Sphere and LEGS enter historic shared services agreement

Geneva / Southampton – 16.03.2026

Sphere and Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) today announced a landmark shared services agreement that deepens their long-standing collaboration and marks a new phase in how humanitarian standard-setting organisations work together.

Sphere, a charity registered in Switzerland, and LEGS, a UK-registered charity, have been partners since 2011. The agreement creates a strategic opportunity to deepen the partnership in a changing humanitarian landscape, strengthening collaboration, enhancing efficiency, and maximising the organisations’ collective impact in addressing evolving needs.

“This agreement marks an important moment for Sphere and for the wider humanitarian community,” said Alper Küçük, President of the Sphere Board. “The challenges facing our sector demand new ways of working. By deepening our collaboration with LEGS, we are choosing to adapt, to reduce duplication, and to focus our collective energy where it matters most: supporting quality and accountability in humanitarian action.”

The partnership builds on a decade of close cooperation through the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP), which brings together leading standard-setting initiatives to improve coherence and application of humanitarian standards worldwide.

Kate Sadler, Chair of the LEGS Trustees, said: “LEGS and Sphere share a commitment to quality and accountability in humanitarian action. This agreement helps safeguard LEGS for the long term and deepens collaboration across the Humanitarian Standards Partnership. By sharing practical services while retaining our separate identities, LEGS can keep investing in the guidance, learning, and community that protect livestock-based livelihoods in crises.”

Under the shared services model, Sphere and LEGS will align selected operational functions to reduce administrative overheads, strengthen organisational resilience, and support long-term sustainability. The arrangement is designed to free up capacity for both organisations to focus on their core missions – developing, maintaining, and promoting high-quality humanitarian standards – while retaining their own legal status, governance structures, mandates and intellectual property.

“Partnerships like this are no longer optional,” added Küçük. “They are essential if we are to remain relevant, credible, and effective in an increasingly complex humanitarian system.”

As part of the agreement, LEGS will also take over the coordination of the Standards for Supporting Crop-related Livelihoods in Emergencies (SEADS). This will create new opportunities to strengthen connections between livestock- and crop-related standards, and support more integrated approaches to protecting livelihoods in humanitarian crises.

About Sphere

Sphere is a global humanitarian organisation that sets standards for quality and accountability in humanitarian response. Its flagship publication, the Sphere Handbook, is one of the most widely used references in humanitarian action worldwide.

About LEGS

The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) is a global initiative that provides clear, practical guidance to help humanitarian agencies support livestock keepers during and after crises. Through its internationally recognised guidelines, training and network of practitioners, LEGS supports effective interventions that protect livestock-dependent livelihoods, food security, and resilience.

About SEADS

The Standards for Supporting Crop-related Livelihoods in Emergencies (SEADS) is an international initiative that provides principles and minimum standards to guide crop-related humanitarian responses. It supports practitioners to design, implement and evaluate interventions that protect crop-based livelihoods, strengthen food security, and build resilience in crisis-affected communities.

Media contact: Zunaira Shams, Communications Manager, Sphere
communications@spherestandards.org
+41 22 552 5911