Verify

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) was designed so that its application can be measured. Measuring your performance through the CHS verification scheme helps you learn the extent to which accountability standards have been incorporated into your work and highlights which areas you might consider improving.

The CHS Alliance Verification Scheme offers different approaches to verification, because we recognise there are many types of aid organisations at different stages of their journey to meet the CHS Nine Commitments.

All verification approaches allow organisations to capture useful data and identify areas of strength and weakness using the 62 indicators outlined in the CHS Verification Framework.

An organisation completing a verification will automatically assess their performance on key cross-cutting issues mainstreamed across the CHS. CHS Alliance uses indicators from the Nine CHS Commitments to develop indexes that reflect how well the organisation performs across three areas:

• Protection against sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment (PSEAH) – revised in 2020
• Localisation
• Gender and diversity

Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is a learning exercise. It helps organisations understand their capacity and performance against the CHS, and builds an improvement plan to make the services they deliver work better for the people affected by crisis.

Using a guidance document and online survey tools provided by the CHS Alliance, self-assessment allows organisations to collect information, document evidence and present results.

While the results of the Self-Assessments belong entirely to the organisations, CHS Alliance secretariat validates, only for the members, the fact that they completed the process. They are issued with a letter and a stamp they can use to demonstrate their commitment to the standard.

Find out more about self-assessment

Independent Verification & Certification

Independent verification and certification against the CHS are conducted by an accredited, third-party auditor – currently this service is offered by Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI).

These options provide a detailed picture of the degree to which organisations have successfully implemented the CHS, as well as providing a road map for making improvements.

Find out more about certification

The Verification Advisory Panel (VAP) ensures that the scheme remains fit-for-purpose.

Further questions are answered in our CHS verification Frequently Asked Questions.

We encourage organisations to choose the verification option that best suits their needs.