Interaction American Council For Voluntary International Action Inc

Programs: Federal and non-federal awards: awards from the federal government, foundations, private sector companies, and other partners support interaction's work with its members in several areas:humanitarian action - saving lives, alleviating suffering, and maintaining human dignity without regard for race, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. Aspects of this work include: current crises; humanitarian policy; humanitarian practice; ngo security; prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse; protection and shelter for those affected by humanitarian crises; the transition from relief to development. International development - improving the social and economic circumstances of the world's poorest, most vulnerable people in a sustainable manner. This work has many dimensions, including: aid effectiveness; agriculture and food security; best practices; environment and climate; gender equality; global health; youth; water and sanitation. Policy and advocacy - interaction is the nation's leading advocate forinternational relief and development programs, and is the prime representative of us - based international ngos. Interaction, its members, and partners advocate with respect to: development policy; federal budgets and appropriations; food aid reform; foreign assistance reform; ngo concerns at g8 and g20 summits; protecting civil society and ngo space to operate effectively. Accountability and learning - ngos are accountable to multiple constituencies, including donors, the public, boards of directors and staff, partners, and the people they serve and/or represent. This is implemented through initiatives relating to accountability; leadership development; mapping of projects and services; program monitoring and evaluation; and programmatic and operating transparency.

member services: interaction has more than 180 member organizations working in every developing country. Members are faith-based and secular, large and small, with a focus on the world's most poor and vulnerable populations. Interaction serves as the largest alliance of u. S. Private voluntary organizations and partners. Members share common commitments that define their work, and interaction works closely with its members, sometimes individually, sometimes in small groups, and sometimes in large groups. Interaction members:- foster economic and social development- provide relief to those affected by disaster and war- assist refugees and internally displaced persons- advance human rights- support gender equity- protect the environment- address population concerns- press for more equitable, just and effective public policiesinteraction membership is broad and inclusive, and interaction is the vehicle through which they collaborate to achieve collective impact. Interaction's member organizations vary widely in size and scope but share an equal voice at interaction. Some organizations are faith- based or faith founded and others are secular; some have staff on every continent and others work in only one country; still others focus their efforts on advocacy, public education and media education related to international issues instead of performing direct service. To encompass this wide range, interaction defines development in the broadest sense. For our community, development includes health, education, economic opportunity, gender equity, climate change and the environment, sustainability, democracy and government, and human rights. The u. S. Government, foundations, and millions of individuals show their support for advancing human dignity and peace in the world through contributions to interaction members. Interaction and its members do not take lightly the trust placed in them by those who fund their work. Member organizations are managed with professionalism, transparency and accountability, voluntarily adhere to professional standards, and certify their compliance every two years. With the combined strength of its members interaction is able to strategically advocate for u. S. Government investments , policies, and programs that are responsive to the realities of the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations. When a disaster strikes, members are first- responders, and interaction acts as a hub in these efforts. Interaction's advantage comes from the uniquely field- and practitioner-based expertise of its members. Participation in working groups, workshops, and training sessions allow members to explore common dilemmas and seek common solutions. Members also submit data on their program impact which interaction uses as a basis for best practices and evidence- based public policy formulation. Interaction manages a program of comprehensive private voluntary standards (pvo) through which regular members certify their transparency. The standards are a set of ethical guidelines developed to ensure accountability and transparency in financial management, fundraising, governance, and program performance. The standards are reviewed and updated by interaction working groups to reflect the sector's best practices. Regular members self-certify their compliance every other year.

legislative activities: in addition to general advocacy as describedabove, interaction engages in lobbying for particular legislation on alimited scale. This represents time spent on capitol hill meeting withmembers of congress, or members of their staff, to discuss particularpieces of legislation. These discussions may focus on the language ofpotential legislation when it is in the drafting stage; they may alsofocus on legislation that has been proposed in one of the houses ofcongress.