Our Values
These are the values that stand at the base of the EAGLE Network to be adhered to on an organizational and personal level by the Network, its projects and activists. Diverting from our core values carries harsh consequences as immediate dismissal of personnel or revocation of organization membership.
1. Activism – the belief of the individual’s ability and responsibility to affect a change in their community. Patriotism and care for one’s environment and participating in shaping its future. The model of activism that EAGLE promotes is not sector bound and tightly connected to development of leadership and the role of each activists to conceive and participate in new fights. EAGLE activists do not see their posts as a job but as a mission and our mission not as a project but as a fight.
2. Innovation – the value of conceiving new ideas and inventing new solutions. Putting importance in encouraging new opinions, and creativity of our activists. Enhancing the difference and uniqueness of EAGLE and trying to be “ahead of the curve” and not chasing it. This is connected to the values of critical thinking individualism and non-conformism that constantly challenge current thought in order to produce new ideas.
3. Courage – this value is a necessity for our risky daily work and stems from deep passion and a sense of purpose that comes from fighting for a just cause. But this value also applies for moral courage – the courage to do and say the right thing even when its unpopular or leads to conflict. Change is friction, friction is conflict. Activist’s fight is therefore abundant with conflict.
4. Integrity – this value upholds us to a higher moral ground. Total Honesty, high ethics, high social morality and moral consistency are all pillars of this value. Whether during work or outside it frankness and sincerity are expected even in the most challenging circumstances.
5. Solidarity & Comradeship – this value is connected to empathy, but stronger in showing that the pain or happiness of a member of the group is shared throughout the group. Solidarity by itself is not connected to the ability of one member to assist the other but is an enhanced emotional, sometimes irrational, connection between the members of the group. Comradeship manifests itself in willing to take significant risk to stand by another member of the group. Activists will act out of fraternity and devotion to their comrades, and will always go to their assistance when they need their help or depend on them, despite any danger or difficulty.
6. Action & Initiative – this value puts emphasis on the responsibility of the individual to act and react constantly rather than wait for instructions. When the activist is unable to seek approval from his hierarchy – this value directs to take initiative and act rather than wait. Activists are encouraged to lead, seek more responsibility, conceive and apply new ways of action. The hidden cost of “lack of decision” is rarely calculated in its appropriate weight against the risk of taking a bad decision. This value pushes against this bias of passivity with a simple phrase: “In case of doubt – act”.
7. Efficiency – Money and Time are both precious resources. EAGLE is a vocal critic against the norms of waste and mismanagement in the NGO sector. Public funds must be accountable for in a far more rigorous manner than private funds, and we should be in a constant strive to minimize the costs of our work. EAGLE activists should not take part in practices that are considered a diversion from this (ie – refusal to sign any perdiem). Efficiency of time is the constant strive to minimize the time invested in order to achieve a specific objective. Systems, therefore should always be improved in this view.
8. Effectiveness – This value is based on our vast criticism on lack of measurable standards for tangible quantified results in the NGO sector. Results and output on the individual, departmental, organizational and Network levels should be measured, quantified and assessed against clear tangible expected achievements on a monthly basis. Effectiveness should be increased each month based on past assessment.
9. Self improvement - the culture of admitting one’s mistakes and viewing them as an opportunity for learning and improving. Rather than defending one’s image and self esteem, EAGLE activists are expected to search for their own faults and errors and present them with pride as an integral part of self-improvement.
10. Perfectionism – low tolerance for mediocrity and the constant need to excel in any assignment, big or minor. Maintaining high level of professionalism and exercising diligence precision and high level of organization in any undertaking.
11. Transparency - Any information in EAGLE should be made public and posted unless a specific reason for its exception is stated and accepted. Issues of management decisions and finance are always transparent. EAGLE activists are encouraged to challenge their managers upholding the value of transparency in any aspect of our work. Information that represents a security risk or risking an ongoing investigation is an exception.
12. Accountability – All financial handling should be accounted for publically on a monthly basis, in the most detailed manner. But this value does not refer only to finance and carries a broader definition of accountability to the principle of ensuring consequences to individual actions so that errors, poor achievements, violations of regulations etc. are answerable and carry directs costs to the individual.
13. Human dignity – the respect of basic human rights and the dignity of every human being regardless to race, gender, religion or ethnic group they belong to. The principle of equality should be adhered to with no discrimination – whether towards colleagues or towards suspects.
