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CHAPTER 1

What is Sphere?

The Sphere Project and its Handbook are well known for introducing considerations of quality and accountability to humanitarian response. But what are the origins of the Sphere Project? What are its philosophy and approach? How and why was this Handbook conceived? What is its place in the wider realm of humanitarian action? And who should use it and when? This chapter strives to provide some answers to these key questions. Furthermore, it details the Handbook structure and explains how to use it and how you or your organisation can conform to the Sphere minimum standards.

The Sphere Project philosophy: The right to life with dignity

The Sphere Project – or 'Sphere' – was initiated in 1997 by a group of humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Their aim was to improve the quality of their actions during disaster response and to be held accountable for them. They based Sphere's philosophy on two core beliefs: first, that those affected by disaster or conflict have a right to life with dignity and, therefore, a right to assistance; and second, that all possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of disaster or conflict.

Striving to support these two core beliefs, the Sphere Project framed a Humanitarian Charter and identified a set of minimum standards in key life-saving sectors which are now reflected in the Handbook's four technical chapters: water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion; food security and nutrition; shelter, settlement and non-food items; and health action. The Core Standards are process standards and apply to all technical chapters.

The minimum standards are evidence-based and represent sector-wide consensus on best practice in humanitarian response. Key actions, key indicators and guidance notes (described in the 'How to use the standards' section below) accompany each standard, providing guidance on how to attain the standard.

The minimum standards describe conditions that must be achieved in any humanitarian response in order for disaster-affected populations to survive and recover in stable conditions and with dignity. The inclusion of affected populations in the consultative process lies at the heart of Sphere's philosophy. The Sphere Project, consequently, was one of the first of what are now known as the quality and accountability (Q&A) initiatives.

The Humanitarian Charter and the minimum standards are published together as a Handbook, the latest edition of which you are reading now. The Sphere Handbook is designed for planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation during humanitarian response. It is also an effective advocacy tool when negotiating for humanitarian space and for the provision of resources with authorities. Furthermore, it is useful for disaster preparedness activities and contingency planning, with donors increasingly including the standards in their reporting requirements.

Because it is not owned by any one organisation, the Handbook enjoys broad acceptance by the humanitarian sector as a whole. It has become one of the most widely known and internationally recognised sets of standards for humanitarian response and is used as an inter-agency communication and coordination tool.

First published in 2000, the Handbook was revised in 2003 and again in 2009–2010. During each revision process, sector-wide consultations were conducted, involving a wide range of agencies, organisations and individuals, including governments and United Nations (UN) agencies.

The principal users of the Sphere Handbook are practitioners involved in planning, managing or implementing a humanitarian response. This includes staff and volunteers of local, national and international humanitarian agencies. In the context of fund-raising and project proposals, the minimum standards are also frequently referred to.

Other actors, such as government and local authorities, the military or the private sector, are also encouraged to use the Sphere Handbook. It may be useful in guiding their own actions, but also in helping them to understand the standards used by the humanitarian agencies with whom they may interact.

The Handbook: A reflection of Sphere's values

The Handbook structure reflects Sphere's aim to firmly anchor humanitarian response in a rights-based and participatory approach.

Humanitarian Charter, Protection Principles and Core Standards

The Humanitarian Charter, the Protection Principles and the Core Standards articulate Sphere's rights-based and people-centred approach to humanitarian response. They focus on the importance of including the affected population and local and national authorities at all stages of the response. The Protection Principles and Core Standards are grouped together at the beginning of the Handbook so as to avoid repeating them in each technical chapter. Sphere users, including specialists in one particular technical area, must consider them as an integral part of these chapters.

The cornerstone of the Handbook is the Humanitarian Charter (accompanied by a descriptive list of key legal and policy documents in Annex 1, click here). It provides the ethical and legal backdrop to the Protection Principles, as well as to the Core Standards and minimum standards, thereby setting the stage for their correct interpretation and implementation. It is a statement of established legal rights and obligations and of shared beliefs and commitments of humanitarian agencies, all collected in a set of common principles, rights and duties. Founded on the principle of humanity and the humanitarian imperative, these include the right to life with dignity, the right to receive humanitarian assistance and the right to protection and security. The Charter also emphasises the importance of agency accountability to affected communities. The Core Standards and minimum standards are an articulation of what these principles and obligations mean in practice.

The Humanitarian Charter explains why both assistance and protection are critical pillars of humanitarian action. To further develop this protection aspect, the Handbook includes a set of Protection Principles, which translates several of the legal principles and rights outlined in the Charter into strategies and actions that should inform humanitarian practice from a protection perspective. Protection is a core part of humanitarian action and the Protection Principles point to the responsibility of all humanitarian agencies to ensure that their activities are concerned with the more severe threats that affected people commonly face in times of conflict or disaster.

All humanitarian agencies should ensure that their actions do not bring further harm to affected people (Protection Principle 1), that their activities benefit in particular those who are most affected and vulnerable (Protection Principle 2), that they contribute to protecting affected people from violence and other human rights abuses (Protection Principle 3) and that they help affected people recover from abuses (Protection Principle 4). The roles and responsibilities of humanitarian agencies in protection are, generally, secondary to the legal responsibility of the state or other relevant authorities. Protection often involves reminding these authorities of their responsibilities.

The Core Standards are the first set of minimum standards and inform all others. They describe how the processes and approaches taken during a humanitarian response are fundamental to an effective response. A focus on the capacity and active participation of those affected by disaster or conflict, a comprehensive analysis and understanding of needs and context, effective coordination among agencies, a commitment to continually improving performance, and appropriately skilled and supported aid workers are all essential in order to attain the technical standards.

The Protection Principles and Core Standards are grouped together at the beginning of the Handbook so as to avoid repeating them in each technical chapter. They underpin all humanitarian activity and must be used in conjunction with the technical chapters. They are critical to achieving the technical standards in a spirit of quality and accountability to the affected populations.

The Core Standards and the minimum standards in four technical chapters

The Core Standards and minimum standards cover approaches to programming and four sets of life-saving activities: water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion; food security and nutrition; shelter, settlement and non-food items; and health action.

How to use the standards

The Core Standards and minimum standards follow a specific format. They begin with a general and universal statement – the minimum standard – followed by a series of key actions, key indicators and guidance notes.

First, the minimum standard is stated. Each standard is derived from the principle that disaster-affected populations have the right to life with dignity. They are qualitative in nature and specify the minimum levels to be attained in humanitarian response. Their scope is universal and applicable in any disaster situation. They are, therefore, formulated in general terms.

Next, practical key actions are suggested, to attain the minimum standard. Some actions may not be applicable in all contexts, and it is up to the practitioner to select the relevant actions and devise alternative actions that will result in the standard being met.

Then, a set of key indicators serves as 'signals' that show whether a standard has been attained. They provide a way of measuring and communicating the processes and results of key actions. The key indicators relate to the minimum standard, not to the key action.

Finally, guidance notes include context-specific points to consider when aiming at reaching the key actions and key indicators. They provide guidance on tackling practical difficulties, benchmarks or advice on priority and cross-cutting themes. They may also include critical issues relating to the standards, actions or indicators and describe dilemmas, controversies or gaps in current knowledge. They do not provide guidance as to how to implement a specific activity.

Brief introductions to each chapter set out the major relevant issues. The technical minimum standards chapters further contain appendices including, for example, assessment checklists, formulas, tables and examples of report forms. Each chapter ends with references and suggestions for further reading. A detailed glossary for each of the Handbook chapters is available on the Sphere website (www.sphereproject.org).

All the chapters are interconnected. Frequently, standards described in one sector need to be addressed in conjunction with standards described in others. As a result, the Handbook contains numerous cross-references.

Conforming with the Sphere minimum standards

The Sphere Handbook is a voluntary code and a self-regulatory tool for quality and accountability, and the Sphere Project does not operate any compliance mechanism. There is no such thing as 'signing up' to Sphere, a Sphere membership or any process of accreditation. The Sphere Project has consciously opted for the Handbook not to be prescriptive or compliance-oriented, in order to encourage the broadest possible ownership of the Handbook.

The Handbook does not offer practical guidance on how to provide certain services (the key actions suggest activities to reach a standard without specifying how to do that). Rather, it explains what needs to be in place in order to ensure a life with dignity for the affected population. It is, therefore, up to each implementing agency to choose a system to ensure conformance with the Sphere minimum standards. Some agencies have used purely internal mechanisms, while others have opted for peer review. Some agency networks have used Sphere to evaluate their collective response in particular emergencies.

Conforming with Sphere does not mean meeting all the standards and indicators. The degree to which agencies can meet standards will depend on a range of factors, some of which are outside their control. Sometimes difficulties of access to the affected population, lack of cooperation from the authorities or severe insecurity make standards impossible to meet.

If the general living conditions of an affected population were already significantly below the minimum standards before the disaster, agencies may have insufficient resources to meet the standards. In such situations, providing basic facilities for the entire affected population may be more important than reaching the minimum standards for only a proportion.

Sometimes the minimum standards may exceed everyday living conditions for the surrounding population. Adhering to the standards for disaster-affected populations remains essential. But such situations may also indicate the need for action in support of the surrounding population and for dialogue with community leaders. What is appropriate and feasible will depend on the context.

In cases where the standards cannot be met, humanitarian agencies should:

- describe in their reports (assessment, evaluation, etc.) the gap between the relevant Sphere indicators and the ones reached in practice

- explain the reasons for this and what needs to be changed

- assess the negative implications for the affected population

- take appropriate mitigating actions to minimise the harm caused by these implications.

By committing to the above steps, agencies demonstrate that they are conforming with Sphere's philosophy and its minimum standards even if they are unable to meet them as set out in the Handbook.

The place of Sphere within humanitarian action

The Sphere Handbook is designed for use during humanitarian response in a range of situations including natural disasters, conflict, slow- and rapid-onset events, rural and urban environments, and complex political emergencies in all countries. The term 'disaster' encompasses these situations, and where appropriate, the term 'conflict' is used. 'Population' refers to individuals, families, communities and broader groups. Consequently, we commonly use 'disaster-affected population' throughout the Handbook.

When to use this Handbook

Focusing on the period of humanitarian response, the Sphere minimum standards cover activities which meet the urgent survival needs of disaster-affected populations. This phase can range from a few days or weeks to many months and even years, particularly in contexts involving protracted insecurity and displacement. It is, therefore, impossible to assign a particular timeframe to the usefulness of the Sphere standards.

The Handbook does, however, have a specific place within the broader realm of humanitarian action, which goes beyond providing immediate relief and covers a spectrum of activities that starts with disaster preparedness, then includes humanitarian response, and finally extends into early recovery. As a reference tool, the Handbook is useful in both the disaster preparedness and the early recovery phases which conceptually 'frame' humanitarian response but in reality need to be considered simultaneously.

Disaster preparedness requires that actors – governments, humanitarian agencies, local civil society organisations, communities and individuals – have the capacities, relationships and knowledge to prepare for and respond effectively to disaster or conflict. Before and during a response, they should start taking actions that will improve preparedness and reduce risk for the future. They should be prepared, at least, to meet the Sphere minimum standards during a future disaster.

Early recovery is the process following relief and leading into long-term recovery and is most effective if anticipated and facilitated from the very outset of a humanitarian response. Recognising the importance of early recovery, the Handbook makes reference to it throughout and as appropriate.

Developments in the humanitarian sector and their implications for Sphere

A number of developments in the humanitarian sector and other relevant areas have arisen over the past few years, encompassing changes in the nature of disasters and conflicts, as well as of humanitarian work. The developments considered during the Handbook revision process include:

- a growing conceptual and operational focus on local and national responses with the awareness that affected populations must be consulted and the response capacities of the crisis-affected state and national agencies and institutions must be reinforced

- more proactive accountability of humanitarian action, in particular accountability to affected populations, but also more proactive coordination, including within the humanitarian reform process (cluster approach), under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

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Excerpted from "Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response"
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Copyright © 2011 The Sphere Project.
Excerpted by permission of The Sphere Project.
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