Secure Contract Handling

Things to consider

• Giving funds or other kinds of formal support to civil society and HRDs can involve risks for the civil society groups, embassy staff, and others who are tangentially involved or involved by association.
• Certain contexts are, or could become, hostile towards civil society receiving funding from foreign sources, particularly directly from foreign authorities.
• The management of information around this is particularly important for the safety and well- being of all involved.

Protection tactics

Carry out an analysis to strike the right balance between transparency and discretion in accordance with your context.
The following questions and pointers may be useful for such an analysis, which is best conducted with your civil society partners before contracting:

• How much information regarding the project is best included in the contract itself ? Ensure that the data to be stored on IATI does not include personal, financial, or any other sensitive data related to the project.
• Who is best placed to sign the contract on behalf of the organisation or institution being supported, and are there any potential risks associated with this? If so, how can they be mitigated?
• What platforms are used for sharing, signing, and storing the contract in question? Consider the tips related to Secure Online Communication, Secure File Sharing, and Secure File Storage and Deletion (cards 5, 6, & 7). Only hand over contracts to third parties if and when it is considered beneficial to do so.
• What information will be expected from the grantee with regard to reporting? What information is potentially sensitive and should be omitted, or securely deleted after a period of time?

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