NCCI has published its annual report for 2015. The annual report contains an overview of NCCI’s structure, mission and activities during the past year. 2015 was an eventful year, both for NCCI and for Iraq as a whole. During 2015 the humanitarian crisis that erupted in Iraq in 2014 continued unabated, leaving a growing number of people in the country in need of humanitarian support. In the backdrop of this expanding and enduring humanitarian crisis, local and international NGOs stepped up their operations in Iraq, while the United Nations and the cluster coordination system rolled out in force in the country. Under these changing circumstances NCCI continued to fulfill its mission as a member-led NGO platform. Throughout 2015 NCCI coordinated…

In early March the Director of Operations of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) John Ging visited Iraq. In preparation for John Ging’s visit, NCCI’s Advocacy Working Group (AWG) prepared a letter, pulling together key issues identified by the NGO community operating in Iraq. The main points presented in the letter included the need for a strengthened cluster system and humanitarian coordination in general, the importance of civil-military coordination, adherence to humanitarian principles and finally alternative ways to sustainably fund humanitarian operations in Iraq. Grasping the opportunity to further stress the issues brought forward in the letter NCCI then hosted a meeting with John Ging and NGOs operating in Iraq. The meeting took place…

In partnership with UNHCR, NCCI delivered a five days capacity building training workshop between 28 February and 3 March 2016 in Baghdad. The workshop focused on the capacity gaps of local NGOs (LNGOs) that were identified during the organizational capacity assessment that NCCI ran in 2015. During this workshop staff members from fifteen LNGOs (30 employees from the NGOs executive management and finance departments) were trained.   In the first day of the training the participants were introduced to strategic planning. During the second day the participants practiced developing operational plans and how to execute these. On the third and fourth days participants were trained on human resources, procurement and financial management. At the last day, the participants were introduced…

The HR/Admin working group is one of NCCI’s thematic working groups and convenes monthly to discuss current issues and best practices in the fields of finance, HR and administration. Following requests from its members NCCI can also reach out to relevant external actors or government officials to clarify issues that cannot be solved by the group’s regular attendees. The most recent meeting of the HR/Admin group took place on Wednesday 24 February 2016 at NCCI’s Erbil office, and was attended by staff members from 31 local and international member NGOs as well as a representative of the Kurdistan Relief Association (KRA), a local NGO operating in Kirkuk.  The meeting started with a discussion on a number of current HR/Admin related…

NCCI organized the first general coordination meeting in southern Iraq in collaboration with the Basra Network for Sustainable Development. The meeting took place on the 27th of February 2016 at the Port Club in Basra City.  This event follows a series of meetings held earlier between November 2015 and January 2016. These meetings were organized by the Basra Network for Sustainable Development and local and international NCCI members in the south.  NCCI used the meetings to assess the coordination needs in the south. This general coordination meeting in Basra aimed to: •    Increase the trust and collaboration among the local NGOs working in the south of the country.•    Share information on activities and projects. Share knowledge and solutions. Provide special…

In 2016 NCCI is continuing to enhance coordination and information sharing in the central region of Iraq, which includes the governorates of Baghdad, Anbar, Salah ad-Din, Diyala, and Babel.  Through its coordination hub in Baghdad, NCCI runs a number of coordination activities and also supports the efforts of UNOCHA and the Clusters. On the 26th of January, NCCI held the first monthly security working group meeting of the year to discuss safety and security updates and current trends. Eight NGOs attended this meeting.  On the 8th of February, NCCI organized a joint general coordination meeting with UNOCHA. The meeting was attended by 36 organization (including 21 local NGOs) working in Baghdad, Anbar, Salah ad-Din, and Diyala. During the meeting, OCHA…