Structure

The Elsie Initiative Fund’s organisational structure is detailed in the Elsie Initiative Fund’s Terms of Reference (TOR) V3 2019-2028 (renewable) available in English. V3 of the TOR in French and Spanish will be available soon. V2 of the TOR is available in Français and Español.

Elsie Initiative Fund Secretariat

The role of the EIF Secretariat, hosted by UN Women, is to manage, coordinate and ensure the operational functioning of the Elsie Initiative Fund, within the Peace, Security and Resilience Team.

The EIF Secretariat members provide technical and operational support and guidance to EIF fund recipients for the duration of their project, from inception and design, to project completion and closure. The EIF Secretariat is located in New York, due to the nature of the work of the EIF – coordination with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO), the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), Member States and Donors, as well as the Military and Police Advisors of Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs) to UN Peacekeeping Operations.

Elsie Initiative Fund Steering Committee

The role of the Steering Committee (SC) is to provide strategic guidance to the Elsie Initiative Fund’s Secretariat. The SC comprises eight (8) voting members.

Three (3) permanent United Nations members:

Co-Chair:

  • 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 – the United Kingdom
  • 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 – Germany
  • 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028 – Australia

Founding member – Canada

Three (3) countries on a rotating basis, currently:

  • One Troop and/or Police Contributing Country (T/PCC) that is Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible – Mongolia, to 30 September 2025.
  • Fund Contributor – Australia, to 31 December 2026.
  • Elsie Initiative Contact Group member – Senegal, to 1 April 2026.

Steering Committee membership

EIF CONTRIBUTOR Timeframe
Netherlands April 2019 – March 2021
United Kingdom April 2021 – March 2023
United Kingdom April 2023 – December 2024
Australia January 2025 – December 2026

T/PCC Timeframe
Bangladesh April 2019 – September 2021
Rwanda October 2021 – September 2023
Mongolia October 2023 – September 2025

ELSIE CONTACT GROUP Timeframe
Ghana April 2019 – March 2022
Uruguay April 2022 – April 2024
Senegal May 2024 – April 2026

Elsie Initiative Fund Technical Committee

The role of the Technical Committee (TC) is to provide technical guidance on Letters of Interest (LOI) and detailed submissions to the Elsie Initiative Fund’s Secretariat as well as additional expertise on women in peace operations.​

TC members are recommended by the Steering Committee and include academics, gender experts and military and police members with a broad and diverse range of peace operations experience:​

Administrative Agent UNDP MPTF Office

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multi Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) is the Elsie Initiative Fund’s administrative agent and administers all fund contributions in to and all payments out of, the multi-donor trust fund. The following agreements are required to be signed by the respective parties:

  • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – UN Agencies
  • Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) – Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCC)
  • Standard Service Agreement (SAA) – Donors.

All MOUs and SAAs signed after January 2020 include a section on Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, and Sexual Harassment.