Case Study Background

UN agencies and international and local NGOs are located in the premises of the IHC. The premises are provided free of charge to the organisation thanks to Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein2. The next sub-section briefly introduces the details of IHC‟s background and Dubai‟s commitment, mission and vision, services and facilities that were obtained by the organisation‟s source (IHC, 2006) and through casual meetings with the interviewees.

International Humanitarian City (IHC)

IHC is a global humanitarian aid hub, which aims to facilitate aid and development efforts by providing local and international humanitarian actors with facilities and services specifically designed to meet their needs. The IHC is a non-religious, non-political and non-profit organisation.

2

Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

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The IHC is an independent free zone authority created by the Government of Dubai, which consolidates Dubai as an essential link in the humanitarian value chain. By leveraging the proven Dubai free zone model the IHC is able to address the specific needs of the humanitarian aid and development community, while grouping them in a secure environment that fosters partnerships, social responsibility and global change.

At the same time, the IHC offers commercial companies the opportunity to operate from a highly strategic location in a free zone environment that is adapted to their particular industry, while benefiting from attractive incentives and an array of value-added services.

IHC believes that humanitarian operations will benefit from the integration of commercial suppliers of goods and services. By co-locating, non-profit and commercial entities will be encouraged to share best practices to increase their operational efficiencies and improve institutional learning.

Vision and Mission

The vision of IHC is to be a leading global humanitarian logistics hub that connects East and West, empowering those to create lasting change in the lives of people in need (Respondent B11).

The IHC is a non-profit independent free zone authority mandated by the government of Dubai to facilitate international humanitarian aid by:

1. Supplying leading humanitarian actors with a world-class logistics infrastructure, value-added services and administrative support;

2. Providing a platform for United Nations, non-profit organisations and regional staff to strengthen aid responses; and,

3. Facilitating coordination and collaboration among all aid providers

Dubai‟s Commitment to the Humanitarian Community

Dubai and its people have a history of giving and contributing to the society and the world they share. Consequently, IHC is a key emblem of Dubai‟s vision and the integral part of its strategy. Internationally recognised as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Dubai has rapidly achieved its status as a hub for the region.

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A key contributing factor to Dubai‟s dynamic growth is its location. Situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the location grants this city unrivalled access to developed and emerging markets. This wider region, home to 1.8 billion people, encompasses Africa, the Levant, the Caspian Sea and former Soviet Union and South Asia (Respondent B 11).

Dubai‟s value to the global humanitarian community includes: 1. Logistical hub;

2. Strategic geographic location;

3. World class air and seaport facilities; 4. Cost effective procurement options; 5. Political stability and safety; and, 6. Excellent infrastructure.

Dubai is also a thriving cosmopolitan city, with a population made up of more than 150 nationalities; this brings with a sharp global awareness and outward look culture.

Facilities

At present, IHC operates out of its premises in Dubai, which are located behind Business Bay. The secure compound is designed to meet the specific needs of IHC members, and it includes:

Office space : 4 office buildings

Warehouse : 21,000 m2 of warehouse floor space Auditorium : 50 seats, stage, speaker podium and

comprehensive audiovisual equipment

Services

IHC provides its member organisations with a range of specialised services to facilitate their operations out of Dubai, including:

Facilitates management : Maintenance, security and leasing Government services : Visa and government related series Registration services : Registration and licensing

Press office : Publication of IHC members‟ latest news on the IHC website IHC media watch : Online news monitoring services, including daily e-mail alerts Recruitment e-Portal : Access to online CV database and posting job openings Volunteer e-Portal : Access to online volunteer database and posting volunteer

Appeals

Pro Bono e-Portal : Access to online Pro Bono database

Events e-Portal : Promotion of IHC members‟ upcoming events through the IHC website

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IHC Members

The total of 46 organisations use the facilities provided by the IHC. The characteristics of the IHC members are shown in Appendix D.8. The members are largely categorised into two groups: non-profit organisations and commercial companies. The non-profit organisations are the United Nations agencies, specialised agencies, non-governmental organisations, charities, foundations, news, research and educational institutions. The commercial companies include manufacturers as well as service providers (e.g. logistics, security, maintenance, and consulting), who supply aid related goods and services (e.g. shelters, medical equipment, food items, and vehicles). Specialised agencies include governmental and intergovernmental organisations. NGOs, in its broadest sense, are an organisation that is not part of any government. The purpose of NGOs is to cover the entire range of human interests, and they can be either domestic or international in scope. Charitable organisations comprise trusts, companies or unincorporated associations established for charitable purposes only. Trusts or bodies established partly for charitable purposes are sometimes considered as, or treated as, charities. A foundation is a type of philanthropic or charitable organisation set up by individuals or institutions as a legal entity (i.e. a corporation or trust) with the goals of the foundation, or as a charity entity that receives grants in order to support a specific activity or activities of charitable purposes.

The non-profit organisations and commercial companies of the IHC members must follow a code of ethics that are provided by IHC. The code of ethics is shown as follows:

Table 6.6 IHC‟s code of ethics

Non-Profit Organisations Commercial companies

The „humanitarian‟ imperative comes first The „humanitarian‟ imperative comes first The organisations‟ activities do not aim to further a

political or religious standpoint

The company demonstrates integrity, independence, transparency and accountability

The organisation is accountable to those it seeks to assist, and those from whom it accepts resources

The company does not tolerate forced or compulsory labour or the use of child labour

The organisation‟s major portion of funding is derived from contributions by affiliates, individuals or other non-governmental sources

The company supports and respects internationally accepted standards of human rights

The organisation follows a democratic decision making process

The company does not practice discrimination of any kind against employees

The organisations maintains integrity and independence

The company undertakes initiatives to promote environmental social responsibility

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IHC‟s Innovative Concept

IHC has a unique value proposition that is a comprehensive combined with a strategic environment that capitalises on Dubai‟s incentives. There are several reasons that make IHC (Dubai) unique and which make it a strategic location. IHC is a community mix of local and international humanitarian non-profits and commercial suppliers. It is a fully integrated one- stop-shop, with access to procurers, suppliers and business partners and fast multi-modal logistics capabilities. In addition, IHC provides the office space, warehousing, and meeting facilities and a comprehensive set of value-added services. Consequently, IHC has increased the visibility and networking opportunities and become a platform for humanitarian information and knowledge exchange with a facilitated access to job seekers and volunteers.

The IHC believes that there are specific reasons for IHC Dubai to be a strategic location. For example, IHC is located at a crossroad between East, West, North and South. This is suitable for rapid disaster response because it has only 7 hours maximum flight time to many major crisis-prone areas. It has very good airport and seaport infrastructure that can support 10 minute sea-to-air logistics capabilities. Dubai is well known for its economic momentum with stable local currency, political stability and governmental support. It has minimal red tape to stock relief items. The existence of professional logistics companies forms a competitive fee structure. It offers a good environment for the staff because it is a cosmopolitan area and it has an attractive living environment. IHC offers free zone benefits, which includes 100% foreign ownership, repatriation of capital and profits, free tree transfer of funds, and exemption of import and export duties.

The movement of IHC

IHC is looking locally for an alternative compound location for its members; however, they are very keen on the UN agency officers‟ opinions because they are their largest partner (Respondents B2, B7 and B11).

6.3.2 Group Decision-Making

Among the IHC members, opinions were taken from the organisations that are already using the warehouse facility. The organisations that will soon need the warehouse facility were

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provided from the IHC staff. In these organisations, the opinions of the decision-making level managers were taken.

Decision-Making Committees

Table 6.7 represents the decision-making committee members for Case Study B. In total there were eleven members of the interview panel: eight came from UN agencies, one came from an NGO, one came from a company, and one came from the IHC. Three UN agencies participated in this case study.

Table 6.7 Group working members

Organisation Respondent Position

UN Agency 1 B 1 Senior Logistics Officer

B 2 Senior Supply Officer

B 3 Assistant Supply Officer

UN Agency 2 B 4 Supply Associate

B 5 Supply Officer

B 6 Consultant

UN Agency 3 B 7 Senior Supply Officer

B 8 Assistant Supply Officer

NGO B 9 Logistics Officer

Company B 10 Supervisor Emergency & Relief

IHC B 11 Logistics Manager

Source: Author