Standard 1: Values
Our Commitment:
We are committed to outworking
our core values through our staff, in
relationships with project
participants and all those with
whom we interact.
A set of organisational values, translated into
Indonesian for use in NGO staff induction in Aceh,
Indonesia
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Standard 1: Values
The issues
When an NGO is working with a community,
in development or relief, it is usually
providing inputs or services. This gives the
NGO a degree of power over the community,
as it has the ability to increase or decrease
those inputs. In an emergency, this
difference in power is most pronounced, with
the recipients often in desperate need and
the NGO the provider of life-giving aid. With
this imbalance, there is a danger that power
will be misused; NGO staff may be tempted
to exploit and abuse the people, instead of
adopting an attitude of service. In the
aftermath of an emergency, beneficiaries
may be vulnerable to misuse of power by
those in a position to support them.
It has been recognised that relationships are
at the core of humanitarian and development
programmes. A recent survey amongst NGOs, concluded that the quality of an
NGO’s programme is largely determined by the quality of relationships with
beneficiaries. For these two reasons – prevention of abuse and building positive
relationships - Values is Tearfund’s first Quality Standard. It lays the foundation
for everything else.
Biblical foundations
Tearfund’s partners share the same basic Christian beliefs and values as
Tearfund, although the specific values emphasised by each organisation will be
different. Some have chosen to adopt the 4 core values of the Micah Network:
Christ-Centred, Equity, Humility and Unity.
Tearfund’s operational projects emphasise the five Tearfund core values, to be
followed by project staff:
 Christ-Centred (for believers): reflecting the centrality of God in our lives,
with a commitment to prayer and living out our faith as part of our work,
seeking God’s guidance in all that we do.
 Compassionate: showing compassion in the work we do, being respectful,
calm and patient with others, taking the time to listen, showing courtesy and
understanding, and showing respect for all, without distinction or favouritism.
 Truthful: aspiring to truthfulness in our relationships, acknowledging the need
for transparency in our communications with beneficiaries and communities,
displaying honesty in all our dealings with others.
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Standard 1: Values
 Servant-hearted: striving to be servant-hearted, working with humility,
seeking to serve and encourage others and to model good leadership.
 Courageous: demonstrating courage in the face of injustice or oppression,
being action orientated in our approach, helping where others do not and
speaking out for the voiceless.
Tearfund partners sometimes also specify the following related values:
 Humility: being servant hearted, acting with humility towards those they
assist in their projects, not using their influence, prestige or power in a
negative way, but serving beneficiaries with utmost dignity and respect: to
serve and not be served.
 Sensitivity: being sensitive to local cultural and religious standards of
behaviour, whilst respectfully questioning those standards which contradict
other values.
 Love: striving for a quality of relationships with communities and beneficiaries
which expresses God’s love and affirms the God-given dignity of all.
 Grace and Forgiveness: showing grace, forgiveness and patience in our
service to one another, seeking to work well together.
Where there are local churches present in a project area, leaders will be able to
identify with and understand these values, given their own biblical basis. When
working with these churches, it is good to start with these shared values, as a
basis for the relationship. Churches can also help to support staff and hold them
to account for their conduct, if their behaviour does not demonstrate the values.
Where Tearfund works in minority Christian countries, many of the staff may not
be Christian, or may not be able to declare their Christian faith. In these
circumstances, an alternative Code of Practice will be signed, omitting the
declaration of faith. However, staff members and partners are still expected to
adhere to the principles of these core values.
Good Practice commitments
Values represent the first Quality Standard, as they are central to the conduct
expected of staff. It is through HQ and field staff that all of the Quality Standards
are to be delivered and this can only be done effectively if staff conduct
themselves and display attitudes which are consistent with the organisation’s
values. In times of emergency, large numbers of staff need to be recruited in a
short timeframe, making good staff induction all the more important.
Throughout the Standards, there is a commitment to build restored relationships.
Values should be reflected through the quality of relationships, through personal
conduct, attitudes and integrity, and through a commitment to prayer and the
centrality of God in our work. How closely do our day-to-day routines and
behaviour reflect these values? If we are too busy to stop and spend time with
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Standard 1: Values
people, or drive through a village without care and consideration for pedestrians,
then this will impact negatively upon relationships. In contrast, living in a remote
project area, rather than making occasional visits, will enable good relationship
to be built up. All of these daily decisions, attitudes and behaviour demonstrate
our values to others, for better or worse.
Certain types of behaviour are clearly incompatible with these values. These
include:
 All forms of discrimination, exploitation and abuse towards children or
adults. Tearfund is a signatory to the UN Statement of Commitment for the
Elimination of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (see Page 157) and is a member
of the Keeping Children Safe Coalition (see Page 166).
 All forms of corruption, fraud and theft.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our Values commitment underpins all the other Standards, but in particular there
are close links with:
 Impartiality and targeting, showing compassion for all, with courage to
target the most needy;
 Accountability, as we need to make information on our values, standards
and projects openly and honestly available;
 Children, in our commitment to child development and protection;
 Gender, as the fundamental worth and equality of men and women is core
to our values and in our commitment to combat gender-based violence;
 HIV, in our commitment to combat stigma with truth and to serve those
affected and often stigmatised by the disease;
 Advocacy, with our commitment to pursue justice with courage.
Where to look for more information:
 Micah Network Partnership Values:
http://www.micahnetwork.org/values
 UN Conduct & Discipline Unit: Values, codes and policies
http://cdu.unlb.org/
 Tearfund’s statement of faith:
http://www.tearfund.org/~/media/Files/Main%20Site/About%20us/Statem
ent%20of%20faith.pdf
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Standard 1: Values
Practical Steps for carrying out our Values commitment
Identification and Design
Step 1: Ensure all staff
understand and live out the
values of the organisation
Implementation
Step 2: Ensure all staff know
what your organisation
identifies as unacceptable
conduct
Step 3: Have procedures in
place to investigate allegations
of unacceptable conduct
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Standard 1: Values
Step 1: Ensure all staff
understand and live out the
values of the organisation
Staff need to understand the values of their
Organisation and to know what living out the values
means in practical ways – in their interactions with each other, with
communities, with project participants, with the authorities etc. This needs to
be in place from the assessment stage and throughout the life of the project.
Options to help familiarise staff include:
 Producing a simple leaflet or poster outlining the values
 Outlining the values during staff recruitment
 Explaining the values and discussing their application during staff
briefing and induction
 Reviewing the values during staff meetings, devotions and retreats
Step 2: Ensure all staff know
what your organisation
identifies as unacceptable
conduct
In the same way that staff need to understand the values they also need to be
totally clear on what types of conduct are unacceptable. Again this can be
done in a range of ways:
 Producing a simple leaflet or poster outlining unacceptable conduct
 Ensuring candidates are clear on standards of conduct during recruitment
 Including clear explanations of unacceptable conduct in staff employment
contracts and staff handbooks
 Producing a ‘Code of Conduct’ for the organisation
 Reinforcing the understanding of unacceptable conduct during staff briefing
and induction
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Standard 1: Values
Step 3: Have procedures in
place to investigate allegations
of unacceptable conduct
Linked to Standard 3: Accountability is the need for feedback mechanisms so
that project participants and members of the wider community can give
feedback, both positive and negative, to the organisation. This includes giving
feedback on the conduct of staff. When reports are received of possible
unacceptable conduct through this mechanism or through any other means,
procedures must be in place for senior staff to be notified immediately and for
investigations to be carried out by appropriately trained staff.
Project Examples
In Darfur an induction session was arranged for local staff, explaining the
organisation’s values in detail, ensuring that staff had a clear understanding
not only of what the values mean in practical terms but what they don’t
mean. This helped to ensure transparency of the organisation and to avoid
any misunderstanding. The feedback received from staff was very positive.
A partner working in a Hindu area of Sri Lanka produced a leaflet explaining
who they were and their values in the organisation. There were a number of
motivations behind this: to ensure that beneficiaries knew something about
the organisation, to address any potential misunderstandings about their
motivation, and to ensure that people could make complaints or suggestions
by including the contact details of field and head office staff on the leaflet.
In Sri Lanka another partner ran a special workshop to introduce all staff to
the values of the organization and relevant humanitarian standards. This was
then followed up by regular quizzes at quarterly meetings.
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