To ensure the efficiency and quality of a relief programme, aid organizations act according to a carefully developed procedure. The common standards applying to all areas of relief work are elaborated by the Sphereproject.

The basic principles that must function in order to ensure the quality of a relief programme concern the staff, the continuous assessment of the situation and the participation of the refugees affected.

Staff:
Staff has to be well educated for the situation, both technically and socially, and must be aware of local customs, conditions of life and work and possible conflicts within the refugee population or with the local host population. A transparent management of the relief staff and a clear differentiation of jobs has proved to work. People in Aid is concerned with staff management.

Assessment and Evaluation:
Before starting to set up a camp, potential dangers and conflicts have to be determined, both for refugee and local populations, to ensure safety for both. In order to adapt the aid programme as much as possible to the local conditions of life, determine what the common standards are, eg. what traditional housing is like. The effectiveness of the programme should permanently be observed and evaluated, to either improve it or to continue with the same success, and to be able to use experiences for future appliance. While HAP-I deals with the accountability of relief work, ALNAP is focused on the evaluation of relief work and consecutive learning for future implementation.

Participation:
To respect the dignity of the refugees affected and to design the aid programme as closely according to their wishes as possible, they should be integrated into all stages of planning, such as, constructing and administrating the camp, constantly applying their abilities. They should also be continuously informed of plans that they are affected by.
They should have the opportunity to participate in relief activities and in the management and maintenance of camp facilities. Additionally, the capacities of the local host population should be considered.

Distribution:
While the division of aid goods should be equal and fair, the weakest groups in the refugee population need to be determined and be paid special attention to.