CANADEM

Trusted since 1996. Mobilizing experts worldwide.

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Mission & Professional Standards

Commitment to Our Vision and Mission

Our Vision
A future where qualified professionals deployed to global support operations strengthen democratic institutions, achieve peace and security, and promote sustainable development.
Our Mission
CANADEM is an NGO committed to rostering and mobilizing the right experts, and empowering them to enhance the impact of global assistance operations. Our well-established and flexible operational model supports this work by meeting the needs of partners rapidly and cost effectively.
Our Strategic Plan

Our Core Values

People-Centered

We support and care for people at every level of our service.

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Partnership

We strengthen impact by working closely with trusted partners.

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Diversity & Inclusion

We welcome diverse voices and foster an inclusive environment

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Accountability & Transparency

We are open, responsible, and committed to clear reporting.

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Efficiency

Quickly innovating to deliver solutions and maximize resources.

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Impact Driven

We prioritize real-world results and lasting change.

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Respect for the Environment

We act to minimize our footprint and protect the planet.

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Risk Mitigation

We prioritize safety and well-being, with clear risk management processes.

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Field Conduct Guidelines

Professional Standards in Crisis Missions

CANADEM staff uphold the highest standards of professionalism in diverse, challenging field settings, ensuring respect, accountability, and protection for vulnerable groups.
Awareness of Vulnerabilities

Stay mindful of the added risks faced by women and children in crisis situations, and act with extra care in all interactions.

Accountability to Communities

Always act in the best interests of affected populations, ensuring transparency, responsibility, and responsiveness to those we serve.

Zero Tolerance for Exploitation

Engaging in sexual services or relations with beneficiaries, dependents, or subordinates is strictly prohibited and grounds for dismissal.

Child Protection Commitment

Any sexual relations with children under 18 are forbidden, with no defence of mistaken age. Such actions may lead to prosecution.

Digital & Media Responsibility

Refrain from accessing, sharing, or storing inappropriate material. In today’s digital world, misconduct is easily tracked and exposed.

Respectful Communication

Use professional, respectful language at all times. Avoid offensive or abusive speech, remembering you represent CANADEM and its values.

Integrity in All Actions Taken

Do not give or accept bribes, engage in black-market activity, or allow any actions to suggest corruption or abuse of power.

Lawful and Safe Conduct Maintained

Follow all local laws. Never drink on duty, avoid narcotics, and always uphold behaviour that reflects responsibility and respect.

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Professional Standards

Code Of Conduct

Standards for ethical conduct and professional behaviour, ensuring respect and accountability.

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Protecting People

Safeguarding Policy

Outlines CANADEM’s commitment to protecting all people from harm, abuse, and exploitation.
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Fair Process

Complaints Policy

Provides a transparent process for raising and resolving complaints with fairness and accountability.
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Reporting Steps

Safeguarding Procedures

Details the reporting and response steps for handling safeguarding breaches responsibly and fairly.
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Safe Reporting

Malpractice Disclosure

Safe reporting of misconduct or malpractice, ensuring protection from any reprisals.

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CANADEM

CANADEM is an international not-for-profit NGO dedicated to advancing international peace and security through the rostering, rapid mobilization, and mission.

People-Centered Values
Our work is about deploying people to help people. It is therefore of paramount importance to us that we are all relating to individuals in our chain of service delivery in a way that is respectful, understanding, considerate, and that brings out the best in us. Our internal working context is designed to foster humanity, fairness and support among our staff, which in turn aims to foster those same qualities among the experts we deploy. We have invested in a team of individuals (our Duty of Care Team), who provide a safety net for those experts we deploy. By taking care of our staff members and our deployed experts, we ensure that we have an effective flow of communication between all aspects of our operation. Our experienced and motivated staff feel supported, and are in turn able to support our experts in times of stress and prevent any potential problems from occurring.
Partnership Values
The majority of our experts work within the assistance operations of our partners. Partnership is therefore of primary importance and value to us, and is key to the way we operate. Our many long-term relationships with other actors have been forged by promoting trust and understanding. The ability to work together with other actors, and not in competition, has allowed CANADEM to enhance the work of governments or organizations by injecting vital expertise, and targeting it where it is needed most. We believe that we can create a greater impact, when we work in partnership.
Diversity & Inclusion Values
Ensuring an inclusive workplace that integrates diversity in terms of gender, language, culture, ethnicity and religion, is of prime importance for CANADEM both internally and with regards to our work with partners. We have made significant progress in attracting experts from 178 countries around the world – including from countries that are recipients of international assistance – so that a diversity of perspectives, understanding and expertise may be integrated into all operations that CANADEM supports. From our fair and transparent selection process, to our supportive Duty of Care Team (which ensures that individuals deployed have the resources they need to feel comfortable and confident in their work), we have invested significant energy in fostering diversity and inclusion within our roster system, in our election monitoring deployments, and in our own direct implementation of programming, at headquarters and in the field.
Accountability & Transparency Values
From CANADEM’s earliest beginnings as a Government of Canada project, and during its rapid evolution into an independent NGO with its roots in international service, the principles of accountability and transparency have been a component of CANADEM’s DNA. Accountability for the use of public funds has been incorporated into procedures that needed to respond to the high standards of government. Transparency has been the vehicle to ensure the vital accountability that CANADEM maintains. CANADEM’s headquarters team is a well-trained group of committed individuals who believe in the important work they do – including the conviction that providing the best value possible to the communities and donors we serve is a primary component of our job. CANADEM’s rules and procedures are therefore established to ensure that every step of the way we are confident of our work, and can demonstrate its efficiency and effectiveness.
Efficiency
The objective of CANADEM’s leadership has always been to find the most innovative and cost-effective ways to contribute to communities in need, and not to place the growth of numbers and our budgets at the centre of our efforts. As a result, we have adopted a light footprint in terms of our human resources complement and infrastructure, making use of the latest technology, and empowering our small team to be as innovative and flexible in solving problems as our procedures allow. Our structures allow us to scale up and down as required, and for staff to work in different teams, according to the needs of the moment. Our 30 years of experience has taught us what our core capacities are and how to allocate precious resources.
Impact Driven
CANADEM has always valued the positive impact we make in the world as a foundation of our work. It is this guiding principle that has led us to form lasting partnerships, in support of other entities, if we feel they can add greater value than we can at CANADEM. Searching for our comparative advantage, while avoiding falling into a simple race to find funding opportunities, is therefore essential to CANADEM. As we see an increasing number of individuals suffering from the consequences of conflict in the world, and prepare for even greater numbers of environmental disasters, the need to prioritise the areas where we can make a real difference and combine our efforts with like-minded entities, is vital to achieving success.
Respect for the environment
An ever-increasing awareness that caring for the environment is the responsibility of us all, regardless of our area of expertise or profession, has propelled CANADEM to place more focus on our own global footprint as well as that of our sector. During this Period, we have embarked on a challenge to enhance our learning regarding the environment and how we interact with it – including efforts to create a baseline and targets for improving how we deal with our natural environment. We are therefore making a conscious and transparent effort to measure and manage the way we affect the natural world around us, hopefully becoming better caretakers along the way.