DEC is ‘increasingly conservative and bureaucratic’, charity directors warn

The Disasters Emergency Committee is “increasingly conservative and bureaucratic”, according to humanitarian aid charity directors.

The warning has been revealed in the umbrella group of UK charities' five-year strategic plan, which includes feedback from humanitarian aid directors.

Charity directors feel "that over time, DEC internal culture had become increasingly conservative and bureaucratic” and complain about a “high level of questioning and back-and-forth” when charities submitted proposals for fundraisers.

The plan says that some charity directors believe this approach is “disrespectful given the competencies and experience” in their own organisation.

But DEC warns red tape is “likely to become even more rigorous because of the scale and very high levels of funding” around one of its most high-profile campaigns, to support people in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

This conflict has “created higher expectations for accountable donorship and an increased need for scrutiny”.

Its plan also reveals charity directors’ concerns that the DEC is “still a risk-averse source of funding”. and is reluctant “to experiment with new ideas and innovation for fear of failure”.

Charity directors warn that too often DEC’s appeals are for causes that “have the lowest risk or the most tangible elements of a response”.

One said: “As soon as you start using DEC funding for more hard to measure things, it becomes tricky.”

The umbrella group says it has a new strategy in place, which “may be a significant first step in raising the risk-threshold”.

The DEC’s plan also raises concerns around the need to ramp up fundraising that responds to climate crises globally.

It states: "Given that climate crises will be a leading driver of humanitarian need going forward, it will be important for the DEC to step up its activities in key areas” including around reducing the risk of climate change disasters and providing financial safety nets for communities.

“The DEC and its members may need to be creative in achieving this, and find partners better equipped to tackle these issues, given the short spending time frames,” adds DEC's strategic plan.