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Save the Children's success as the world's leading independent organisation fighting for children's rights depends on good governance, strong management, effective programmes and public trust and confidence.

Save the Children recognises our duty to children, and to every individual and organisation that supports our work. We believe that we should be held accountable to the people we serve, to our partner organisations, and to the people from whom we receive support: donors, campaigners, governments and foundations.

In 2004 the International Save the Children Alliance (the Alliance, hereafter) unanimously approved a long term strategy to tackle selected global challenges with the aim of maximising the benefits Save the Children can deliver to children on a global scale.

The Global Strategy Five-Year Plan (2005 - 2010) is the first stage of implementing our 2020 Strategy.

Our mandate is clear: To work together as a global Alliance in order to maximise our contribution for the benefit of children. Living conditions for millions of children are blighted by violent conflict, extreme poverty, malnutrition and disease. Increasingly, the challenge of addressing these issues has become global in nature and only a global perspective and response can address them. With 28 national Member organisations around the world, programmes in over 120 countries and the ability to combine local knowledge with national prestige and global coordination, we're well placed to deliver to children on a global scale.

1. Save the Children Member organisations will work collectively to achieve the following goals, identified as the 4 key initiatives for the Alliance:
2. Secure quality education for 8 million children affected by armed conflict.
3. Expand and improve our presence in countries of strategic importance.
4. Create a stronger voice for children where more than one Member has programmes by integrating country operations.
5. To become the emergency response agency for children worldwide by improving disaster preparedness and response capacity so that we can best deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children caught up in emergencies.

All Members of the Alliance are bound by the International Save the Children Alliance Byelaws which are agreed by the Alliance Board as constituting a Policy and Procedure. Members of the International Save the Children Alliance have a common commitment to the prevention of child abuse and the protection of children. The Child Protection Protocol and Code of Conduct sets out common values, principles, and beliefs and describes the steps that will be taken in meeting our commitment to protect children. It applies particularly to how we protect children from abuse within our own organisations and within the partner organisations with which we work closely with. Our reputation relies heavily on upholding and promoting high standards of conduct in line with our values and principles. If any of us fails to act in a way that is consistent with our values and principles, we fail as an organisation.

Best practice standards are vital for consistent, high quality programmes.

They provide a framework that gives guidance and direction first and foremost to field staff in continuously improving their participatory practice. They are also intended for sharing with partners and others as the basis for dialogue about ways to ensure meaningful children's participation.

• Save the Children's Governance Handbook- states how Alliance Members can effectively and efficiently strive to achieve our stated goals while protecting the public interest and trust.
• The Best Practice Programme Management Manual provides Members of the International Save the Children Alliance with guidance, key principles and a framework for effective programmes. It is meant to help build capacity and professionalism and serve as a resource to guide in the planning, implementation and evaluation of successful programmes.
• Save the Children has also produced best practice in each of our programme areas. The handbook, Child Rights Programming: How to Apply Rights-based Approaches in Programming discusses the key features of child rights programming and explains what this concept means.
• The Practice Standards for Child Participation handbook states what children and others can expect of Save the Children's practice in child participation. They apply to all of Save the Children's child participation work and represent the Save the Children's minimum expectations of the ways in which their staff will behave and operate. They have been developed through years of experience supporting children's participation at both the local and global levels.
• The International Alliance Position on Children and Work is intended as a framework for Save the Children programmes which address the issue of children and work. It is the result of a year long consultation with Save the Children staff and working boys and girls around the world.
• Save the Children is a signatory to the International Nongovernmental Organisations (INGO) Accountability Charter, which commits us to transparency, accountability and good governance. The Charter represents a way forward for establishing a common standards of conduct for INGOs and creates mechanisms to report, monitor and evaluate compliance, as well as provide redress.
• Children are often the most vulnerable to injury and disease in emergency situations. Save the Children staff is bound by the principles laid out in "The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief".
• We are also active in a number of initiatives working to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian assistance, including the Sphere Project. The Sphere project has developed minimum operational standards and a programme of training and reviews to support agencies as they work to implement humanitarian programmes. The Sphere handbook contains the Humanitarian Charter, and minimum standards for response in the following core areas - food security, nutrition and food aid; water, sanitation and hygiene promotion; shelter, settlement and non-food items; and health.

More on the INGO Accountability Charter
The International Save the Children Alliance Annual Report
INGO Accountability Charter [60 Kb]