effectiveness
• Our ability to influence key decision makers
• Fundraising
• Credibility
• Ability to compete
• Our own sense of family identity

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Objectives

• Objective 7 of the ACT Alliance
• Promote, under a shared family name, the
  visibility of the development work, humanitarian
  assistance and advocacy initiatives being
  undertaken by the alliance
• From Goals of the ACT Alliance Communications
  Strategy
• The ACT Alliance will achieve a high level of
  co-branding and visual identity, as a sign of
  global ecumenical cooperation.

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Visual identity
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Co-branding Policy

• All organisations with full membership of ACT are
  expected to co-brand with the ACT Alliance name
  and logo
• Observers are not permitted to co-brand
• The name and logo should not be associated with
  work that falls outside the objectives of the ACT
  Alliance
• Further examples of when to co-brand are detailed
  in the co-branding policy

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Branding flexibility examples
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Branding flexibility examples
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Branding flexibility examples
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Time-Frame from Here

• Legal Statutes
• Joint Executive Committee agreed to build the new
  statutes and by laws for the unified ACT alliance
  on the existing statutes and by laws of ACT
  International rather than start a new process of
  legal registration (as this process is both
  lengthy and costly).
• ACT International Assembly agreed to these
  changes in Statutes.
• If the vote for unification is agreed, ACT
  Alliance will start as of 1 January 2010.

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Transition Period

• Article 19 in Statutes
• For matters related to development and related
  advocacy initiatives, ACT Development governance
  structures continues until 1 January 2010.
• 1 June 2009- 1 January 2010 the Executive
  Committees of ACT International and ACT
  Development will form an interim Governing Board
  for all matters relating to the future unified
  ACT with a limited mandate.

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Transition Period (1 June 2009-1 January 2010)

• The mandate of the interim Governing Board will
  be
• membership renewal for the new ACT alliance
• staffing structure of new ACT Secretariat
  (including
• appointment of new General Secretary)
• financing of the ACT Secretariat and special
  initiatives
• communications (related to the launch)
• operations (eg strategic plan and work plan for
  2010)
• appointing advisory groups as required

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Interim Governing Board 1 January 2010 until
first Assembly of unified ACT
The Interim Governing Board will become the full
Governing Board of the ACT Alliance on 1 January
2010, and will remain in place until the
election of the Governing Board at the first
General Assembly of ACT Alliance (proposed dates
are March 2010)
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Two votes to be taken (separately)

•  1. that ACT Development unites with ACT
  International to become the ACT Alliance as set
  out in the Founding Document
• Options Yes No Abstain
• 2. that the current ACT Development Executive
  Committee forms, together with the Executive
  Committee of ACT International, the Interim
  Governing Board for the period 1 June 2009 until
  1 January 2010 and then the Governing Board until
  the first Assembly of the unified ACT as set out
  in Article 19 of the ACT Alliance statutes
• Options Yes No Abstain
• The decision (as outlined in the Guide to ACT
  Development Page 12) will be by simple
  majority.

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• Thank You