Sphere Project
= Sphere is an open source document on the coordination of humanitarian aid produced by a commons. [1]
URL = http://www.sphereproject.org
Description
Via David Week:
"The Sphere Project is a voluntary initiative that brings a wide range of humanitarian agencies together around a common aim - to improve the quality of humanitarian assistance and the accountability of humanitarian actors to their constituents, donors and affected populations.
The Sphere Handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, is one of the most widely known and internationally recognized sets of common principles and universal minimum standards in life-saving areas of humanitarian response.
"Established in 1997, the Sphere Project is not a membership organization. Governed by a Board composed of representatives of global networks of humanitarian agencies, the Sphere Project today is a vibrant community of humanitarian response practitioners."
The first stages of a humanitarian response may have crucial consequences for the longer-term recovery that should begin once the crisis has subsided. If not properly done, economic development programs can do more harm than good."
More Information
- the Sphere Handbook: http://www.sphereproject.org/silo/files/the-sphere-project-in-brief.pdf
- Whereas originally, the Sphere community was focused solely on humanitarian response, it has recently started to look at economic recovery: http://www.sphereproject.org/news/mainstreaming-economic-recovery-into-humanitarian-response-programming/