Project Manager: Nan Buzard

Training Manager: Sean Lowrie

Project Officer: Veronica Foubert

Project Senior Assistant: Elly Proudlock

InterAction | Save the Children Alliance | CARE International | The Lutheran World Federation (ACT) | Voluntary Organisations in Cooperation in Emergencies (VOICE) | Mercy Corps | Action by Churches Together (ACT) | Oxfam GB | Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response | International Committee of the Red Cross | International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent | International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) | Caritas Internationalis

In addition to contributions by the member organisations listed above, funding for the Sphere Project was provided by:

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) | The Belgian Ministry of Development | The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) | Caritas Spain | Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) | The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) | The Finnish Government Development Agency (FINIDA) | The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) | The Ford Foundation | Development Cooperation Ireland (DCI) | The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Humanitarian Aid Division | The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade | The Foreign Ministry of Norway | The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) | The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) | The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) | The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) | The United States Department of State Bureau of Refugees and Migration (US-PRM) | The United States Agency for International Development Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (US-OFDA)

Technical Chapter Focal Points

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion: Andy Bastable, Oxfam GB

Food Security: Helen Young, Tufts University

Nutrition: Anna Taylor, Save the Children UK

Food Aid: John Solomon, CARE USA and NM Prusty, CARE India

Shelter, Settlement and Non-Food Items: Graham Saunders, Catholic Relief Services

Health Services: Richard J Brennan, International Rescue Committee

Common Standards: in addition to the focal points and cross-cutters, the following contributed to this chapter: Jock Baker, Nan Buzard, Jim Good, Maurice Henderson, Susanne Jaspars, Charles Kelly, Ron Ockwell, Sylvie Robert

Children: Jane Gibreel, Save the Children UK

Older People: Nadia Saim, HelpAge International

Disabled People: Beverly Ashton, Action on Disability and Development

Gender: Rosemarie McNairn, Oxfam GB

Protection: Ed Schenkenberg, ICVA

HIV/AIDS: Paul Spiegel, UNHCR/CDC

Environment: Mario Pareja, CARE/UNHCR

Handbook Revision Meetings Facilitator: Isobel McConnan

Editor: David Wilson

The Sphere standards and indicators are built on the collective experience and good practice of individuals and agencies active in many different areas of humanitarian work. As with the first edition of the handbook, this revision would have been impossible to undertake without the collaboration of many people around the world. In all, thousands of individuals in 80 countries, representing more than 400 agencies, participated in the process, volunteering significant time and expertise.

The emphasis throughout the development of the handbook was on consultation, with networks of peer review groups involved at all stages of the process. In particular, aid workers based in countries where disasters are a regular occurrence, and who are using the handbook in the field, provided detailed feedback. The result does not represent the view of any one agency. Rather, it represents the active and deliberate will of the humanitarian community to join together to share an extensive body of experience and learning, in an effort to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action. Thanks to all who helped to make this a reality.

While Sphere gratefully acknowledges the contribution of everyone who has participated, both in the original handbook and in this revision, it would take more than 40 pages to list individual names and space does not allow this.