Commitments and Codes

Commitments

Dóchas members have chosen to work together, because they share a commitment to these core principles behind their work:

Connect:

• Putting people at the heart of development;
• Learning, evolving and changing by sharing experiences and expertise;
• Encouraging everyone to believe they can be an agent of change;

Collaborate:

• Working together, in different but complementary ways, towards common goals;
• Setting - and applying - standards of accountability and integrity;

Change:

• Increasing impact by advocating for structural change;
• Putting local challenges in a global context.

Dóchas Codes and Standards

Dóchas is committed to full transparency and good practice standards in our work and aims to provide honest, open and transparent disclosure when interacting with members of the public. We also insist that our members comply with these codes.  Dóchas is a signatory or complies with the following:

The Dóchas Constitution

For further details on the establishment of Dóchas and how it operates please see our Constitution. This is the latest version of the Constitution, approved in the Dóchas Annual General Meeting on May 9th 2024.

The Dóchas Charter

This Charter outlines what it means to be a member of Dóchas and signals this both to our members and to the wider world. It was drawn up in consultation with Dóchas members, volunteers and staff.

Charities Governance Code

Dóchas complies with the principles and standards contained in the Code, and actively invites feed-back from anyone interested in, or affected by, the work of Dóchas in relation to our compliance with the Code.

The Dóchas Guide To Ethical Communications

By following the Guide, Dóchas sets out to adhere to four commitments, which means authentic representation, contributor-led sotries and locally led content development, informed consent and upholding standards and doing no harm. We commit also to an annual reivew of our ethical communications and we welcome from any person who feels we are not living up to these standards. See the full Dóchas Guide to Ethical Communications here.

The Dóchas Safeguarding Code

The leaders of Ireland’s International development and humanitarian NGOs are committed to creating a world where justice, equality, solidarity and respect for human rights are the norm. This includes ensuring that those who work in and with our organisations, and communities and children with whom we work, are kept safe from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation. We will do this through robust and effective approaches to safeguarding which, in turn, enable organisations to deliver programmes and activities of the highest standard.

Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising 

Dóchas is committed to complying with the Guideling for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public and has formally discussed and adopted the Guidelines at our Board. We confirm our commitment to the Principles set out in the Guidelines. 

The Dóchas Guidelines for Annual Reports and Financial Statements for NGOs

Dóchas believes that all charitable organisations have a duty to adhere to the highest possible standards of accountability, transparency and performance. Dóchas is committed to full transparency in terms of our financial accounts, which are prepared in accordance with FRS 102 – The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, comply with Charities SORP and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2014. Our full financial statements, are available on our How We are Funded Page.