Sphere Companionship
Linking the Sphere Revision and INEE Minimum Standards Update
The concurrent update of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies’ Handbook of Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (2004 edition) and the revision of the Sphere Project’s Handbook - Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (2004 edition) are now underway. In line with the Sphere/INEE Companionship Agreement, we are seeking to ensure as many linkages as possible between the update and revision processes. Specific activities include mutual representation in the respective revision structures and processes, with the objective of mainstreaming education and references to the INEE Minimum Standards throughout the Sphere Handbook and strengthening inter-sectoral linkages and references to the Sphere Handbook in the INEE Minimum Standards Handbook. In addition, reference will also be made in both publications to the companion relationship and complementarity between the Sphere and INEE standards.
If you would like to provide specific suggestions on how to best mainstream education in the next edition of the Sphere Handbook and strengthen the linkages between the two sets os standards, you may:
- Conduct a local/regional or community level consultation meeting. Guidance on running consultations is available here. Feedback should be provided at the latest by 30 November 2009.
- Provide feedback to Allison Anderson (INEE), email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and Avishan Chanani (Sphere), email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
A Partnership to Promote Quality and Accountability in Humanitarian Response
On 22 October 2008, INEE and the Sphere Project announced a companionship agreement whereby Sphere acknowledges the quality of the INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction and of the broad consultative process that led to their development. As such, the Sphere Project recommends that the INEE Minimum Standards be used as companion and complementing standards to the Sphere Handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response.
Download the 1 Year Anniversary Flyer.
Download the original Companionship Flyer.
About the Sphere and INEE Companionship
To read the about the Sphere and INEE Companionship and what companionship entails, visit the About the Sphere and INEE Companionship page.
The Sphere and INEE Secretariats jointly produced a paper titled: Integrating Quality Education With Humanitarian Response For Humanitarian Accountability: The Sphere-INEE Companionship" in September 2009. The paper describes the history and implications of the Companionship agreement and can be downloaded here.
In its capacity as Focal Point for Education in the Sphere Handbook Revision Process, the INEE Secretariat developed an online survey to gather information regarding how education is currently represented in the Sphere Minimum Standards for Disaster Response and how it should be represented in the 2010 edition of the Sphere Handbook. The survey was open for a period of 12 days, from 19 August – 31 August 2009 and was filled out by 109 respondents in 43 countries and 47 different organizations. Read the survey report here.
INEE has developed a matrix showing the linkages between the INEE Minimum Standards and the Sphere Standards. Download in English and Francais.
Quality and Accountability Initiatives
In recent years, several Quality and Accountability (Q&A) initiatives have developed tools and training materials but there is a lack of materials presenting this work in a clear and integrated manner. Therefore, the Sphere Project hired a team of consultants to develop a paper on "Exploring ways to understand different Quality and Accountability Initiatives for enhanced humanitarian assistance" aimed at field practitioners and policy-makers. To learn more about Quality and Accountability Initiatives, visit the Quality and Accountability page.
Submit a Case Study
In July 2009, INEE Issued a listserv message titled "Moving Forward the Sphere and INEE Companionship: Call for Case Studies on Intersectoral Approaches to Education." As part of the operationalization of the Sphere-INEE Companionship agreement, this initiative aims to build an evidence base which all members can use to inform policy, advocacy, tools, training and best practices. Click here to read and participate in call.
