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The Core Humanitarian Standard: Second Period of Consultation Launched

HAP, People In Aid and The Sphere Project initiated the CHS process in June 2013. The Sphere Project is now renewing its involvement in a robust process to achieve an inclusive and broadly owned Core Humanitarian Standard. HAP and People In Aid welcome Sphere’s involvement.

The second version of the CHS is the result of five months’ extensive consultation with humanitarian actors worldwide to determine the terminology, language, content and structure the Standard should adopt. Online surveys, face-to-face consultations, focus groups and a range of other feedback mechanisms were used. Written comments were received from almost 300 sources, both individuals and organisations, including 142 agencies worldwide. In addition, CHS consultation workshops were held in Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe, in which dozens of organisations shared their views.

The feedback and comments received were reviewed and discussed during a two-day meeting of the CHS Technical Advisory Group (TAG) comprising 62 representatives from across the humanitarian sector. The CHS Technical Steering Group (TSG), comprising 13 members of the TAG and responsible for overseeing the CHS process and the writing of the Standard, met immediately after the TAG meeting. Version 2 of the CHS is a result of this consultation.

During June to September, this new version of the CHS will be field tested through a structured methodology at the project and programme level to analyse how it works in practice. Feedback will also be sought through remote scenario testing, online tools and regional workshops. For more information about the process and how to get involved, please go to CoreHumanitarianStandard.org. More detailed information will be available on 27 June 2014.

Testing of this version of the CHS will continue until mid-September. All the comments, advice and feedback from the testing will be used by an independent writing group to prepare a revised version.

During October there will be an open consultation on this revised version, prior to a meeting of the TAG and TSG which will take consultation feedback into account and approve the CHS on behalf of the humanitarian sector.

Once approved by the TAG, the final version of CHS will be endorsed by the Boards of HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project.

The final, approved version of the CHS will be presented to the sector at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on 12th December 2014 where it will be officially launched.

It is the intention of the three initiatives’ Boards that the Core Humanitarian Standard will replace the HAP Standard, the People In Aid Code of Good Practice and the Core Standards section of the Sphere Handbook.

The three initiatives will continue to maintain a process that ensures the integrity and quality of this standard, and will make it available and appropriate for those who maintain voluntary adherence to standards, and for those who wish to use it as a baseline for external verification.

  • Read more about .
  • Read more about decisiones made at the Sphere Project Board meeting in New York City: .