Created in 2007, the HRI is the world’s first independent instrument for measuring the individual performance of humanitarian donors. Produced annually, the index ranks the performance of the 22 donor countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee plus the European Commission in funding and supporting humanitarian action. The HRI’s assessment criteria are based on the principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship, which government donors have themselves signed up to as part of their commitments to good practice. The HRI assesses how well donors are applying these commitments in practice in different situations of conflicts and disasters.

The HRI is a collaborative effort supported by many of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations (such as UN OCHA, IFRC and UNHCR) and academic institutions (such as the University of Bochum, Columbia University, etc.). Now in its third year, the HRI has been endorsed by leading figures such as Kofi Annan, Jeffrey Sachs and Simon Maxwell, and is beginning to have a positive effect in terms of changing donor policy and practice and increasing accountability towards crisis-affected populations.