Sphere Annual Report 2016

The Sphere community continued to conduct capacity building activities in 2016, with some 640 practitioners trained worldwide.

The most significant development of the year was the establishment of Sphere as a non-profit association, transitioning from its history as a hosted project under the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and later the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).

Some 20 years after the inception of the Sphere idea, this coming of age reflects the sustained relevance of Sphere for a humanitarian sector that continues to evolve and expand to meet growing and diverse needs.

The new Sphere organisation was constituted in Geneva on 28 September and began to function independently from 1 January 2017. The creation of a General Assembly, elected Executive Board and Officers with a Secretariat led by an Executive Director implies significant changes in governance which will be addressed by the interim Board before the first General Assembly in early 2018.

Sphere continued to pursue the development of a robust and inclusive network of humanitarian practitioners. Through 47 country focal points and one regional partner, the Sphere network was active in 44 countries, representing an overall growth of more than 25 per cent from the previous year.

The revision of the Sphere Handbook began with a series of surveys and scoping exercises. The process builds on the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit as well as on research, conducted by partners, which identified several drivers of change in humanitarian response.

The timeliness of the revision was confirmed as was a shift to a more cash-based response, increasing attention to urban contexts, improved practice in accountability and more diverse humanitarian actors.

Consultations on the revision of the Sphere standards are taking place in 2017, with the fourth edition of the Handbook scheduled for publication in 2018, coinciding with its 20th anniversary.

A series of interim resources and guidance facilitated the work of Sphere practitioners with the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) on Quality and Accountability pending its full integration into the Sphere Handbook in 2018.

Sphere participated in the World Humanitarian Summit in May. In Istanbul, Sphere continued advocating for a common framework of quality standards, a common operational language and a comprehensive global framework for humanitarian policy and practice.

The formalisation of the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP) resulted in clear outcomes in 2016, with a shared identity and early work on a smartphone application to support aid workers’ access to and use of the standards. During the year, two HSP members revised their standards. The full involvement of other HSP members contributed to building greater coherence among their standards.

Sphere’s comprehensive communications supported the organisation’s strategic goals, reaching an ever-growing audience from social media followers to website users to newsletter subscribers. Research found a high level of reader satisfaction among newsletter subscribers.

A comprehensive budget and work plan aligned with the Sphere 2020 strategy and Board-endorsed priorities guided both fundraising and management. The secretariat maintains a small staff of six members, with generous support from an increasingly diverse group of donors.