Objectives/Mandate

The Sector Steering Committee is a voluntary group that meets every three months to facilitate, in collaboration with existing and emerging Somali authorities, the coordination of Sector interventions within the RDF framework. It reports to the CISS EXCOM for major decisions.

The Steering Committee will aim to hold yearly meetings in-country with representatives of all three regions.

Membership

The membership exists of the Chair and the Deputy Chairs of the Sectoral (general) Committee plus three other representatives, preferably one from each of the CISS constituencies (1 UN, 1 donor, 1 NGO representative, 1 Somali administrative representative (when possible)).

Conditions of membership

1. The membership is voluntarily but a commitment of a minimum of 12 months must be guaranteed.
2. Steering committee members will be nominated and elected/appointed by the members of the general sector committee based on the following criteria: Steering committee members must have sector specific technical qualifications, proven experience in programme management, and must be able to get technical back up from their organisations.
3. Members will show commitment to the coordination process (proved and fulfilled) through:

• Attending at least 70% of the Sector and the Steering committee meetings;
• Representation of organizational and technical viewpoints and not purely a reflection of personal viewpoints; and
• Willingness to participate in joint field missions (at their organisation’s costs) when required and when security conditions allow.

4. Members will have an active commitment to represent all the organisations active in their regions (especially relevant for NGOs); and
5. Members will be prepared to take an active role in regional coordination by providing feedback from and to the regional coordination process.

Responsibilities

·         Identify priority areas for best practice, discuss and agree on implementation of best practices in Somaliland, Puntland, and South Central Somalia

·         Advocate for funding based on gaps and agreed best practices.

·         Upon request of donor agencies, review project proposals presented for funding to ensure consistency of the proposed interventions with the overall sector strategy and the identified priorities, evaluate the technical quality of the proposals (soundness of approach, feasibility and potential for sustainability) and eventual duplications with other ongoing projects or synergies with other interventions within the sector and across the sectors

·         Encourage as much as possible integration, compatibility and complementarities in planning and implementation by the various members.

·         Support to policy development and setting of common sectoral standards and strategies in collaboration with Somali professionals and existing and emerging authorities

·         Develop annual work plans; Monitor the implementation of the work plans on a bi-annual basis.

·         Outline main priorities to be addressed by the Sector Committee.

·         Where possible, promote a coordinated and integrated area based (zonal/ regional/ district) planning by field representatives with full Somali participation.

·         Guide the process of data collection and sharing and management of sectoral information.

·         Provide technical guidance and advice to CISS Executive Committee and Somalia Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on sectoral matters.

·         Promote adherence to and active participation in the coordination process of all implementing organisations, donors, Somali professionals and health authorities.