Policy brief

What an IFRC Reference Centre is, and what it is not

Two pages on mandate, governance and the line between the Centre and its host.

A Reference Centre holds a network-wide mandate endorsed by the IFRC, hosted by a National Society but governed jointly.

The brief covers what that means in practice: who decides, who employs the staff, how the Centre is separated from the host's domestic programmes, and what happens to the mandate if the host changes.

What it is for

Answer the governance question a board or a donor asks first.

Who it is for

Governance bodies, partners and donors.

How to use it

Written to be attached to a board paper without rewriting.

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