1. What is the Haiti Reconstruction Fund?
2. How does the HRF operate?
3. How will the HRF be governed?
4. Who can request financing from the HRF?
5. Who should I contact to establish a partnership with a Partner Entity
6. Who can contribute to the HRF?
7. How will funds flow in the HRF?
8. Is there a minimum contribution amount to the HRF?
9. How can a contribution be made?
10. Will the HRF be an efficient and flexible mechanism?
11. Will the HRF be the key source of reconstruction finance in Haiti?
12. What are the relations between the IHRC and the HRF?
13. Will the proposed model allow flexibility in the allocation of funds?
14. How will the HRF ensure transparency, accountability and reduced risk of corruption?
15. How will conflicts of interest be avoided?
16. What fees does the HRF charge for projects/programs?
17. Are there other fees charged by the HRF?
1. What is the Haiti Reconstruction Fund?
The Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) is a new partnership between the international community and the Government of Haiti (GoH) to help finance recovery, reconstruction and development following the devastating January 2010 earthquake.
Interested donors are pooling some of their resources into a single fund to finance priority reconstruction projects and programs as well as provide budget support to the GoH. Proposals and final projects must be endorsed and forwarded to the HRF for financing by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC). All financed activities will be developed and supervised by partner entities that initially include the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations and the World Bank. Activities will be implemented on the ground by the GoH, UN entities, NGOs, the private sector, and other institutions acceptable to a partner. At the request of the GoH, the World Bank is serving as Trustee of the HRF and will transfer resources to partner entities for reconstruction activities at the direction of the HRF’s governing body.
3. How will the HRF be governed?
The HRF is governed by a Steering Committee that is chaired by a representative named by the Government of Haiti. The Steering Committee consists of the following members:
a) two representatives of the Government of Haiti (including the Chairperson);
b) a representative from each Donor making the minimum contribution to the HRF of USD 30 million;
c) a representative from each Partner Entity (IDB, UN and World Bank); and
d) a representative of the Trustee.
The Government and donor representatives will be decision-making members while the other members will not be. The Steering Committee has also invited observers to participate in its deliberations, including representatives of Haitian civil society, the private sector, the diaspora, international NGOs, and local government.
The Steering Committee makes decisions about how HRF funds are allocated and ensure that such allocations are guided by the principles of Haiti's recovery, reconstruction and development needs as defined by the Government. It also reviews the progress of HRF-financed activities as well as the Fund's financial performance. Steering Committee decisions are made by consensus. It is supported by a Secretariat based in Haiti.
4. Who can request financing from the HRF?
Any institution that is acceptable to a partner entity can propose an activity for financing. The proponent must work with one of the HRF’s partner entities who will assist with developing and supervising the activity to ensure that international standards are met. Most important, the IHRC will need to certify that the activity is consistent with plans for rebuilding Haiti and endorse the proposal for HRF financing. It is expected that projects and programs will be implemented by the GoH, UN entities, NGOs, and the private sector. Information on how to obtain funding can be found in the “Grant Approval Process” under the “About the HRF” tab of this website.
5. Who should I contact to establish a partnership with a Partner Entity
Institutions seeking funding from the HRF must work with a Partner Entity. To establish a partnership with one of the Partner Entities, please contact the representative for the relevant Partner Entity as detailed below.
a. Inter-American Development Bank - Mr. Peter Sollis, Haiti Response Group (peterso@iadb.org)
b. United Nations - Mr. Jean Philippe Bernardini, Coordination Officer(jean.bernardini@undp.org)
c. World Bank - Ms. Michelle Keane, Lead Country Officer (mkeane1@worldbank.org)
6. Who can contribute to the HRF?
The HRF can receive contributions from bilateral development and aid entities, foundations and international NGOs that are acceptable to the Trustee. Contributions are made through an administration agreement between the contributor and the World Bank.
7. How will funds flow in the HRF?
Contributions will be pooled in a single account held by the Trustee. When an allocation is approved by the HRF Steering Committee, the Trustee transfers funds to a partner entity on the basis of a transfer agreement. The partner entity would then disburse funds to the implementing agency to implement the project or program under the relevant partner entity’s supervision.
8. Is there a minimum contribution amount to the HRF?
There is no minimum or maximum contribution. Donors that contribute at least USD 30 million, however, will have a seat on the HRF Steering Committee. Those contributing less than this amount can pool their resources to reach or exceed the threshold in order to obtain a seat, possibly on a rotating basis.
9. How can a contribution be made?
In order to contribute, kindly follow these steps:
a. Send a letter or e-mail to the World Bank indicating interest in participating in the HRF as well as the amount of the intended pledge (c/o Ms. Nicolette Bowyer, nbowyer@worldbank.org, 1818 H St. NW, Washington, DC 20433 USA)
b. The HRF Trustee will then send a draft administration agreement for review and signature
c. Sign and return the administration agreement to the Trustee
d. Transfer the initial contribution to the HRF account
10. Will the HRF be an efficient and flexible mechanism?
Economies of scale will be achieved by pooling resources into one fund. This will also reduce transaction costs for the GoH by reducing the number of development partners that it needs to coordinate with. Such multi-donor trust funds have proven to be flexible because they can strategically fill sectoral and geographic gaps in the reconstruction while working with implementing agencies that have the best comparative advantage to get the job done.
11. Will the HRF be the key source of reconstruction finance in Haiti?
The HRF will be one of many contributors to the process of recovery in Haiti. The UN Flash Appeal mobilizes money for the relief effort and early recovery. Multilateral and bilateral donors are another important source of support for different phases of the recovery. Hundreds of NGOs are also key partners in the reconstruction. The HRF will likely be the major source of funding that is not earmarked in advance and thus can meet strategic needs in reconstruction finance.
12. What are the relations between the IHRC and the HRF?
The IHRC will review and approve all projects and programs for financing by the HRF. The IHRC can use the HRF as a flexible source of finance to meet strategic reconstruction needs determined by the IHRC that are not being fully financed by other sources, and the IHRC can request that the HRF prioritize specific sectors, projects or regions of the country.
At the level of governance, there is an important overlap of members between the IHRC Board and the HRF Steering Committee. Also, the observers to HRF Steering Committee meetings are drawn from the IHRC Board. Institutionally, the IHRC can be represented on the HRF Steering Committee through the Chairperson or a designated representative. The HRF Secretariat can participate in IHRC Board meetings as an observer and resource entity.
Operationally, the HRF can support the IHRC by helping to finance the Commission’s operations. IHRC Board and HRF Steering Committee meetings are synchronized to accelerate the financing of recovery activities. The HRF Secretariat has been co-located with the IHRC in order to ensure seamless communications and coordination. Projects and programs that receive HRF financing will adhere to the quality, reporting and other standards established by the IHRC.
The IHRC can facilitate the work of the HRF in several ways: a) by addressing bottlenecks and expediting licenses, permits and land title for approved activities financed by the HRF; b) by encouraging development partners to contribute to or increase their contribution to the HRF; and c) by guiding implementing agencies and partner entities to work together to develop proposals that meet the strategic needs of the recovery.
13. Will the proposed model allow flexibility in the allocation of funds?
The HRF can be a strategic instrument for the GoH to fill sectoral and geographic gaps in reconstruction financing. Allocation of HRF resources will be tailored to the needs of the recovery at any given moment while adhering more broadly to the Recovery and Development Action Plan. The HRF also allows for dynamic fund management, with funding transferred only when needed, or decommissioning if investments are not moving satisfactorily.
14. How will the HRF ensure transparency, accountability and reduced risk of corruption?
All HRF money will flow through one of the three partner entities (Inter-American Development Bank, UN, World Bank). Each partner will apply its own financial management, procurement, environmental/social safeguards, information disclosure, and other procedures to ensure the proper use of funds. The HRF maintains a public website and will post all relevant information there (donor contributions, minutes and decisions of its governing body, financial and progress reports from partner entities, project and program information, complaints handling, key contacts, etc.). Each partner entity is accountable to the HRF Steering Committee when it comes to financial and project performance.
15. How will conflicts of interest be avoided?
Partner entities will not participate in decision-making concerning the allocation of HRF funds so as to avoid any potential conflict of interest. The World Bank has created institutional firewalls between its roles as Trustee, Partner Entity and host of the HRF Secretariat. The UN has created a similar firewall between its Partner Entity (UNDG) and one of its possible implementing entities (UNDP). All partner entities apply internationally-accepted personnel and procurement procedures to avoid other conflict-of-interest risks.
16. What fees does the HRF charge for projects/programs?
The Steering Committee of the HRF has approved a fee structure to guide the Partners on appropriate charges for the preparation and supervision of projects and programs supported by the Fund. These fees fluctuate between 1% to 6%, depending on the value of the project (the percentage is lower for larger amounts). For example, the fee charged by the HRF for a $35 million dollar project/proposal would be $350,000 (1%). It is important to underline that these percentages are guidelines provided by the HRF and that the Steering Committee has the ability to determine a different percentage in cases where there is a compelling reason to do so.
17. Are there other fees charged by the HRF?
As is the case with most Trust Funds, there is a fee that covers the costs related to the administration of the Fund, quality control and compliance, investing management and legal services, the Steering Committee's Secretariat, among other expenses. In the case of the HRF, this is a one-time fee of $250,000 as well as annual budgets for the HRF Trustee and Secretariat that are approved by the Steering Committee. The total cumulative HRF fees (one-time charge, administrative budgets for the Trustee and the Secretariat, and Partner Entity fees) are estimated to total approximately 6% over the six-year life of the HRF. If contributions to the HRF exceed the estimated value of $300 million, then the total fees as a percentage of total contributions would decrease to below 6%.