Sphere and CHS Alliance will be co-locating from 1 March 2024 in a move designed to increase effectiveness and collaboration. Both network organisations are part of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) and have been working closely together on the revised version of the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) which will be launched on 21 March.
At the invitation of the CHS Alliance, Sphere moved from the World Council of Churches to the Geneva Humanitarian Hub, of which the CHS Alliance is a founding partner.
By taking this deliberate step to share office space, CHS Alliance and Sphere are demonstrating their joint commitment to deepening their partnership and collaboration in the years ahead.
Tanya Wood, Executive Director of the CHS Alliance, said:
“We’re looking forward to sharing our working space with colleagues at Sphere, as this will deepen the communication and collaboration that already exists across many of our teams. I also hope it will spark new opportunities for working together to advance our shared mission to build a more accountable aid system.”
William Anderson, Executive Director of Sphere, sharing this sentiment, added that,
“Sphere is genuinely grateful to the CHS Alliance for asking Sphere to join them working side-by-side in the same office. This bodes well for the future of humanitarian standards as we continue to stand together to advocate and give our support for greater quality and accountability in all humanitarian action”.
CHS Alliance is a global network of humanitarian and development organisations. It supports members to apply the Core Humanitarian Standard and to measure their progress towards meeting its nine commitments to crisis-affected people and communities.
Sphere, which has existed since 1997, defines, promotes and applies humanitarian principles and minimum standards to ensure lifesaving, protective and accountable response to crisis. Sphere is the author of the Humanitarian Charter, host of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP), and now the owner of the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS).
Along with Groupe URD, Sphere and CHS Alliance are co-hosts of the Core Humanitarian Standard.