About Our Principles
Vine Trust works with national and international partners to strengthen health systems and support construction projects in Peru and Tanzania.
A core, fundamental element of Vine Trust’s model is that of connecting volunteers to these long-term partnerships, a dynamic which provides significant reciprocal learning and training opportunities and the advancement of the programme’s targeted outcomes.
It’s not just ‘what’ you do…
As an organisation, Vine Trust’s activities have developed considerably since it was first established in 1985. Throughout, Vine Trust has sought to find the most suitable ways of providing support and assistance to its in-country partners, recognising that this may change and need to be revised over time.
To help monitor these changes and be able to adapt its work, Vine Trust has sought to have clear and transparent communication with its partners and to engage in regular reviews of its operational and strategic planning.
Combined with this ongoing monitoring and review of its activities, Vine Trust also holds firmly to the belief that the way Vine Trust provides support is also of primary importance.
Vine Trust believes that it’s not just ‘what’ you do but also ‘how’ you do things is key to successful development programmes and projects. It’s about recognising that the ‘ends’ don’t justify the ‘means’, but rather the way a project is run is of at least equal importance with what is actually achieved.
Our Principles were developed through review and analysis of our existing work, research in global development themes as well as extensive discussion and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including our partners in Peru and Tanzania.
The Principles
1. Our Christian ethos shapes how we work. We welcome everyone without discrimination regardless of faith, colour, race, sexual orientation, gender or any other distinction
- Vine Trust originated from a church fundraising response (St Andrews Church of Scotland Bo’ness) to the famine in Ethiopia in 1985.
- These same values of action, empathy, fairness and respect still motivate the activities of Vine Trust today.
- All aspects of Vine Trust’s work, including its partnership programmes in Peru and Tanzania, take place without discrimination of any kind, either on race, colour, language, ethnicity, religion, political, disability, age, marital status, family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, or any other distinction.
2. Partnerships and respect are at the core of who we are and how we operate. We develop trusting, transparent and mutually-accountable, long-term partnerships
- Partnerships are fundamental to everything Vine Trust does.
- We believe partnerships require taking a long-term approach, with respect, trust, transparency and honesty being crucial to these relationships.
- Vine Trust supports programmes which bring together multiple partners with different skills and expertise, sharing responsibility and supporting programme sustainability.
- Accountability in global development partnerships must be reciprocal/mutual in practice.
- Vine Trust has a responsibility to the all different stakeholders that are impacted by or involved in the activities of its partnership rogrammes.
- The work of Vine Trust is guided by the respective legislation, codes and standards of practice.
3. We empower local partners, respecting their culture and acknowledging they are best placed to shape and drive the work. We seek to understand the power dynamics that exist and work towards equality within partnerships.
- Vine Trust recognises the value, dignity, strength and resilience of our partners, their communities, whilst also not underestimating the reality of the challenges they often face.
- We seek to constantly develop our understanding of their multi-dimensional cultural and socio-economic contexts and dynamics, including the underlying causes of the challenges which they face and not merely the effects.
- Our partners and their communities have unique understanding, knowledge, skills and expertise which must be given a principal role in developing and driving forward any programme.
- Vine Trust seeks to empower through the transferring budgetary control, providing financial and capital resources, training and capacity building opportunities, technical support, guidance and encouragement, networking and collaboration.
- We recognise that power dynamics exists in the partnerships and is committed to take steps to address these in the most appropriate way.
4. We enable ethical volunteering which supports global citizenship.
- Vine Trust is passionate about volunteering due to the many reciprocal benefits to our partners and their communities, as well as our volunteers and their communities.
- Vine Trust promotes volunteer opportunities which:
- are executed under the leadership of in-country personnel
- benefit both the local programme and the volunteer,
- encourage country-to-country volunteering as well as in-country volunteering
- ensure volunteers are informed about the programme’s objectives and their role.
- Mechanisms and systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating the impact and role of volunteers. All negative consequences must be identified and addressed.
- Vine Trust works with partners to develop programmes that can benefit from volunteer support and participation but that are not dependent upon this dynamic.
- Appropriate safeguarding measures must be in place, which have been developed through input from all stakeholders, in particular the partners, the communities and the volunteers.
5. We care about impact and sustainability in all aspects of our work. We are committed to safeguarding and ensuring that our work does no harm.
- Vine Trust aims to have all of its programmes and activities environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
- We recognise that the challenges of climate change are complex, and we seek to understand the impact of all programmes and activities (e.g. air travel), and to take steps to mitigate these.
- Positive social impact can only come about by engaging with communities. Positive economic impact is never the sole objective and must never be at the expense of environmental or social factors.
- Working with partners and their communities, research is used to help identify needs, monitor progress and measure impact. We aim for research collaboration to have bilateral learning and capacity building objectives.
- Any research activities must be approved by Peruvian/Tanzanian ethics authorities and have key positions held by Peruvian/Tanzania personnel, with results communicated appropriately to the communities as well as the local/regional/national authorities.
- The protection, safety and welfare of people connected with Vine Trust programmes/projects, particularly the communities, our partners and their employees and Vine Trust volunteers is of the highest importance.
- Any safeguarding systems put in place must, as a priority, include input from those that they are designed to protect.