Standards and Principles Index

Find third-party standards and guidance for humanitarian quality, NGO operations and digital work. Record which reference fits your question and what needs confirmation.

Editorial Status: draft
Page Type: Link List
Linked Entries: 17
Source Review: 2026-10-26
Corrections: by email

Editorial status: draft. Availability to read this page does not change its editorial status or establish external validation. The review scope and unverified items are stated on this page. A review date does not establish clinical, legal, security or field suitability. Check the publisher's current material and the requirements for your task.

Choose a Reference for a Specific Question

This index links third-party standards, codes, principles and related guidance for NGO and humanitarian work. Their purposes differ: a code for members, a technical data schema and an accounting standard are not interchangeable. Start with the question you need to resolve and the body responsible for that question.

The linked publisher landing pages were read on October 26, 2026. The descriptions identify what those pages offer; they do not establish compliance, certification, local legal applicability or permission to reuse the linked material. Linked documents were not all inspected. Check the actual document, version and reuse terms before use. This is a selection, not a complete inventory or a ranking.

Your Question	Start with This Group	Check Before Applying It
What quality or protection reference fits this response?	Humanitarian Quality and Protection	Sector, context, responsible technical lead and applicable local requirements.
Which organizational code or reporting reference is relevant?	Organizational Practice and Reporting	Jurisdiction, membership, reporting basis and the organization's commitments.
What should guide a digital project or sensitive-data decision?	Digital Work and Data Responsibility	Intended use, affected people, information sensitivity and responsible owner.
How is structured public data described?	Data Publication References	The specific schema, version, data purpose and what should not be published.

Humanitarian Quality and Protection

Reference	Publisher	What the Publisher Page Offers
Core Humanitarian Standard	The CHS publishers	Nine commitments concerning people and communities affected by crises, with links to the booklet and interactive handbook.
Sphere Handbook	Sphere	The Humanitarian Charter, protection principles and minimum standards across WASH, food security and nutrition, shelter and settlement, and health.
International Child Safeguarding Standards	Keeping Children Safe	Four organizational standards covering policy, people, procedures and accountability.
Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities	HelpAge International publication page	Standards, key actions and guidance addressing inclusion in emergency responses.
Security to go	Global Interagency Security Forum	A modular guide for basic safety, security and risk management systems in new contexts. The publisher states that it is not exhaustive.

These are reference starting points. A listing is not evidence that an organization meets the standard. For a safeguarding concern or immediate safety issue, use the organization's established reporting or emergency procedures and responsible people; this index is not a reporting channel.

Organizational Practice and Reporting

Reference	Publisher	Scope to Notice
ACFID Code of Conduct	Australian Council for International Development	A voluntary, self-regulatory code with member compliance responsibilities. Check membership and applicability rather than assuming it governs every NGO.
Global Standard for CSO Accountability	Accountable Now	A framework of 12 accountability commitments. The page notes a review ahead of a planned 2027 update; check the version you use.
Charter for Change	The Charter for Change NGO initiative	Eight commitments on changing humanitarian arrangements toward more locally led response. Read the actual commitments and the organization's own position before referring to them in a partnership discussion.
International Non-Profit Accounting Standard	International Non-Profit Reporting Foundation	INPAS and related financial-reporting resources. Ask the organization's accountant which reporting basis applies; availability of an international standard does not establish its adoption in your jurisdiction.
Charities SORP publication page	Charity Commission for England and Wales	UK charity-accounting guidance and links that distinguish reporting periods. This page is not a universal reporting rule for NGOs in other countries.

The applicability prompts are editorial checks. They do not determine legal, accounting or membership obligations for a particular organization.

Digital Work and Data Responsibility

Reference	Publisher	What You Can Find There
Principles for Digital Development	Principles for Digital Development	Principles for digital initiatives, including sustainability, people-first data practices and anticipating harm.
SAFE AI Framework	CDAC Network	A description of operational governance for AI in humanitarian action. The download asks for a short form; the framework file was not inspected for this index.
Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action	International Committee of the Red Cross	A handbook landing page and links concerning humanitarian data protection, including digital identity and AI.
OCHA Data Responsibility Guidelines 2025	OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data	The publisher entry linking its January 2025 guidelines. The linked file was not inspected for this index.
Responsible Data for Children	UNICEF and The GovLab	Principles, guidance and tools about responsible handling of data for and about children.

For an AI or data project, note the actual proposed use and the information involved before selecting a reference. Do not put personal records into an AI tool to find out which rules apply. Route a sensitive or uncertain case to the organization's responsible data, safeguarding or legal lead.

Data Publication References

Reference	Publisher	Scope
IATI Standard Reference, version 2.03	International Aid Transparency Initiative	Structured activity information, with fields for identifiers, dates, budgets and transactions. The link is to a specific version.
Open Contracting Data Standard	Open Contracting Partnership	A common data model for disclosing contracting data and documents, with a primer, implementation guidance and schema reference.

A data standard describes a structure. It does not decide whether particular information can safely or lawfully be published. See open data sources when you need datasets rather than a publication schema.

Existing HXL workflows: OCHA's HXL retirement notice states that support for HXL and related HDX tools ended January 31, 2026, and points to archives. It also states that the open standard remains available for internal workflows. Use the notice to understand an existing dependency; this index does not present the retired services as a current implementation option.

Keep a Reference Selection Note

For a team discussion, record the question, chosen reference and the uncertainty that still matters. This optional note helps someone else follow your choice; it is not an audit or certification checklist.

Field	Record
Question	The specific organizational, technical or reporting question.
Reference	Publisher, title, URL, version or date shown, section read and access date.
Reason for selection	Why its scope fits this question. Separate the publisher's stated scope from your judgment.
Applicability still to confirm	Jurisdiction, membership, contract, reporting period or technical context, as relevant.
Handoff	The responsible role to confirm the unresolved issue and the decision that remains open.

Fictional example: A small NGO is discussing software for volunteer scheduling. Its coordinator reads the Digital Principles as an early design reference and records the proposed use and the relevant section. The note says, "This helps frame design questions; it does not establish data-law compliance." Before a purchase, the operations lead must confirm what personal information is needed, who would access it and which local requirements apply. No volunteer names go into the note.

Check that the note identifies the actual document and section, explains why it fits, and does not say "compliant" merely because someone read it. Revisit the selection when the publisher changes the document, the task changes or the responsible lead identifies a different applicable requirement.

What Changed in This Draft

Version 0.5 focuses the index on choosing and recording third-party references. It removes the dedicated evaluation collection and links to OpenAid-authored standards. It replaces blanket edition and license statements with narrower descriptions and applicability checks. Unconfirmed legacy entries are held outside this selection. This revision is an editorial check of publisher landing pages, not legal, accounting, security or independent expert validation.