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2023-12-31-accounts

Company number: 10571501 Charity number: 1178168

CDAC Network Limited

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2023

CDAC Network Limited

Contents

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Reference and administrative information ...................................................................................... 1 Trustees’ annual report .................................................................................................................. 2 Independent auditor’s report ....................................................................................................... 20 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) ................... 24 Balance sheet ............................................................................................................................... 25 Statement of cash flows ................................................................................................................ 26 Notes to the financial statements ................................................................................................. 27

CDAC Network Limited

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Company number 10571501 Country of incorporation United Kingdom Charity number 1178168 Country of registration England & Wales

Registered office and operational address Sayer Vincent, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG

Directors The directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Geoff Loane Chair
Jonathan Mitchell Vice Chair
Richard Lace Treasurer
Jamo Huddle (resigned 7 November 2023)
Roseanna Parkyn
Key management Marian Casey-Maslen Executive Director
personnel (resigned 30 September 2023)
Helen McElhinney Executive Director
(appointed 2 October 2023)
Bankers NatWest
Chancery Lane & Holborn
332 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7PS
Solicitors Shearman & Sterling LLP
9 Appold Street
London
EC2A 2AP
Auditor Sayer Vincent LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor
110 Golden Lane
LONDON
EC1Y 0TG

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CDAC Network Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 December 2023

The directors present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association, the requirements of a directors’ report as required under company law, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

Purposes and aims

CDAC Network is the global alliance of organisations working to ensure people can access safe, trustworthy information and communicate during crises.

Our network brings together UN agencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, local and international NGOs, media development and specialist communications entities. Together, we are committed to putting the power in humanitarian and development decision-making back in the hands of communities.

The charity’s main activities are:

  1. Strengthening collaboration for more effective communication and community engagement.

  2. Advocating for systemic change to put the voices of communities at the heart of humanitarian preparedness and response.

  3. Strengthening learning and support the production of evidence about communication and community engagement.

The directors have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the directors consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Foreword

It gives me great pleasure to present the 2023 annual report for CDAC Network, the global alliance of organisations committed to ensuring that people and their communities have access to safe and trustworthy information during times of crisis and can actively participate in programmes designed to support them. 2023 has been another extraordinarily challenging year, with an estimated 339 million people in need of humanitarian assistance globally. And despite record levels of humanitarian funding, 2023 also saw the largest funding shortfall in years, with only one-third of the requested $57 billion received. I would like to be able to report on the increased engagement, consultation and ownership of aid programmes by affected populations but, as a sector, we still have a long way to go to deliver on this global commitment.

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I am more convinced than ever that we must prioritise communication that gives people in crisis the information and power they need to make lifesaving decisions and to contribute to their own solutions.

The start of 2023 was shaped, for CDAC Network and many of our members, by the devastating earthquakes that struck southeast Türkiye and northwest Syria in February. Later in the year, we found ourselves responding to people’s communication needs in other natural hazard-related disasters, including flooding caused by Storm Daniel in Libya and the earthquake in Morocco. Climate change impacts continued to be a major driver of humanitarian need, as we saw in our extensive work on the response to the worst droughts in decades in the Horn of Africa.

It was also a year marred by conflict and violence – from a coup in Niger to the brutal war in Sudan. Russia’s war on Ukraine entered its second year, and CDAC reflected on a year of ongoing work to bridge the gap between local and international responders in the regional response. The year ended with horrific scenes of civilian deaths and infrastructure devastation in Gaza, amid rapidly escalating humanitarian needs for the entire population. Communication blackouts have prevented people from accessing critical information, from reaching loved ones and from telling their stories of pain and resilience to the world.

The war in Gaza, as with so many other modern conflicts, has been characterised by a parallel information war playing out online. Information operations have always been instrumental in armed conflict but, as Robert Mardini, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, noted at our 2023 Public Forum, what is new is ‘how quickly and how easily information today can be created, can be spread and even weaponised and consumed simultaneously on a global scale by states but also by non-state armed actors, private companies and individuals.’

Artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging digital technologies are fast being recognised as frontier threats to safe information landscapes. It is for this reason that CDAC’s 2023 Public Forum and Annual General Assembly focused on safeguarding communication in conflict in the age of AI. This is a critical issue and one with a limited window of opportunity to influence global policy and governance discussions. CDAC will pursue this agenda with urgency in 2024, aiming to infuse the debate with humanitarian values and ensure communities in crisis have a seat at the table.

Geoff Loane

Chair, CDAC Network Board

Achievements and performance

Our work this year was guided by the four overarching strategic aims of our 2022–2027 Strategy:

  1. Enable local drivers of Communication, Community Engagement and Accountability (CCEA) by supporting efforts to place national governments, local civil society, local communities and private sector actors at the centre of CCEA initiatives.

  2. Provide a strategic global voice for inclusive CCEA through championing local and national approaches within the international aid system.

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  1. Responsibly leverage CCEA digital technologies , including fostering efforts to democratise digital access and advocating for responsible use of technology.

  2. Sustain and grow CDAC’s impact to ensure the Network has a sustainable foundation of support in order to expand its reach to more communities.

Enabling local drivers of Communication, Community Engagement and Accountability

Supporting local leadership and inclusion through national platforms

CDAC's national platforms are the cornerstone of our efforts to boost participation and accountability in humanitarian response. These locally led hubs unite diverse stakeholders from government, civil society, and the private sector to enhance coordinated communication and engagement. With more than 35 platforms in our network, in 2023 we spotlighted the following (by region):.

Africa

Sudan

When conflict erupted in Sudan in April, CDAC was quick to convene a series of emergency community of practice (CoP) calls on in-country coordination and collaboration. In response to needs identified these calls, CDAC partnered with Internews and Diaspora Emergency Action & Coordination (DEMAC) to form the ARISE consortium (Accessible and Responsive Information Services and Engagement for Sudan), which was funded by H2H Network.

Led by two CDAC Experts in the region, two practitioner workshops were co-hosted together with the Regional AAP Working Group and Sudan AAP Working Group. These focused on identifying barriers and needs to elevate the role of communication, engagement and accountability and informed an interagency brief on priority actions for decision-makers and practitioners.

This engagement laid the groundwork for a regional interagency roundtable for operational leaders and decision-makers held in September 2023, in Nairobi and online. The forum, which was co-convened with UN coordination structures, the Inter-Agency Working Group, Sudan INGO Forum and ARISE partners and was attended by 57 participants, is summarised in an outcomes report.

Finally, to respond to practitioner needs on the ground identified by the Sudan AAP Working Group, CDAC developed bespoke training materials in English and Arabic.

Horn of Africa

CDAC spearheaded efforts to ‘accelerate a collective and inclusive approach to communication, engagement and accountability’ in the Horn of Africa drought response. Having contracted a CDAC Regional Expert to work closely with OCHA ROSEA and the Regional AAP Working Group, we conducted a comprehensive consultation with stakeholders in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, resulting in a snapshot report on the state of communication, engagement and accountability in the response. Before publication, the report’s findings were endorsed at a series of three CDAC

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Learning Events co-hosted by CDAC with the OCHA Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa in Kenya; the AAP Working Group in Ethiopia; and the Somalia CEA Taskforce in Somalia.

The Learning Events also responded to requests from in-country and regional leadership to create a space for open discussion between diverse stakeholders on context-specific challenges and to workshop tangible ways forward. The events were attended by 96 participants representing more than 60 local and international NGOs, UN agencies, Red Cross/Red Crescent societies, media development entities and humanitarian networks.

Based on the key findings of the regional consultation and snapshot report, CDAC developed key advocacy messages jointly with the Working Group/Taskforce leads (OCHA, IOM Ethiopia, IOM Somalia, Nexus Somalia) and CDAC/H2H members (BBC Media Action, International Media Support, FilmAid, ACT Alliance). To enhance local partners’ access to key messages, CDAC translated the Communication is aid video into Oromo, Somali and Amharic, in collaboration with FilmAid Kenya, - and adapted The importance of two way communication video to the regional context, in collaboration with the Ethiopia AAP Working Group.

Pacific

Papua New Guinea

CDAC provided technical assistance to the Papua New Guinea Disaster Management Team from September 2021 to March 2023. As the project came to a close early this year, we supported recruitment of a national Humanitarian Officer as well as developing a guidance note aimed at enabling Disaster Management Team members to integrate communication and engagement into their activities.

Building on this engagement, CDAC then secured new funding from UNDP to further support collective action and coordination of CCEA in Papua New Guinea. The nine-month project, which started in October, focuses on providing technical expertise to the newly appointed Humanitarian Officer, with an emphasis on supporting the establishment of a Community Engagement Working Group.

Middle East and North Africa

Türkiye–Syria

The devastating earthquakes that struck southeast Turkiye and northwest Syria sparked a significant H2H Network-funded collaboration between CDAC, Insecurity Insight and CDAC member CLEAR Global, in response to needs identified through the CDAC CoP calls on the disaster. A CDAC Expert was commissioned to lead a comprehensive analysis of the communication and engagement ecosystems in affected areas, complemented by partners’ language services for better two-way communication and social media monitoring of community perceptions of aid.

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The project kicked off with workshops in Gaziantep to agree the data matrix and key research questions, followed by ecosystem mapping and analysis carried out in consultation with key stakeholders from country coordination structures, CDAC members and local partners. In total, the research team analysed more than 85 documents and held 56 consultations with 139 individuals.

The findings were published in two comprehensive reports on Türkiye and Syria and presented at a hybrid donor roundtable convened by OCHA in Beirut in October. Key recommendations for strengthening communication and engagement in the affected areas were also outlined in an early policy brief, which was later updated to capture lessons learned and remaining gaps six months into the response.

Libya

Towards the end of the year, CDAC addressed communication and engagement coordination gaps in the response to the Libya floods. Led by a CDAC Expert, the project includes rapid consultations, a snapshot report and two learning bulletins, as well as a hybrid forum held in Tunis in January 2024.

Europe

Ukraine region

CDAC’s year-long intervention in the Ukraine response, funded by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), has focused on bridging local, national and international responders to promote a coordinated approach to communication, community engagement and accountability across Ukraine and border countries.

To address this challenge, CDAC appointed a dedicated CCEA Convenor from and based in Kyiv, who also served as the acting co-chair of the AAP Working Group while successfully supporting a national NGO (Ukraine Red Cross) to take over on a permanent basis. The CCEA Convenor also helped facilitate CDAC convenings to engage national organisations and build a more inclusive coordination structure throughout Ukraine.

Simultaneously, CDAC’s Regional Coordinator, based in Poland, was instrumental in supporting collaborative community engagement efforts in Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia and Poland. Through technical Quality of Practice meetings and workshops, CDAC has both supported various national coordination forums and shared best practices across the region. facilitated the sharing of best practices and addressed barriers to community engagement. Notably, CDAC led a workshop in Moldova with simultaneous English-Russian-Romanian-Ukrainian translation, as well as Polishand Ukrainian-language workshops, to address CCEA challenges and foster collaboration.

Overall, CDAC’s work to enhance participation of local organisations in communication and accountability coordination mechanisms has seen results, and we continue to support the Ukraine Red Cross in its new role as co-chair of the AAP Working Group. However, significant gaps and

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challenges remain in ensuring affected people across the region have access to timely, trusted and accurate information – as identified in the third and fourth editions of our snapshot report, published this year.

Facilitating communities of practice on in-country coordination and collaboration

CDAC CoP calls provide a platform for members to share updates, identify gaps and explore opportunities for collective action in response to new or escalating crises. Reflecting the

unprecedented levels of humanitarian needs in 2023, 16 CoP calls were convened over 12 months:

Strengthening CCEA skills development and exchange

Aside from capacity-strengthening initiatives through national platforms and CoPs, CDAC runs a responsive capacity-bridging programme that includes training sessions and the creation of tools and guidance materials.

Tools

Trainings delivered in 2023

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Building the evidence base on CCEA

Sharing learning from CDAC’s CCEA work on the ground

The closure of CDAC and Ground Truth Solutions’ four-year joint project to establish locally led communication and community engagement networks in the Pacific was an opportunity for reflection. Case studies on our experiences in Fiji and Vanuatu, first published in 2020, were updated to share factors that contributed to the success of these innovative, multi-stakeholder and government-led platforms.

We also looked back on a year of promoting effective system-wide communication across the Ukraine response, in a brief capturing reflections on the project’s impact – including efforts to strengthen national NGO networks and facilitate engagement between local, national and international actors.

Assessing the state of CCEA in context

The final two editions of our quarterly snapshot reports on the state of communication, community engagement and accountability across the Ukraine response continued to find a wide audience among both local and international responders. The fourth edition found widening gaps in communication aimed at providing refugees with up-to-date information on their legal status and integration, and at easing tensions between displaced people and host communities. The reports are accompanied by an annex and interactive matrix of CCEA structures and activities across Ukraine and bordering countries.

A similar regional analysis was conducted on the response to the drought in the Horn of Africa. The snapshot report, which was validated and further contextualised through a series of multistakeholder workshops held in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia and endorsed by regional and country

CDAC Network Limited

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coordination structures, found fragmented approaches to collective communication across the response and largely inadequate, one-way efforts at information provision.

In response to the devastating earthquakes that struck southeast Türkiye and northwest Syria in February, CDAC Network produced analyses mapping the communication and engagement ecosystems in earthquake-affected areas of both countries. By bringing together critical analysis on language, media, culture, information access and preferences – including a spotlight on the experiences of people with disabilities – they aim to deepen understanding of the information flows and communication ecosystems in Türkiye and northwest Syria. Each report is available in both English and the country’s official language (Turkish and Arabic, respectively) and accompanied by illustrated infographics drawing out key findings.

Toward the end of the year, attention turned to the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. In response to severe concerns raised in CDAC CoPs about the repeated communication blackouts preventing affected people from accessing lifesaving information, we published a rapid-fire assessment of the status of communication in Gaza, as well as calling for a focus on information integrity in coverage and commentary on the conflict.

Providing a strategic global voice for inclusive CCEA

Driving collaborative advocacy

In a year characterised by conflict, large-scale crises and an ever-widening funding gap, collective advocacy to prioritise communication and engagement in specific sudden-onset or escalating emergencies formed the focus of our influencing strategy.

As well as facilitating behind-the-scenes collaboration through convenings such as the CoPs, CDAC drove the development and socialisation of a series of advocacy statements prepared either in consortium or on behalf of the Network. These targeted response leadership and highlighted the critical need and recommendations for prioritising effective communication and engagement with affected communities in the Horn of Africa drought response; the aftermath of the coup in Niger; Sudan’s conflict and displacement crisis; the responses to the Morocco earthquake and flooding in Libya; and, finally, the communications blackouts in Gaza.

Lessons on communication, community engagement and accountability for Türkiye–Syria, published shortly after the earthquakes struck in February, was complemented by a comprehensive update six months into the response, available in English, Arabic and Turkish.

Advocating in key policy forums

CDAC’s mission is well represented by the Secretariat in key global forums and advisory groups, including the Grand Bargain, Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) and Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW). The below captures some of our key points of influence in 2023.

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Grand Bargain Participation Revolution workstream

As the agreement resulting from the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit transitioned to the ‘Grand Bargain 2.0’, CDAC remained engaged in the Participation Revolution workstream. We were a critical voice pushing signatories to go further in realising the participation agenda, as illustrated by The New Humanitarian quoting CDAC’s Director of Policy and Programmes: ‘The gap between what is discussed at global level and actual, tangible change in participation in decision-making grows monthly … National actors are developing digital and other means for communication, participation, and inclusion much faster than the clunky humanitarian systems.’

ETC Strategic Advisory Group

The World Food Programme (WFP)-convened ETC Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) is drawn from the global ETC partnerships, with each member providing specific technical insights as well as overall support and guidance. CDAC was elected for its humanitarian and community engagement expertise and in 2023 the Secretariat represented Network priorities at an intensive in-person workshop at WFP in Rome.

Humanitarian Networks and Partnership Weeks (HNPW)

This year CDAC continued our longstanding engagement at HNPW by hosting the remote event, ’ Information as a right: what s holding us back?. Attracting 70 participants and platforming interdisciplinary experts from CDAC members IMS, Internews, IOM and Save the Children International, the event explored constraints to rights-based approaches to communication and engagement.

The CDAC Secretariat was also invited to share insights as panellists at two other events: a joint event with GSMA, IMPACT and REACH on inclusive and dignified approaches to digital communication; and a Ground Truth Solutions-hosted event exploring the impact of the sector’s deep-seated power imbalances on participation.

Responsive Information Services in Emergencies (RISE) Advisory Group

CDAC was invited to join the Advisory Group for the International Rescue Committee (IRC)-led RISE project, which aims to develop a consolidated, comprehensive toolkit for use in emergency settings that centres affected people as drivers of information production. CDAC has helped shape the toolkit through participation in several consultations and design workshops.

Pact for the Future

CDAC contributed to shaping the Pact for the Future, an action-oriented outcome document for the Summit of the Future, which will be held in September 2024. CDAC’s submission outlined advocacy messages for five proposed chapters of the Pact, in response to a call for inputs on the zero draft. Highlighting the importance of international cooperation, CDAC’s contribution emphasised the need to safeguard people's rights to information and freedom of expression amid technological advancements, surging misinformation and attacks on independent media.

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Responsibly leveraging CCEA digital technologies

Democratising digital access and advocating for responsible technology use

As the ever-accelerating advancement of digital technologies continued to transform the way we produce, access and share information, CDAC stepped up its efforts to champion equitable access and responsible technology use.

In May, we co-organised an in-person event with CDAC member the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in London, delving into the intersections between development, decolonisation and digital access. CDAC’s outgoing Executive Director moderated the panel and was joined by representatives from BBC Media Action and Meta to explore pathways towards equitable digital inclusion, with a spotlight on human rights and gender equality perspectives from Africa.

The incoming Executive Director brought a new and timely focus on the ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting communication ecosystems and, in particular, information integrity. CDAC engaged in strategic outreach on this issue, engaging with Accenture Development Partnership to expand our networks and elevate CDAC’s role in critical AI discussions. Additionally, the Executive Director provided vital insights to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), advocating for community perspectives to be integrated into the Humanitarian AI Summit in 2024.

This strategic focus culminated in CDAC’s annual Public Forum, hosted by Viasat in London in November. Titled Communication in conflict: can we safeguard lifesaving information in the age of AI?, this pivotal event brought together interdisciplinary experts from across the Network and beyond to confront the challenges posed by emergent technologies to the information landscape in conflict zones. Robert Mardini, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) opened the event, answering questions from BBC News presenter Geeta Guru-Murthy on the way shifts in the digital landscape are shaping modern conflict and the role played by private tech companies. He noted that humanitarian sector take-up of new technologies must be guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence – a theme he expanded on in an article reflecting on the event.

An illuminating panel chaired by CDAC’s Executive Director and featuring Amil Khan (CEO, Valent), Jonathan Tanner (Founder, Rootcause) and Kristin Bergtora Sandvik (Research Professor in Humanitarian Studies, Peace Research Institute Oslo) delved into the geopolitical forces shaping global narratives in today’s AI-enabled world – and explored the impacts on both conflict-affected communities and humanitarian response. The panel emphasised the need to seize the current policy moment around AI to infuse it with humanitarian values, concluding that the time is now for us to collectively determine ‘the future we want and how we shape it’.

The final session of the day explored solutions for scaling digital opportunities and secure safer information landscapes for people caught in conflict. Chaired by CDAC Board member Dr Gozibert

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Kamugisha, the panel featured Briana Orr (IRC); Mike Walton (UNHCR), Stijn Aelbers (Internews) and Suzy Madigan (The Machine Race). Critically, the panel came together around the need to centre crisis-affected communities in the design and governance of AI and other digital technologies – an agenda CDAC will take forward in 2024.

Using digital communications for advocacy

Social media remains central to our advocacy strategy. On X (Twitter), @CDACN continues to see strong engagement, particularly over our Public Forum and AGA, despite the turbulence affecting the platform across the year. In part due to the instability of X, our 2023 social media strategy prioritised growth and impact on LinkedIn, where our following almost doubled across 2023.

Increased multimedia output – including key message infographics and illustrations, short explainer videos and audio/video clips from CDAC events – have been key to enhancing our reach on social media, enabling us to advocate for key priorities in shareable, digestible formats. This year we also put special emphasis on creating bespoke promotional assets and campaigns to help disseminate our translated products to relevant non-anglophone audiences on social media.

Our bimonthly public newsletter, relaunched in 2022, attracted more than 100 new subscribers in 2023, representing an engaged audience within and beyond the membership. We sent seven issues this year, with a healthy average open rate of 39% – well above the industry benchmark of 25%.

Ongoing work on the website, which was relaunched at the end of 2021, focused on ensuring it is visually engaging and user-friendly. An overhaul to refresh its look and feel and improve user journeys on the site has been prioritised for 2024.

Rapid response to current affairs

Our advocacy and influencing strategy was complemented by a series of articles across the year, many written in collaboration with our members and Expert Pool and responding to both new and emerging crises and key influencing opportunities. Articles published in 2023 included:

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Sustaining and growing CDAC’s impact

Our work under the fourth strategic aim – to sustain and grow CDAC’s impact – seeks to ensure that the Network is sustainably supported to advocate at regional and global levels and deepen our impact with a broad reach of communities. Efforts include a focus on growth in terms of:

We were pleased to welcome three new members to the Network in 2023. First, Loop: a remote platform for communities to self-initiate feedback. Second, Insecurity Insight, which primarily collects and analyses data about violence against civilians, and with whom CDAC first partnered on our Turkiye–Syria project this year. Third, Upinion, whose facilitation of real-time, digital engagement to amplify the voices of crisis-affected communities was showcased at the 2023 Public Forum.

In this year of leadership transition, the arrival of our new Executive Director presented an opportunity both to renew relationships with members and wider stakeholders and to take stock of ways of working, institutional learning and best practices – a review which will continue into 2024.

Through outreach by the Executive Director, as well as the 2023 Annual General Assembly (AGA), members expressed interest in expanding geographic reach, replicating successful solutions and enhancing programme sophistication and scalability.

Emerging priorities include a regionalisation strategy, supported by Executive Director travel to Asia-Pacific and East Africa in early 2024 to engage with members and explore potential partnerships in these regions. This is supported by sessions at the 2023 AGA to workshop possible approaches to achieving impact on a more local scale. Our intent towards greater regionalisation and localisation was signalled with two regional meetings held in the run-up to the AGA to identify and take forward priorities for Southern and Eastern Africa and Asia-Pacific.

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The new Executive Director engaged with the CDAC Expert Pool through two introductory calls in early December, garnering ideas, and participation from more than 30 of the Experts. This engagement highlighted a desire for greater connectivity within the Pool, leading to the establishment of quarterly meetings for 2024.

Financial review

CDAC Network Ltd total income for 2023 was £481,338 (2022: £650,673) with a total expenditure of £586,137 (2022: £895,817). Income from Charitable activities was £481,338 (2022: £650,673); £156,688 from Membership fees, £120,885 from Danish Refugee Council under the H2H Fund Mechanism, £57,473 from UNDP PNG, £74,652 from Disasters Emergency Committee and £71,640 from Members UNICEF, and Deutsche Welle Akademie.

CDAC Network Limited ended 2023 with total reserves of £213,720 (2022 £318,519); £152,946 unrestricted (from Membership) and £60,774 restricted (from Charitable activities’ funders).

Principal risks and uncertainties

Charity Auditors Sayer Vincent were re-engaged in 2023 to perform the Audit for the accounting period ended 31 December 2023.

The risks assessed by CDAC Network in the Risk Register include the following: Financial, Membership, Network functioning, Operational, Environmental, Safeguarding and Duty of Care, Governance and other External Forces (eg Pandemics, Fraud and Cyber Security).

The principal risk is in an environment of increased needs and lower growth in key donor countries, overall funding for the sector is tighter. In this constrained funding environment, institutional donors have also been directing their funding towards supporting large-scale refugee flows domestically, and prioritising support to primarily politically significant conflicts such as Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, rather than neglected crises. CDAC continues to expand its efforts to secure funding from a variety of sources.

To ensure long term sustainability of its unique network CDAC is focussing on expanding its global reach through its membership and localisation.

No other principal risks or uncertainties are reported at 31 December 2023.

Reserves policy and going concern

The directors have adopted a minimum reserves policy which states that reserves are maintained at all times to cover all liabilities including staff notice and redundancy payments and any other contract liabilities, understanding that liability amounts will vary over time.

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The amount required to meet the reserves policy at 31 December 2023 is £68,777. The closing unrestricted reserves of the company at this date are reported as £152,946. The directors are therefore satisfied that the reserves policy requirement is met.

The directors review the reserves policy on an annual basis in the context of the multi-year plans and a review of the risks and opportunities for the organisation. The minimum reserves policy ensures cover in a worst-case scenario, however having reserves above target ensures continuity in the event of a funding gap.

The directors are actively monitoring the financial situation but do not consider that there are any other material uncertainties about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The directors do not consider that there are any additional sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

At the time of reporting, the Funds Flow Forecast indicates that up until the end of April 2025, there will be sufficient unrestricted reserves to meet the requirements of the Reserves Policy which is set at £62,039.

Fundraising

CDAC Network Ltd raises funds through membership income and through grant income from Institutional funders such as Government and UN agencies and International Non-GovernmentalOrganisations. During the year 2023, CDAC Network Ltd has not undertaken material levels of fundraising activities and has not received any complaints in this regard.

Plans for the future

Building on the steer from CDAC members at the 2023 AGA, CDAC Network is poised to leverage our 2022–2027 strategy with renewed vigour in 2024, emphasising increased regionalisation and localisation of the Network (strategic aims 1 and 4) and an accelerated focus on emerging and frontier threats to communication, community engagement and accountability affecting communities in crises (strategic aim 3). This will be nested within a wider process of renewal, commencing with the mid-term review of the Strategy set to commence in the second quarter and culminating at the 2024 AGA, which will take place in a global majority country.

Meeting our members’ needs remains critical to CDAC Network’s mission, and in the coming year we will intensify targeted engagement efforts, spotlight members through a convening series and foster a culture of shared best practices.

The structure and make-up of our membership is also key to achieving impact, particularly as we support progressive and locally led approaches to decision-making in crises and aid systems. As

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such, a review of our operational model, including membership, will accompany the mid-term strategy review.

We will advance our work on localisation – a cross-cutting aim threaded throughout the strategy. Alongside our own localisation efforts, we will encourage CDAC members and other relevant practitioners to explore a more systemic approach to embedding deliberate processes to shift power further in aid systems and structures.

New thematic communities of practice will be established on artificial intelligence and mis/disinformation, to bolster efforts to anticipate impacts on communication, community engagement and accountability in crises in the years ahead. At the same time, we will seek to protect the important progress achieved within the aid sector towards greater systemic and collective accountability practices, rights-based approaches to information and the recognition of communication as a form of aid.

CDAC maintains a busy in-country project and capacity-bridging programme for 2024 as we continue to respond rapidly to disasters and crises in which people and communities urgently need information to help them make life-saving decisions. Emerging priorities include the Gaza conflict and related crises in the Middle East, Sudan and the Horn of Africa. Throughout our work, we will advocate for the timely and regular provision of information in accessible languages and modalities, for the maintenance of a healthy information environment and protection against mis/disinformation, for the establishment of two-way communication channels and locally led responses, and for the greatest integrity and accountability of whomever is involved in providing assistance.

Structure, governance and management

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 18 January 2017 and registered as a charity on 30 April 2018.

The company was established under a memorandum of association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its articles of association.

All directors give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 5 to the accounts.

Appointment of trustees

The Board Protocol Document details the process for appointment of trustees.

In summary, when a new or replacement trustee is required, the Board of Trustees, via the secretariat, will issue a call via email to Full and Affiliate Members for the nomination of candidates.

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The Board of Trustees delegates to the Membership and Nomination Committee responsibility for soliciting, reviewing and verifying nominations for appointment; overseeing the appointment process; and reporting on the outcome of the appointment process.

Trustee induction and training

New Trustees are provided with an Induction from the Executive Director and Chair of the Board where an overview of the charity is provided and the Quality Management Policy & Procedure is introduced along with the suite of policies listed therein.

New Trustees are required to sign the charity’s code of conduct and a declaration of interests as well as completing other due diligence procedures.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

In the year 2023 there were no related parties identified. There was a relationship with the following member organisations during the year.

CDAC members in 2023

17

CDAC Network Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Statement of responsibilities of the directors

The directors are responsible for preparing the directors’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the directors are aware:

18

CDAC Network Limited

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 December 2023

The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

CDAC Board of Trustees

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 December 2023 was 4 (2022: 5). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The directors’ annual report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

The directors annual report has been approved by the directors on 30 April 2024 and signed on their behalf by

Geoff Loane

Director and Chair of CDAC Network Limited

19

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

CDAC Network Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of CDAC Network Limited (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on CDAC Network Limited's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

20

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

CDAC Network Limited

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of

21

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

CDAC Network Limited

company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

22

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

CDAC Network Limited

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Jonathan Orchard (Senior statutory auditor)

14 June 2024

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG

23

CDAC Network Limited

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 December 2023

For theyear ended 31 December 2023
Note
Income from:
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
Reconciliation of funds:
Net movement in funds
UNDP - PNG
Member Initiatives
Membership
DFAT - Fiji and Vanuatu
Total funds brought forward
Net (expenditure)/ income for the year
Transfers between funds
Total expenditure
Charitable activities
H2H
DEC - Ukraine
DEC - Ukraine
Total funds carried forward
Charitable activities
Member Initiatives
Total income
Expenditure on:
H2H
Membership
UNDP - PNG		 Unrestricted
£
156,688
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
£
-
120,885
57,473
74,652
71,640		 2023
Total
£
156,688
120,885
57,473
74,652
71,640
481,338
166,400
-
142,697
13,461
201,850
61,729
586,137
(104,799)
-
(104,799)
318,519
213,720		 Unrestricted
£
134,167
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
£
-
55,824
56,077
223,955
180,650		 2022
Total
£
134,167
55,824
56,077
223,955
180,650
156,688 324,650 134,167 516,506 650,673
166,400
-
-
-
-
-		 -
-
142,697
13,461
201,850
61,729		 147,345
-
-
-
-
-		 -
346,287
26,310
81,286
96,757
197,832		 147,345
346,287
26,310
81,286
96,757
197,832
166,400 419,737 147,345 748,472 895,817
(9,712)
8,962		 (95,087)
(8,962)		 (13,178)
13,265		 (231,966)
(13,265)		 (245,144)
-
(750)
153,696		 (104,049)
164,823		 87
153,609		 (245,231)
410,054		 (245,144)
563,663
152,946 60,774 153,696 164,823 318,519

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 13a to the financial statements.

24

CDAC Network Limited

Company no. 10571501

Balance sheet

As at 31 December 2023

As at 31 December 2023
Note
Current assets:
9
Liabilities:
10
13a
Total unrestricted funds
Debtors
The funds of the charity:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
Total net assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted income funds:
General funds
Total charity funds
Cash at bank and in hand		 £
138,552
265,622		 2023
£
213,720		 £
123,018
394,386		 2022
£
318,519
404,174
(190,454)		 517,404
(198,885)
152,946 153,696
213,720 318,519
213,720 318,519
60,774
152,946		 164,823
153,696
213,720 318,519

Approved by the trustees on 30 April 2024 and signed on their behalf by

Geoff Loane Chair

Richard Lace Treasurer

25

CDAC Network Limited

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 December 2023

For the year ended 31 December 2023
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income for the reporting period
(as per the statement of financial activities)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents and of net debt
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year		 £
£
(104,799)
(15,534)
(8,431)
(128,764)
(128,764)
394,386
265,622
At 1
January
2023
Cash flows
£
£
394,386
(128,764)
394,386
(128,764)
2023		 £
£
(245,144)
65,327
895
(178,922)
(178,922)
573,308
394,386
Other non-
cash
changes
At 31
December
2023
£
£
265,622
265,622
2022
(128,764)
(128,764)
394,386		 (178,922)
(178,922)
573,308
265,622 394,386
Cash flows
£
(128,764)		 At 31
December
2023
£
265,622
394,386 (128,764) 265,622

26

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

a) Statutory information

CDAC Network Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales.

The registered office address and principal place of business is Sayer Vincent-Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TL.

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.

c) Public benefit entity

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

f) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

27

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Allocation of support costs

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis.

Membership 23%
DFAT - Fiji and Vanuatu 0%
DRC (H2H) 25%
UNDP - PNG 0%
DEC - Ukraine 51%
Member Initiatives 1%

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

i) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

j) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

k) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

28

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

l) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

m) Pensions

The charitable company makes payments to The Peoples Pension defined contribution pension scheme on behalf of employees. The assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the charitable company in independently administered funds. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable to the funds during the year. The charitable company has no liability under the schemes other than the payment of those contributions.

2 Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities ctivities
Unrestricted
£
156,688
Sub-total for Membership
156,688
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
156,688
Sub-total for UNDP
Sub-total for Member
Initiatives
H2H
Sub-total for DRC
UNDP - PNG
Membership
UNICEF Moldova
DEC - Ukraine
Sub-total for DEC
NORCAP
UNICEF EMOPS
Deutsche Welle
International Media
Support
Total income from
charitable activities
Member Initiatives		 Unrestricted
£
156,688		 £
-
Restricted		 2023
Total
£
156,688		 Unrestricted
£
134,167		 £
-
Restricted		 2022
Total
£
134,167
-
120,885		 156,688
120,885		 134,167
-		 -
55,824		 134,167
55,824
-
-		 120,885
57,473		 120,885
57,473		 -
-		 55,824
56,077		 55,824
56,077
-
-		 57,473
74,652		 57,473
74,652		 -
-		 56,077
223,955		 56,077
223,955
-
-
-
-
-
-		 74,652
-
9,471
23,836
-
38,333		 74,652
-
9,471
23,836
-
38,333		 -
-
-
-
-
-		 223,955
16,700
103,966
54,888
5,096
-		 223,955
16,700
103,966
54,888
5,096
-
- 71,640 71,640 - 180,650 180,650
156,688 324,650 481,338 134,167 516,506 650,673

CDAC Network Limited received income for H2H projects under project implementation agreements with DRC. The grant funding for the projects was provided to DRC by USA's BHA, UK's FCDO and Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). Funding received in 2023 was restricted.

29

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

3a Analysis of expenditure (current year)

Analysis of expenditure (current year)
the year ended 31 December 2023
Staff costs (Note 5)
Project consultants
Project other
CDAC Annual Public Forum
Communications and marketing
Staff travel, accommodation and per diem
Premises costs
Office costs
HR and staffing costs
Finance and administration
Support costs - NPAC
Support - Other
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2023
Total expenditure 2022		 Charitable activities Governance
costs
£
3,221
-
-
3,501
-
-
-
-
-
10,825		 Support
costs
£
32,506
-
-
-
-
-
356
5,953
2,186
1,112		 2023 Total
£
327,312
188,827
19,148
13,911
8,723
2,780
590
9,895
2,186
12,765		 2022
Total
£
328,465
406,747
61,525
12,028
56,981
8,812
-
7,348
1,180
12,731
Membership
£
125,273
-
783
10,410
-
2,780
0
0
0
0		 DFAT - Fiji
and
Vanuatu
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 H2H
£
58,558
56,418
9,124
-
5,975
-
-
1,601
-
304		 UNDP - PNG
£
8,360
5,045
-
-
-
-
-
20
-
36		 DEC -
Ukraine
£
82,007
88,404
4,433
-
2,748
-
234
2,228
-
346
180,400
21,450
-
-
201,850
96,757		 Member
Initiatives
£
17,387
38,960
4,808
-
-
-
-
93
-
142
139,246
-
9,607
17,547		 -
-
-
-		 131,980
10,717
-
-		 13,461
-
-
-		 61,390
339
-
-		 17,547
-
-
(17,547)		 42,113
(32,506)
(9,607)
-		 586,137
-
-
-		 895,817
-
-
-
166,400 - 142,697 13,461 61,729 - - 586,137 895,817
147,345 346,287 26,310 81,286 197,832 - -

Of the total expenditure, £166,400 was unrestricted (2022: £147,345) and £419,737 was restricted (2022: £748,472).

30

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Analysis of expenditure (previous year)
Staff costs (Note 5)
Project consultants
Project other
CDAC Annual Public Forum
Communications and marketing
Staff travel, accommodation and per diem
Premises costs
Office costs
HR and staffing costs
Finance and administration
Support costs - NPAC
Support - Other
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2022		 Charitable activities Governance
costs
£
1,465
4,464
586
10,306		 Support
costs
£
59,825
3,431
-
5,544
1,180
1,099		 2022
Total
£
328,465
406,747
61,525
12,028
56,981
8,812
-
7,348
1,180
12,731
Membership
£
102,458
4,316
80
7,564
57
8,226
-
-
-
-		 DFAT - Fiji
and
Vanuatu
£
33,694
218,907
30,694
-
12,319
-
-
607
-
650		 DRC (H2H)
£
5,605
14,239
4,536
-
-
-
-
120
-
83		 UNDP - PNG
£
32,269
43,162
5,232
-
450
-
-
50
-
123		 DEC -
Ukraine
£
41,009
36,589
4,129
-
9,742
-
-
-
-
151
91,620
5,137
-
-
96,757		 Member
Initiatives
£
52,140
86,103
16,854
-
34,413
-
-
1,027
-
319
122,701
7,823
16,821		 296,871
49,416
-
-		 24,583
1,727
-
-		 81,286
-
-
-		 190,856
6,976
-
-		 16,821
-
-
(16,821)		 71,079
(63,256)
(7,823)
-		 895,817
-
-
-
147,345 346,287 26,310 81,286 197,832 - - 895,817

31

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Net income for the year
This is stated after charging / (crediting):
2023 2022
£ £
Net foreign exchange (gains) / losses 87 (5)
Operating lease rentals payable:
Property (excluding VAT) - -
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit 9,000 8,400

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes
Freelance consultants		 2023
£
283,907
26,486
16,919
-		 2022
£
282,992
17,618
16,980
10,875
327,312 328,465

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the year between:

2023 2022
No. No.
£60,000 - £69,999 - 1
£70,000 - £79,999 - 1

The total employee benefits (including pension contributions and employer's national insurance) of the key management personnel were £91,277 (2022: £90,881).

The directors were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with CDAC Network Limited in the year (2022: £nil).

Directors' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £183 (2022: £586) incurred by 1 (2022: 2) members relating to attendance at meetings.

32

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

6 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was 5.8 (2022: 5.75).

Staff are split across the activities of the charity as follows (full time equivalent basis):

UNDP - PNG
DEC - Ukraine
Membership
DRC (H2H)
Support costs
DFAT - Fiji and Vanuatu
Governance costs
Member Initiatives		 2023
No.
1.9
-
0.9
0.1
1.2
0.3
0.0
0.5		 2022
No.
1.6
0.5
0.1
0.5
0.7
0.8
-
0.9
4.9 5.1

7 Related party transactions

Transactions with directors are included in note 5.

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties (2022: none).

8 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

9 Debtors

9
Debtors
10
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Other debtors
Other creditors
Deferred membership income
Accruals
Trade creditors
Accrual for Project Costs
Taxation and social security		 2023
£
138,552		 2022
£
123,018
138,552 123,018
2023
£
907
8,827
3,011
11,029
9,680
157,000		 2022
£
17,164
4,738
3,432
10,080
6,971
156,500
190,454 198,885

33

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

11 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises membership fees for 2024 invoiced in 2023.

Balance at the beginning of the year
Amount released to income in the year
Amount deferred in the year
Balance at the end of the year
12a
12b
13a
At 1
January
2023
£
29,390
(4,980)
127,198
13,215
Total restricted funds
164,823
General funds
153,696
153,696
318,519
Unrestricted funds:
Net assets at 31 December 2023
Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)
Total funds
H2H
Member Initiatives
Movements in funds (current year)
Total unrestricted funds
DEC - Ukraine
UNDP - PNG
Net current assets
Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)
Restricted funds:
Net assets at 31 December 2022
Net current assets		 Balance at the beginning of the year
Amount released to income in the year
Amount deferred in the year
Balance at the end of the year
12a
12b
13a
At 1
January
2023
£
29,390
(4,980)
127,198
13,215
Total restricted funds
164,823
General funds
153,696
153,696
318,519
Unrestricted funds:
Net assets at 31 December 2023
Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)
Total funds
H2H
Member Initiatives
Movements in funds (current year)
Total unrestricted funds
DEC - Ukraine
UNDP - PNG
Net current assets
Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)
Restricted funds:
Net assets at 31 December 2022
Net current assets		 General
unrestricted
£
152,946		 Designated
£
-		 2023
£
156,500
(156,500)
157,000		 2022
£
148,000
(148,000)
156,500
157,000 156,500
Restricted
£
60,774		 Total funds
£
213,720
152,946 - 60,774 213,720
General
unrestricted
£
153,696		 Designated
£
-		 Restricted
£
164,823		 Total funds
£
318,519
153,696 - 164,823 318,519
Income &
gains
£
120,885
57,473
74,652
71,640		 Expenditure
& losses
£
(142,697)
(13,461)
(201,850)
(61,729)		 Transfers
£
-
(3,600)
-
(5,362)		 At 31
December
2023
£
7,578
35,432
-
17,764
164,823 324,650 (419,737) (8,962) 60,774
153,696 156,688 (166,400) 8,962 152,946
153,696 156,688 (166,400) 8,962 152,946
318,519 481,338 (586,137) - 213,720

The narrative to explain the purpose of each fund is given at the foot of the note below.

34

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

13b Movements in funds (prior year)

Movements in funds (prior year)
Total restricted funds
General funds
H2H
Unrestricted funds:
Member Initiatives
Restricted funds:
UNDP - PNG
DFAT - Fiji and Vanuatu
DEC - Ukraine
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At 1
January
2022
£
346,287
(124)
33,494
-
30,397		 Income &
gains
£
-
55,824
56,077
223,955
180,650		 Expenditure
& losses
£
(346,287)
(26,310)
(81,286)
(96,757)
(197,832)		 Transfers
£
-
-
(13,265)
-
-		 At 31
December
2022
£
-
29,390
(4,980)
127,198
13,215
410,054 516,506 (748,472) (13,265) 164,823
153,609 134,167 (147,345) 13,265 153,696
153,609 134,167 (147,345) 13,265 153,696
563,663 650,673 (895,817) - 318,519

Purposes of restricted funds

H2H Horn of Africa - Accelerating a collective and inclusive approach to communication, engagement and accountability in the HoA drought response .

H2H Turkey/Syria Earthquake - to map the Communication and Engagement Ecosystem to enable response analysis and support effective accountability to affected populations .

H2H Sudan - to bring together critical humanitarian stakeholders and knowledge to protect, adapt and develop timely Community Communication, Engagement and Accountability (CCEA) systems, ultimately to provide reliable, timely and coordinated communication services to the Sudanese population affected by the

H2H Libya - to identify pathways for the engagement of diverse media and communication actors in coordination; to collate, synthesise and feedback critical social listening data; and carve effective collaboration between responders and media and other communication actors.

35

CDAC Network Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

UNDP PNG - Support to the PNG Disaster management team in the CCEA Situation Analysis and CCEA Program Roll Out; embedding CCEA in disaster response .

DEC Ukraine - Ensuring Effective System-Wide Communication across the Ukraine Response by Bridging the Gap between Local and Global Responders .

Member Initiatives

NORCAP Training - To deliver the Communication, Community Engagement and Accountability (CCEA) Coordinator Training Course to experts across the various CAPs supported by NORCAP.

UNICEF - To continue to implement the Enhancing Surge Capacity project with support under a UNICEF Partnership Cooperation Agreement for follow up actions from previous SSFA funding on enhancing Global Surge Capacity on Communication and Community Engagement (CCE).

Deutsche Welle Akademie Kakuma training - to reinforce project partners’ knowledge and skills in communication and community engagement.

UNICEF Moldova Training - to provide content development and facilitation services to deliver a series of training on Accountability to Affected Populations and Community Engagement for representatives of civil society and international organisations involved in providing humanitarian assistance to refugees and host communities in Moldova

UNICEF Standby partner training with ZIF - enhance and future-proof sector-wide technical and surge capacity for more systematic communication and community engagement to enable better accountability towards people affected by crisis.

Deutsche Welle Akademie Kenya Media Landscape Guide - to build on the foundations of a CDAC MLG for Kenya published in 2010, providing an updated media snapshot for Kenya in 2023/2024, which reflects the significant shifts and changes across the country over the past decade.

Transfers are associated with contracts delivered under an agreed price, the transferred amount being unrestricted for general funds

14 Legal status of the charity

CDAC Network Limited is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1. CDAC Network Limited registered as a charity with the Charity Commission from April 2018.

36