A new year brings new opportunities to advance what we believe is a simple but important idea: that humanitarian organisations should be independently, externally, and publicly accountable to the people they serve. Here is what HQAI will focus on in 2025.
CHS Revision Implementation
The revised Core Humanitarian Standard will be formally adopted in mid-2025. HQAI's priority for the first half of the year is ensuring our audit methodology is fully updated and our auditors are trained before the first audit against the new version begins. We are working with the CHS Alliance on a joint transition guidance document for organisations currently in audit cycles.
Expanding Access for Global South Organisations
Our 2024 subsidy programme supported 22 organisations — a record. In 2025, we are targeting 30. We are also launching a new group verification model for consortia of national NGOs operating in the same country context, which can reduce per-organisation audit costs by up to 40% through shared evidence processes.
This matters because the organisations closest to affected communities — local and national NGOs — are often the least able to afford external quality assurance. If the CHS is to be meaningful for the whole sector, access to credible, independent auditing must not be restricted to large international organisations.
Expanded Donor Passporting
Building on the FCDO passporting agreement formalised in 2024, we are in active discussions with three additional institutional donors about recognising CHS Certification in their due diligence frameworks. We expect to announce at least one additional passporting agreement before mid-year.
HQAI Learning Hub: Year Two
Our free e-learning platform, launched in late 2024, has already been accessed by over 2,000 humanitarian professionals. In 2025, we will add modules in Spanish and Arabic, publish a new module on environmental accountability (aligned with the revised CHS), and launch a peer-learning community where certified organisations can exchange good practice.
Our Core Commitment
Through all of this, HQAI's core commitment remains unchanged: independent, rigorous, transparent audit of humanitarian quality. We publish every report. We name every gap. We celebrate every genuine improvement. That transparency is not always comfortable — but it is the only foundation on which real accountability can be built.
We look forward to 2025 with that commitment intact.