Around Sphere in 60 days
Sphere Project Newsletter No. 5 – July 2000
Welcome. The aim of this newsletter is to inform people about the work
of the project and to encourage discussion related to the use of and implications
of the Humanitarian Charter, and Minimum Standards and Key Indicators.
We are actively seeking 1000-2000 word articles on the concept, practice and
issues related to quality and accountability for future editions of this newsletter.
If you would like to submit an article please contact the Project office in
Geneva at 41-22-730-4501 or buzard@ifrc.org.
Minimum Standards inspire creativity
The new name of this newsletter (around Sphere in 60 days) indicates that we
aspire to write one every two months. The time since our last newsletter
however, is an indication of the sheer volume of work that the Project Office
has undertaken in the last few months. Field workshops, presentations,
publications, work with the pilot agencies, research, training of trainers and
planning for a third and final phase are examples of the tasks at hand.
This is in addition to a growing amount of correspondence that arrives at the
project office from around the world as people obtain a copy of the handbook
(now in its second printing since January) and share their experiences with
us.
Increasingly the news we receive indicates that the humanitarian community is creatively thinking about how the handbook can be used as a tool in various contexts. For example, Oxfam in Sri Lanka has set up a post with a job description to bring IDP camps up to Sphere Standards. India is moving on apace with the plan to set up a rapid response team in the context of Sphere and is keen to work with other pilots on the training programme. And the India-based Disaster Management Institute has drawn up booklets on logistics and procurement in relation to Sphere.
We are also receiving a growing number of offers of collaboration from academic institutions, NGOs and other actors to research the application of the handbook in different contexts. The Sphere team act as catalysts in a growing process of improving quality through the use of the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards. Consequently while we may not be able to participate in many of the exciting initiatives that are starting up around the world, we will do our best to tell you about them through this newsletter and through our website, www.sphereproject.org
Table of Contents
1. Handbook languages
2. New information on the website
3. Piloting experiences
4. Training of trainers
5. Workshop reports
6. Update on accountability research
7. Phase III of the Sphere project
8. Interesting articles on improving humanitarian quality and accountability.
9. Guest contributor: Some thoughts on accountability
1. Handbook
· A second printing of the handbook was undertaken after 5500 copies
of the handbook sold out in the first four months of 2000. The new edition
contains an index and clearer page numbering.
· The UK Disasters Emergencies Committee (DEC) funded a Portuguese language
translation of the handbook and training materials. This brings us to
a total of five languages (English, French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese)
that are now available from Oxfam Publishing. (publish@oxfam.org.uk)
2. Website news: www.sphereproject.org
· The website now offers a choice of three languages (French, Spanish
and English)
· Additional materials are available on the website including workshop
reports, case studies, and drafts of some of the training modules.
· The number of hits increases each month to over 20,000 in the month
of May for a total of over 170,000 since inception in January 1999.
3. Piloting experiences
· Most piloting agencies have met with the Sphere implementation team
and workplans drafted
· The team addresses the following issues when meeting with pilot
· An analysis of how the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards resonate
with organisational culture, policies and priorities is necessary when
determining how to gain commitment within all parts of an organisation
· The extent of integration of the HC/MS into organisational policies
and strategies
· Plans for training and dissemination of the HC/MS
· Experience and ideas on implementation around the project cycle
4. Our first training of trainers (TOT) workshop was held in Geneva during the first week of May 2000. Over 40 people attended, representing tremendous diversity and depth of experience. The evaluations reflected the TOT’s success and many suggestions were made on the training materials, and implementation ideas were shared amongst participants. A proportion of the participants are training consultants and are available to conduct workshops using the Sphere training materials. Please refer to the website.
5. Since the last newsletter over 400 people have participated in interagency workshops held in Pristina, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Kigali, Bujumbura, San Salvador and Sarajevo. There is one workshop planned for the remainder of this project phase – Maputo in Portuguese in September. For more information contact Philip Wijmans at the Lutheran World Federation in Maptuo (philip@lwfmoz.uem.mz)
6. Compliance Research
During the course of this research we renamed it Increasing Accountability as
it is a far more appropriate title! The research has been completed and includes
a taxonomy of various compliance and accountability mechanisms currently existing,
an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each mechanism, and finally,
suggested actions that could be undertaken to strengthen accountability within
the NGO sector. The two main suggestions resulting from the research are, one,
improvement in the quality and transparency of NGO internal monitoring and evaluations
and two, joint assessments/evaluations by NGOs in the field. Please contact
the office (sphere@ifrc.org) if you are interested in this report.
7. The Sphere Management Committee has approved a
final and third phase (Phase III) of the Sphere Project. A project
proposal has been completed and will soon be posted on the website. Some
of the key points of the plan include:
· Three year duration with a stepped phase-out of activities,
· Activities to include 15 interagency field workshops,
· Continued work with pilot agencies,
· A video that follows the program cycle and demonstrates the practical
application of the handbook in disaster response, and that will be relevant
beyond the end of the project,
· Production of a revised edition of the handbook in the last year of
the project
· An externally implemented evaluation of the project impact
8. Some interesting work on principles, standards
and international law can be found in the following:
- HGP report
on standards (www.odi.org.uk/hpg)
- World Disasters
Report Towards an international disaster response law (www.ifrc.org)
9. Guest column:
Since the publication of the Sphere handbook we have received many helpful and
diverse comments from a range of organisations. It is our intent to share these
perspectives and to further our intention of having Sphere act as a catalyst
for discussions about improved quality and accountability in disaster response.
The articles that appear represent the positions of their authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Sphere Management Committee or the staff.