Some of the preliminary conclusions of the multi-donor Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda[5] were critical of the performance of humanitarian agencies in the Great Lakes crisis.

A number of agencies felt that it was time to get their own houses in order and explored the idea of formulating standards for humanitarian response.

Simultaneously, in 1996, discussions were taking place within InterAction and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) about a project for setting standards.

Sponsors: Observers: The original objective of the Sphere Project was to develop a humanitarian charter and associated set of minimum standards in collaboration with leading NGOs, interested donor governments and UN agencies, to both disseminate the resultant products widely within the international humanitarian system and to encourage their formal adoption and practice by relief agencies and their donors.

The sector committees were made up of experts drawn not only from NGOs, but also from the Red Cross and Inter-governmental agencies such as the UNHCR, WHO, and WFP.

[8] The intention of the project was that the setting up of minimum standards would help to improve accountability and the overall quality of humanitarian response to those affected by disasters.

In June 2018, Sphere launched a membership campaign,[15] inviting humanitarian organisations to formally participate in its governance.

[17] The Sphere standards are periodically revised to make sure the Handbook reflects new evidence and evolving practice in the humanitarian sector.

[19] The aim of the Partnership is to improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action across all sectors and a harmonized approach to support the user in the application of standards.

Although generally well accepted, a number of criticisms have been levelled against Sphere both in terms of its humanitarian charter and minimum standards.

[27] A second criticism has been that Sphere’s “one size fits all” approach prevents humanitarians from adapting to the diverse cultural, political and security contexts in which they operate.

While Sphere does promote close consultation with the affected populations, it imposes very detailed standards that may differ from the wishes of beneficiaries.