INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards - Call for Membership 2005-2009

Call for Membership:
INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies 2005-2009

After two years of a highly consultative process to develop minimum standards, a handbook of Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction was launched at INEE's Second Global Inter-Agency Consultation on Education in Emergencies and Early Recovery, in Cape Town, South Africa (2 - 4 December 2004). INEE has pledged to move forward with the promotion, training, piloting, monitoring and evaluating the minimum standards in a consultative manner. In order to accomplish this, a transition team of WGMSEE members was constituted to develop a new Terms of Reference and define an application process for organizational members, and the representatives of those organizations.

The new Working Group will develop a strategy for and facilitate the promotion, training, piloting, monitoring and evaluating of the minimum standards that ensures that all components are integrated in a manner that allows for a dynamic, consultative, standardized and transparent process. Membership in the Working Group is on an organizational basis. Any interested organization is invited to apply to become a member of the Working Group and to nominate an individual to represent it on the Working Group for a period of 2 years (April 2005 - March 2007). The Transition Team is calling for applications for membership in the INEE Minimum Standards from February 18th - 7th March. The Transition Team will assess the applications in March and recommend organizational members and their proposed representatives to the INEE Steering Group for approval. The first meeting of the Working Group is planned for early May 2005.

The members of the Working Group for the development of the minimum standards were chosen in 2003 and represented the following NGO and UN agencies or organizations: CARE Canada, CARE USA, Catholic Relief Services, the International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council and the Norway United Nations Association, Save the Children UK, Save the Children USA, Refugee Education Trust, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF and World Education/The Consortium. In this new phase of the Working Group, membership will be expanded and diversified in order to carry out the promotion, training, piloting, monitoring and evaluation of the minimum standards. In addition to the possibility of a greater number of UN agencies, this diversification will translate into a greater number of field-based members (southern NGOs), academics and government representatives on the Working Group.


Organizational Member Criteria (Institution): The Transition Team and Steering Group will consider the following criteria for organizational membership in the Working Group:

  • The organization's interest in and commitment to supporting and contributing to the process;
  • Involvement in INEE and the past effort to develop INEE Minimum Standards and/or interest in supporting and contributing to the process in the future;
  • Promotion of the minimum standards within their organizations, to partners and networks;
  • Willingness to share expertise, technical materials and work in a collaborative manner on behalf of INEE;
  • Background, experience and experience relevant to the objectives of the Working Group;
  • Institutional expertise in education in crisis settings;
  • Institutional expertise relevant to the particular tasks outlined in the Working Group ToR (Operations, Training, and Piloting, Monitoring and Evaluation Group);
  • Regional Context, i.e. Africa, Asia, Latin America;
  • Diversity of views, i.e. South/North, etc.

Commitment of Resources

  • Select a qualified representative to represent the organization on Working Group and assume the costs for members to participate in Working Group activities, including travel/hotel/perdiem costs for attendance at Working Group meetings twice a year as well as at least one subgroup meeting and time away from regular work. Organizations should commit to the entire period of two years;
  • Assist in Working Group fundraising efforts;
  • Other voluntary contributions, such as support to training material development, training facilitators and consultants; printing and distribution of materials; promotion and piloting of minimum standards, conference calls, and indication of annual financial and/or in-kind contributions;
  • Perspective of promotion and implementation, i.e. NGO, Government, UN, Academic, etc;


Organizational Representative Criteria (Person): The Transition Team and Steering Group will consider the following criteria for organizational representative membership in the Working Group:

  • Organizational seniority in order to ensure institutional buy-in, bring others on board, and influence decision makers and donors;
  • Professional education and/or protection background;
  • Direct experience in education programmes in situations of emergencies and crisis;
  • Special skills, such as development of strategy and policy; planning and administration of programmes; program implementation, assessment, monitoring and evaluation; group facilitation and training; effective writing and fundraising abilities; and SPHERE-related experience;
  • Access to efficient means of electronic communication, including e-mail and phone.
  • In addition to the competence and skills of the individuals, the members of the Working Group should be balanced with regard to gender and area of expertise / subject area.

Working Group Member Responsibilities (Person):

  • Promoting the process internally within the organization as well as externally with partners and networks;
  • Participating in the activities of one of the subgroups (Operations Group, Training Group, and Piloting, Monitoring and Evaluation Group), as outlined in the Working Group ToR;
  • Assisting in fundraising efforts;
  • Time Commitment: Working Group members will be expected to attend at least three meetings each year. This includes WGMSEE meetings twice a year (one approximately every six months) as well as at least one subgroup meeting. Each meeting will be at least 2 days in length. More time will be required for conference calls, e-mail correspondence, and coordinating and carrying out promotion, training, piloting, monitoring and evaluation. WGMSEE members will need to make a commitment to keep in touch and respond to communications and meeting deadlines, even when traveling on other program business. WGMSEE members will do their work alongside their regular jobs; estimation of this time commitment is approximately two to four days per month. This time commitment and work should ideally be written into the job description of the WGMSEE member.

Organizational contributions (resources and other inputs, such as administrative support) will be promoted to donors as organizational buy-in and a match for their grants. For more information, please see the Working Group Terms of Reference 2005-2009.

Organizations interested in being members of the Working Group should submit a letter by e-mail to the focal point (allison@theirc.org), signed by a senior organizational officer who is able to make an institutional commitment, preferably at the Director level or above, specifying their commitment to this two-year process and their ability to meet the criteria and responsibilities involved. Accompanying the letter should be the c.v. of the organization's proposed member for the Working Group. Application deadline: March 7, 2005.