Due to the variety of ways of working within the British Red Cross, the responsibility of procuring, maintaining, reporting, and disposing of assets may lie with different parties.
The standard types of relationships are listed below, indicating respective responsibilities.
Note: HNS refers to Host National Society, PNS to Partner National Society and NS to National Society.
| Procurement | Maintenance | Reporting | Disposal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilateral GAD (Grant Agreement Document) | HNS purchases with BRC funds sent via a GAD | HNS plans and tracks | HNS submits to the BRC | HNS submits disposal plan and sign-off request to BRC |
| Indirect GAD* | PNS purchases per GAD terms (specifies procurement policy). PNS owns asset | HNS plans and tracks | HNS submits to PNS | PNS submits disposal plan and sign-off request to BRC (unless GAD specifies otherwise) |
| BRC procurement support to (P)NS No GAD needed | BRC procures with BRC funds and donates to NS | NS per internal requirements | NS per internal requirements (report to BRC only required, if specified) | NS per internal requirements (disposal plan/sign-off form to BRC only required, if specified) |
| BRC asset for BRC use | BRC UK team | BRC UK team | Per BRC requirements | Can be donated individually if standalone items, or via disposal plan and sign-off request if at end of programme |
*When British Red Cross partners with a PNS who implements with a HNS
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Note: partnerships with and/or normally follow IFRC/ICRC asset disposal procedures.
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To determine whether an item procured or received as Gift in Kind is an asset, stock, supply or piece of equipment, consult this diagram.
The below table defines the British Red Cross’ understanding of assets. Different partners may have different definitions (especially around the minimum value or useful life of an item), which will be stated in their own logistics or financial procedures.
| Stock | Office supplies | Equipment | Assets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Consumable items tracked and stored until use/distribution | Temporary or disposable consumables, food or cleaning products for daily use in office or residence | <£1,000 Not powered by electricity No running costs Not defined as asset by donor | >£1,000 or > 3 years useful life or powered by electricity or incurs running cost or defined as asset by donor |
| Examples | Programme supplies for direct distribution Office supplies for distribution to beneficiaries, partners Vehicle spare parts, fuel | Stationary Office cleaning materials Food for office | Furniture Housing equipment Household items | Owned property Vehicles Comms equipment IT hardware Large household appliances |
| Reporting requirements | Stock report | None | Property register | Asset register |
| Storage location | Warehouse | In the office | In use or in storeroom* | In use or in storeroom* |
*The storeroom is typically a small room in the office where a small stock of office supplies is kept.
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In British Red Cross, asset management requirements are defined in the , together with any other specific requirements, whether they come from British Red Cross or from a donor (Section 6 in the standard GAD). Where it has been agreed that the partner will use their own asset management procedure, this requires prior approval and must be mentioned in the GAD.
One person from either logistics or finance must have operational responsibility for asset management, delegated from a country or programme manager.
In certain operations, assets may be managed at a programme or project level, but it is recommended that someone is allocated the task of centralising asset management (see above matrix for reference).
In large, multi-site operations, an asset manager should be hired to ensure compliant asset management. The task of asset management can be part of an existing role, such as logistics officer or finance officer, or exist as a standalone asset manager role.
Read the next section on Categories of assets here.