The first two sections of this paper – History and Overview of current options – were commissioned by the Sphere Project at the request of the Sphere Board, and were written by Manohar Shenoy, independent consultant. Section 3 of the paper, Potential contribution from Sphere, was prepared by the Sphere Office, based on a paper prepared for CARE by Sean Lowrie, Clare Smith and Sally Austin (see footnote 17). Section 4, An Accreditation/Certification System - how could Sphere fit in?, was prepared by the Sphere Office. This paper is intended to serve mainly as a basis for discussions about the Sphere position/role within any future accreditation/certification system.