Peek evidence review workshop and field visit in Mbarara, western Uganda.

Transparency and accountability

As an international development organisation, we are accountable to our donors, the beneficiaries of our work, and our staff. CBM is committed to ensuring quality in our programs and being transparent and responsive to the communities we work with.

Holding CBM accountable

Reporting channels and safeguarding Report an irregularity

CBM adheres to globally recognised accountability standards as a member of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) Alliance.

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) describes the essential elements of principled, accountable and high-quality humanitarian action. Organisations may use it as a voluntary code with which to align their own internal procedures. It can also be used as a basis for verification of performance.

The Standard sets out nine commitments that organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian response can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide. It facilitates greater accountability to communities and people affected by crisis: knowing what organisations have committed to will enable them to hold those organisations to account.

CBM became a member of the CHS Alliance in 2015 and has successfully completed its first self-assessment in 2018. You can access it here or below. The self-assessment is the first step of verification in the Alliance, where CBM provides information on the nine commitments to CHS.

The path of your donation

As a specialist organisation for persons with disabilities, CBM selects local partners and advises them on inclusion.
Your donation will be transferred to these qualified partners in developing countries, who will use it for their intended purpose.
The partners improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in the projects set up with CBM.
Your donation thus helps people with disabilities individually and in their community and promotes inclusion.

Donation seal ensures security

We budget sparingly and transparently and handle your donation properly. This is certified by the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI). Since 1993, it has awarded us the DZI Donation Table. The DZI quota for 2023 is 8.6 percent (for advertising and administrative expenses in relation to the total expenses from statutory work, advertising and administrative expenses).

Before your donation from the CBM account reaches the person with disabilities in a targeted manner and secures their livelihood or helps them to recover, we do a lot of preparatory work. Only then can your donation be used efficiently and effectively: just as you want it – and at the same time as people with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world need it!

Needs assessment: together with persons with disabilities!

Institutional donors

To this end, our experts work together with people with disabilities. They are experts in (ophthalmic) medicine, rehabilitation, inclusion, livelihood security and the enforcement of the rights of people with disabilities or those affected. Together with their local associations, they are investigating what needs exist in the various regions. Health facilities and authorities in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are also involved in this process. We are concentrating on the poorest countries in the world.

Multi-year programmes with local partners

The needs assessment is the basis for developing (multi-year) programmes in which, for example, blind people undergo eye surgery. Or in which persons with disabilities receive an education that enables them to live independently. In order to promote inclusion, programmes are being developed in which, for example, regular school attendance of children with disabilities is promoted or in which people with disabilities learn more about their rights. These programmes are implemented by local partners, including associations for persons with disabilities, health services or hospitals.

Your donation for a specific purpose

You may have heard about people with disabilities who urgently need help – and donated – through our information mail or one of our newsletters: for ophthalmological help, for rehabilitation or education programs, for livelihood security, or for people with disabilities to learn about their rights and how they can enforce them. And we allocate your donations to the work areas with their programs as you wish.

"Where it's most needed"

Some of you also donate to "Where it is most needed", then we can decide for ourselves in which programs your donation is needed most and use it there. Depending on the purpose of your donation, the funds will be allocated to the various areas of work and projects. These are also advised and regularly visited by CBM employees.

With your donation, you will achieve very concrete improvements in the quality of life of a child or an adult. Or they support an entire system, e.g. the school, health or disaster control system.

This is how you ensure that we achieve our big goal: making inclusion a reality!

CBM’s evaluation policy

Evaluating how CBM and its partners work and contribute to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Sustainable Development Goals is a crucial component of accountability, transparency, and success. CBM has developed its own Evaluation Policy to back our commitment to being transparent about and accountable for our programme work and its successes.

This document outlines our approach to monitoring, learning, and improving our impact in the communities we serve and to ensure that every action is a step towards the inclusion and improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities. We use evaluation results and recommendations to advance our vision of an inclusive world in which all persons with disabilities enjoy their human rights and achieve their full potential. Get the CBM Evaluation Policy here!

Setting the quality bar

As an integral part of our Federation Strategy, we have developed the following standards to ensure consistent quality and accountability in the work we do.

Our Programme Quality Framework spells out the principles and commitments that guide the quality of our programmatic work and to which we seek to be held accountable.

Our Partnership Principles explain CBM's long-standing, foundational approach to partnerships. They guide our behaviours and interactions with our partners.

Our Code of Conduct stipulates acceptable and unacceptable behavior of CBM staff and those who work with us.

Evaluating our work

A child drawing on a piece of paper. A woman is sitting with her.

Read our evaluations Transparent quality

Evaluations generate lessons learned, knowledge for future decisions and help us be accountable to our target groups, partner organisations and donors through assessing whether we delivered what we promised and whether we spent our funds in the best possible way.

CBM quality and accountability

CBM evaluation policy
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CHS self assessment
pdf, 668.3KB, Not Accessible Download