Yes. NWA[F] is a human organisation, built by people working across countries, cultures and rapidly changing circumstances. Like any developing international organisation, we have faced difficult situations, encountered unforeseen problems and discovered areas in which our systems, communications and safeguards could be improved.
We do not claim perfection, nor do we believe public trust is earned by pretending that every decision has always produced the intended result. Our formative years have involved a demanding and sometimes rocky journey. They have also provided valuable lessons about leadership, administration, due diligence, online security, appointments, communications, project assessment and organisational risk.
Where a concern is identified, our responsibility is to examine the available facts fairly, protect those involved, seek appropriate professional guidance and make proportionate improvements. The lessons gained throughout our development are now helping shape stronger policies, clearer guidelines and more accountable operating procedures.
These improvements include:
Stronger online and information-security measures
Improved identity, credential and appointment verification
Clearer delegations of authority and reporting responsibilities
More thorough project and partnership due diligence
Structured risk-identification and risk-assessment processes
Earlier warning and escalation procedures
Conflict-of-interest and safeguarding requirements
Better recordkeeping and document control
Crisis-response and emergency-management planning
Corrective and preventative measures when weaknesses are identified
Regular policy review as circumstances, technology and risks change
Our objective is not to create an organisation that never encounters difficulty. No responsible organisation can honestly make that promise.
Our objective is to create an organisation capable of recognising danger earlier, responding responsibly, learning continuously and taking reasonable steps to prevent avoidable harm.
NWA[F] will not allow its past challenges to define its future, but neither will we ignore the lessons those challenges have provided. We are committed to becoming wiser, safer and more accountable because of the road we have travelled.
We do not ask the public to believe that we are perfect. We ask to be judged by our willingness to learn, our determination to improve and the standards by which we conduct ourselves moving forward.