Why join HAP?

Whether your organisation is a community based agency, a major international NGO or a United Nations specialised agency, membership of HAP places your organisation on the fast-track to HAP certification, and recognition as being compliant with the foremost global standard for assuring the quality of humanitarian action.

The HAP Standard in Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management is the most widely recognised humanitarian programme management norm for achieving the best possible humanitarian outcomes for all stakeholders. Rooted in extensive research and consultation, the HAP Standard sets six affordable, realistic and results-critical benchmarks for ensuring that it is the needs of disaster survivors that drive humanitarian action.

HAP's quality assurance scheme is supported by all leading humanitarian donors including AusAID, Danida, DFID, Irish MFA, Netherlands MFA, Norwegian MFA and SIDA.

Benefits of HAP membership

HAP membership entitles agencies to priority access to all HAP services, including:

The HAP Certification scheme
Field support on accountable programming including in new emergencies
"Building Safer Organisations" for prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse
Complaints-handling - our collective mechanism and expert investigators
Peer support for accountability leaders and line-managers
The HAP Standard review process
HAP research - as participants and co-researchers
Shaping the global accountability agenda through participation in HAP's governance.

How much does it cost to join?

The annual fee for HAP membership ranges from CHF 200 (Swiss Francs) for small agencies to a maxiumum of CHF 20,000 for the very largest organisations. The average membership fee in 2008 is just CHF 4,765 (about $4,650).

Membership fees provide about 5% of what it costs to run HAP, in effect meaning that HAP's major donors provide a substantial subsidy for HAP's services to its members.

Obligations of HAP members

HAP membership means more than signing a document or requesting technical support. When an agency joins HAP, it also commits itself to:

Implementing HAP's Accountability Principles
Preparing a detailed annual Accountability Work Plan for implementing the Principles
Monitoring and annual reporting to the HAP Secretariat vis-a-vis the Work Plan
Reporting to HAP on complaints handling
Paying the annual membership fee (details on the membership application forms)

What does it take to get certified by HAP?

Achieving HAP certification is very quick, easy and inexpensive for agencies with a well established programme quality management system. It will take more effort for those with only rudimentary quality assurance practices in place. What implications might there be for the way you work? How is your agency doing at the moment with respect to accountability and quality management? Complete our self-assessment questionnaire to see how your agency measures up to the benchmarks of the HAP 2007 Standard in Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management.

Are there any risks associated with not joining HAP?

HAP has a growing queue of members wishing to enrol in the certification scheme and applicants for the BSO investigators training courses. Smart agencies are realising that HAP certification strengthens the quality of their programmes and secures their reputation. It also demonstrates their due diligence in taking all reasonable measures to prevent fraud, corruption and sexual exploitation by staff of beneficiaries. Can your agency afford to ignore these risks? Don't leave it to chance. Join now!

Join HAP now and get on the fast track to better and safer programming!

If you have further questions about joining HAP, please write to the Secretariat