Up to standard: The role of evidence in the Sphere Standard revision process

3.5m squared per crisis-affected person. 15 litres of water per person, per day. These indicators, part of the Sphere Standards, are used around the world every day by humanitarians. But how are standards of quality established? Are they based on evidence? Why does it matter?

Now undergoing their third revision, the Sphere Standards have become the most internationally recognised set of standards for humanitarian response, and those using them assume they have been decided based on the best available facts and evidence. For our fifth webinar in the Bridging the Evidence Gap series, ALNAP and key actors in the Sphere revision process discussed the sources behind the standards and discuss the gaps in evidence for informing quality standards.