Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

Name

Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

Legal name

Inter-Agency Standing Committee

Website

https://interagencystandingcommittee.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Coordination

NAICS

International Affairs (92812), National Security and International Affairs (928), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian Coordination, Information Management & Needs Assessment (BPADADAL), Donor Coordination & Aid Effectiveness (BPADAOAA), Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Humanitarian coordination
• Inter-agency forum
• Humanitarian policy
• Crisis response coordination
• Civilian protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The IASC is the longest-standing and highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the United Nations system, bringing together the executive heads of 19 UN and non-UN humanitarian organizations to formulate humanitarian policy, set strategic priorities, and mobilize resources in response to crises. It does not sell commercial products; instead, it produces policy frameworks, operational guidance, coordination mechanisms, and endorsed guidelines (such as the Humanitarian Programme Cycle and the System-Wide Scale-Up Activation Protocol) to enable coherent collective humanitarian action across UN agencies, NGOs, and humanitarian partners.

Product overview

IASC is not a technology product company but a humanitarian coordination forum. It does not offer a unified software product or platform. Instead, it provides a portfolio of policy frameworks, coordination mechanisms, and knowledge products including the Humanitarian Reset reform initiative, IASC Products (197 guidelines, policies and tools), Key Operational IASC Guidance, Cluster Simplification and Coordination mechanisms, Humanitarian System-Wide Scale-Up Activation protocols, the Humanitarian Programme Cycle coordination framework, and Communities of Practice expert networks. These products work together to strengthen collective humanitarian action across UN agencies, NGOs, and humanitarian partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Humanitarian Reset: A collective effort launched in March 2025 to deliver faster, fairer, and more accountable humanitarian action, with four priorities: Define, Devolve, Deliver, and Defend.

Products and services

• Humanitarian Reset A collective reform effort launched by the Emergency Relief Coordinator to deliver faster, fairer, and more accountable humanitarian action across UN agencies and humanitarian partners. It focuses on four priorities: Define (focusing on greatest need), Devolve (bringing resources closer to communities), Deliver (timely and streamlined response), and Defend (protecting humanitarian principles and space).
• IASC Products (Guidelines, Policies, and Tools) A catalogue of 197 guidelines, policies, tools, and documents endorsed by the IASC to inform humanitarian preparedness and response activities at global and field levels, covering themes including Protection, Gender, Mental Health, Climate Change, Accountability, and humanitarian coordination.
• Key Operational IASC Guidance Essential operational guidance for humanitarian response and coordination, including protocols, standard operating procedures, terms of reference, inclusion guidelines, accountability frameworks, humanitarian access guidance, and humanitarian-development collaboration materials.
• Cluster Simplification and Coordination Guidance on adapting humanitarian coordination structures to context, including cluster simplification from 15 to 8 global clusters and areas of responsibility, and area-based coordination approaches for in-country operations.
• Humanitarian System-Wide Scale-Up Activation Protocol Protocol for scaling up response in the event of major sudden-onset crises and/or substantial deterioration of humanitarian situations, including dedicated protocols for infectious disease events such as the activation for DRC Ebola.
• Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC) A coordinated series of actions undertaken to help prepare for, manage, and deliver humanitarian response, supported by the HPC Steering Group which provides technical expertise on planning, prioritization, and resource allocation processes.
• Communities of Practice Specialized groups providing technical expertise and operational support to humanitarian action, including the Reference Group on Gender and Humanitarian Action, Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, and the Global Cluster Coordination Group.

Quantifiable outcome

• 16.4 million people reached with life-saving assistance in first five months of 2026 under hyper-prioritized appeal
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreOthers · 1 January 1991FAO is a full member of IASC, participating in policy formulation, strategic priority setting, and collective humanitarian response. FAO brings expertise in food security and agriculture in humanitarian crises.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)coreOthers · 1 January 1991IOM is a full member of IASC, contributing expertise in migration management, displaced persons assistance, and humanitarian logistics.
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)coreOthers · 1 January 1991OCHA serves as the IASC Secretariat and is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator. OCHA coordinates global emergency response and facilitates humanitarian advocacy.
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)coreOthers · 1 January 1991OHCHR participates as a full member, bringing human rights expertise to humanitarian response coordination and protection frameworks.
• United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women)coreOthers · 1 January 1991UN Women is a full member contributing gender equality expertise and supporting integration of women's empowerment in humanitarian action.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)coreOthers · 1 January 1991UNDP participates as a full member, contributing expertise on development-humanitarian nexus and resilience building in crisis contexts.
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)coreOthers · 1 January 1991UNFPA is a full member providing expertise on reproductive health, gender-based violence prevention, and support for women and girls in humanitarian settings.
• United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)coreOthers · 1 January 1991UN-Habitat participates as a full member, contributing expertise on shelter, urban settlements, and camp coordination in humanitarian contexts.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)coreOthers · 1 January 1991UNHCR is a full member and co-lead of protection clusters, providing expertise on refugee protection, statelessness, and durable solutions.
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)coreOthers · 1 January 1991UNICEF is a full member contributing expertise on child protection, education, health, and nutrition in humanitarian emergencies.
• World Food Programme (WFP)coreOthers · 1 January 1991WFP is a full member and leads on food security, nutrition, and logistics clusters, providing expertise on emergency food assistance and supply chain.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreOthers · 1 January 1991WHO is a full member contributing expertise on health emergencies, disease outbreaks, and health cluster coordination.
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)coreOthers · 1 January 1991ICRC participates as a standing invitee, bringing expertise on international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and humanitarian diplomacy.
• International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)coreOthers · 1 January 1991ICVA participates as a standing invitee, representing international NGOs in humanitarian coordination discussions.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)coreOthers · 1 January 1991IFRC participates as a standing invitee, contributing expertise on National Society capacity and disaster response.
• InterActioncoreOthers · 1 January 1991InterAction participates as a standing invitee, representing US-based international NGOs in humanitarian coordination.
• Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR)coreOthers · 1 January 1991SCHR participates as a standing invitee, contributing expertise on humanitarian principles and NGO coordination.
• Office of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced PersonscoreOthers · 1 January 1991Participates as a standing invitee, providing expertise on internally displaced persons protection and rights.
• World BankcoreOthers · 1 January 1991World Bank participates as a standing invitee, contributing expertise on humanitarian-development financing and economic recovery.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR): SCHR is a standing invitee of IASC and convenes major international humanitarian NGOs to advance humanitarian principles and coordination, directly comparable as an inter-agency humanitarian coordination forum.
• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): OCHA serves as the IASC Secretariat and is the UN's primary coordinating body for humanitarian response. It is organizationally intertwined with IASC and shares the same coordination mission, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA): ICVA is a standing invitee of IASC representing international NGOs in humanitarian coordination. It performs a similar convening and representation function for the NGO community that IASC performs for UN agencies.
• InterAction: InterAction is a standing invitee of IASC and the largest alliance of US-based international NGOs, performing NGO coordination and advocacy functions parallel to IASC's broader UN-system coordination role.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): IFRC is a standing invitee of IASC and coordinates international disaster response through a global network of National Societies, comparable in mission and reach as a multi-organization humanitarian coordination and response body.

Broad incumbents

• UNHCR: UNHCR is a full IASC member and one of the largest UN humanitarian agencies. While it is a member rather than a peer forum, it operates at comparable scale and scope within the forced displacement and refugee coordination space.
• World Bank Humanitarian-Development-Peace Finance: The World Bank is a standing invitee of IASC and a major financier of crisis response, with growing coordination authority in fragile and conflict-affected states. Comparable in scale and convening influence within the humanitarian financing architecture.
• World Health Organization (WHO): WHO is a full IASC member and leads the global health cluster, coordinating health-sector humanitarian response. It is comparable as a UN system-wide body with a coordination mandate in its domain.
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): ICRC is a standing invitee of IASC and the principal guardian of international humanitarian law, with a parallel coordination and advocacy role in armed conflict. Comparable in mandate scope and institutional standing within the humanitarian system.
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): UNICEF is a full IASC member and co-leads clusters in nutrition, education, and WASH. Comparable as a large UN humanitarian agency with deep field presence and cluster-lead responsibilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iascch
• Facebookfacebook.com/FriendsofIASC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inter-agency-standing-committee-iasc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)