Sphere and six other humanitarian standard initiatives formally joined to establish the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP). The aim of the Partnership is to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action across all sectors and a harmonised approach to support users in the application of standards.

The HSP organises joint training opportunities, research initiatives, and outreach activities. It also runs advocacy activities calling for an increased application of humanitarian standards.

The initiatives which compose the HSP are:

• The Sphere Handbook (Sphere)
• Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action / CPMS (Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action)
• Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS)
• Minimum Economic Recovery Standards / MERS (SEEP Network)
• Minimum Standards for Education (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies / INEE)
• Minimum Standard for Market Analysis / MISMA (Cash Learning Partnership / CaLP)
• Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities (HelpAge International, Age and Disability Capacity Program / ADCAP)