Draft policy 03

Conflict of Interest Policy

A proposed framework for identifying, declaring and managing interests that could affect impartial humanitarian decisions.

Status: DraftVersion: 1.0For proposed governing persons and program decision-makers

Purpose

Decisions should serve the mission, not private interests.

A conflict of interest exists when a personal, family, professional, business, financial or other interest could influence — or reasonably appear to influence — a person’s judgement when acting for the foundation.

Disclosure is not automatically wrongdoing. The key requirement is to identify relevant interests early and manage them transparently.

Required process

Declare, record, assess and manage.

Initial declarationProposed governing persons and relevant decision-makers should disclose material interests when they join and update them when circumstances change.

Meeting declarationA person should declare a relevant conflict before discussion or decision on the affected matter, even if the interest already appears in a register.

Conflict registerMaterial conflicts and the action taken to manage them should be recorded in a controlled governance register.

RecusalWhere impartial participation is not appropriate, the conflicted person should leave the relevant discussion and not vote or approve the decision.

Related-party transactionsPayments, procurement or benefits involving relatives, close associates or connected businesses should receive heightened independent review and written justification.

Beneficiary selectionPersonal relationships should not override documented needs-based criteria. Any unavoidable relationship should be declared and independently reviewed.

Gifts and benefitsGifts, hospitality or benefits that could influence a decision should be refused or disclosed and managed under an approved process.

MinutesMeeting records should note the existence of a material conflict and the management action taken, without unnecessarily publishing private details.

Examples

Conflicts can be financial or non-financial.

Examples include awarding work to a relative’s business, selecting a beneficiary because of a family relationship, approving reimbursement to oneself, accepting a valuable gift from a supplier, or participating in a decision affecting an organisation with which the decision-maker has a close connection.

The appearance of bias can also damage trust, so conflicts should be considered from the perspective of a reasonable outside observer.

Responsibility

Managing conflicts is a shared governance duty.

Each person is responsible for disclosing their own relevant interests. The governing body is responsible for deciding how significant conflicts will be managed and documenting that decision.

Repeated failure to disclose material conflicts should be treated as a governance concern and reviewed before the person continues to exercise approval or decision-making authority.