Accountability

“The process of using power responsibly, taking account of, and being held accountable by, different stakeholders, and primarily those who are affected by the exercise of such power.”  

(Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability)  

Accountability is central to NCA's values and the principles that inform our work. As an organisation certified towards the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), we have committed to improve the quality and effectiveness of our work and maintain internationally recognised standards of accountability towards the people and communities that we assist. The standards and commitments of the CHS apply to all NCA departments and alignment to them should be evident in all policies, routines, guidelines, and practices. This also includes a commitment to train, support and monitor our partners' progress on the CHS. 

Before reading further, you may be interested in reading more about these topics first:

NCA’s Accountability Framework 

NCA's Statement of Principles outlines the vision, mission and values of the organisation. In our daily work to save lives and seek justice, we have translated these values into Policies, Standards and Commitments, which we are obligated to integrate into all of our projects and programmes - the Accountability Framework. 

NCA’s Complaints Handling Mechanism 

Norwegian Church Aid want to be accountable to all we meet through our work and want to improve the quality of our work. Therefore, we are open to all complaints about our work in Norway and in the countries where we operate. 

Safeguarding policies 

All employees are personally and collectively responsible for upholding and promoting the highest ethical and professional standards in their work. All NCA employees are obliged to sign the ACT Alliance Code of Conduct and the NCA Protection from Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse & Child Safeguarding policies as part of the employee contract, which are considered binding agreements between NCA and the employee. These policies must be adhered to at all times during the employment of NCA. These policies apply to all permanent and temporary staff of NCA, NCA’s dependents, interns, consultants, observers, volunteers, and any other individuals working for or representing NCA, including the NCA Board. 

Data privacy

Transparency Act

Norwegian Church Aid works with the follow-up of the The Norwegian Transparency Act. The Transparency Act was introduced in 2022 following pressure from, among others, Norwegian Church Aid. It aims to help companies promote businesses' respect for basic human rights and decent working conditions in connection with the production of goods and services. The Act must also ensure that the general public has access to information about how the company handles violations of basic human rights and a lack of decent working conditions.

Here you will find our policy for responsible business conduct and a statement of our work with the Transparency Act: