About ASF · Governance

Governance and Policies

How ASF is governed: the Board, our institutional policies, and how to raise a concern. This framework is fully aligned with the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG) — same structure, same 47 policy areas, the only difference is which country’s law governs each organisation.

One Alliance, Two Legal Systems

ASF and PHIG are independent organisations — ASF registered under French law in Paris, PHIG registered under Georgian law in Tbilisi — joined in a working alliance. Since September 2026, our institutional policies have been fully aligned: the same 47 policy areas, the same structure, the same categories, reviewed together. The only genuine difference between an ASF policy and its PHIG counterpart is the legal system each operates under — French law for ASF, Georgian law for PHIG. Where a policy references a specific statute, regulator, or filing requirement, that reference is local; everything else is identical by design.

2018

First technical draft of the ASF standard developed.

2020

ASF legally established in Paris as an association d’intérêt général under the French law of 1 July 1901.

2023

First systematic adaptation of ASF’s institutional policies — conflict of interest, anti-corruption, child safety, equality and inclusion, environmental and climate, research ethics.

Sept 2026

Full alignment completed between ASF and PHIG: all standards, procedures and institutional policies now correspond directly across both organisations, differing only where French and Georgian law require it.

Accréditation Sans Frontières

32 Boulevard de Rochechouart, 75018 Paris, France

Association d’intérêt général à but humanitaire et non lucratif régie par la loi du 1 juillet 1901, déclarée à la Préfecture de Police de Paris le 18/06/2020. RNA W751257030, SIRET 88807681700012, APE 9499Z.

Governed by: French law

Public Health Institute of Georgia

3 Betlemi Rise, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia

არასამეწარმეო (არაკომერციული) იურიდიული პირი, ს/კ 404407815, რეგისტრაციის თარიღი: 9 სექტემბერი 2011.

Governed by: Georgian law · See PHIG’s governance and policies →

Raise a Concern

Anyone — patient, family member, staff, regulator, or member of the public — can report fraud, abuse, harassment, safeguarding concerns, or any breach of our policies, confidentially and anonymously where preferred. ASF’s channel is managed by the independent Patient and Public Council, structurally separate from ASF operations. No one who reports in good faith will suffer retaliation.

Report a Concern →

Board

Name	Role on the Board	Credentials and Affiliation
Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD	Chair	Professor, David Tvildiani Medical University; Chair, Public Health Institute of Georgia; Editor-in-Chief, Georgian Medical Journal
Tamar Talakvadze, MD, PhD	Chair, Standards & Accreditation Committee	Professor, David Tvildiani Medical University
Irine Pkhakadze, MD, PhD	Board Secretary	Professor, Akaki Tsereteli State University, Kutaisi
Sulkhan Inaishvili, MD, PhD	Board Treasurer	Associate Professor, Avitsena University
Sofio Kutateladze, MD	Board Member — Infection Control	Public Health Institute of Georgia
Tamar Kraveishvili, MD	Board Member — Quality & Data Oversight	Public Health Institute of Georgia
Irakli Apshinashvili	Board Member — Operations Liaison	Public Health Institute of Georgia
Ana Bolkvadze, MD, MPH	Board Member	Alte University, Tbilisi
Salome Glonti, MD, PhD	Independent Board Member	Professor, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University
Ioseb Dimitrashvili	Patient Council Coordinator (ex officio, non-voting)	Public Health Institute of Georgia

No board member, the shared director, or either organisation holds any ownership, governance, or procurement relationship with a facility that is or could become an ASF accreditation client.

The 47 Policies

Each policy has its own dedicated page — full text, printable, and directly linkable. The same 47 policy areas as PHIG’s institutional policy manual, grouped identically.

No.	Policy	Area
Governance and integrity
1	Policy 1 — Code of Conduct and Ethics	Governance and integrity
2	Policy 2 — Conflict of Interest	Governance and integrity
3	Policy 3 — Delegation of Authority and Signatures	Governance and integrity
4	Policy 4 — Gift Acceptance, Donor Due Diligence and Commercial Independence	Governance and integrity
36	Governance and Board Charter	Governance and integrity
37	Internal Audit and Oversight	Governance and integrity
47	Policy Development, Approval and Review	Governance and integrity
Financial integrity
5	Policy 5 — Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption	Financial integrity
6	Policy 6 — Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing	Financial integrity
7	Policy 7 — Sanctions and Prohibited Parties Screening	Financial integrity
21	Procurement and Value for Money	Financial integrity
22	Financial Management and Internal Control	Financial integrity
23	Grants Management and Sub-award Monitoring	Financial integrity
24	Cost Allowability, Cost Allocation and Timekeeping	Financial integrity
25	Travel and Expense Policy	Financial integrity
26	Asset, Equipment and Property Management	Financial integrity
45	Tax Compliance and Anti-Facilitation of Tax Evasion	Financial integrity
46	Cash, Advances and Banking Procedures	Financial integrity
Safeguarding and people
8	Policy 8 — Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH)	Safeguarding and people
9	Policy 9 — Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk	Safeguarding and people
10	Combating Trafficking in Persons	Safeguarding and people
11	Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination and Gender Equality	Safeguarding and people
12	Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace	Safeguarding and people
27	Human Resources, Recruitment and Staff Conduct Procedures	Safeguarding and people
41	Consultants, Volunteers and Interns	Safeguarding and people
42	Occupational Health, Safety and Staff Wellbeing	Safeguarding and people
Reporting and accountability
13	Whistleblowing and Non-Retaliation	Reporting and accountability
14	Incident Reporting, Investigation and Management	Reporting and accountability
15	Disclosure of Incidents to Donors	Reporting and accountability
29	Feedback, Complaints and Grievance Mechanism	Reporting and accountability
35	Transparency and Public Disclosure	Reporting and accountability
39	Accountability to Affected People	Reporting and accountability
Information, safety and risk
16	Data Protection and Privacy	Information, safety and risk
17	Safety, Security and Duty of Care	Information, safety and risk
31	Records Management and Retention	Information, safety and risk
32	Information Technology and Cybersecurity	Information, safety and risk
34	Risk Management and Business Continuity	Information, safety and risk
Quality, science and communication
18	Research Ethics and Integrity	Quality, science and communication
19	Editorial Independence and Publication Ethics	Quality, science and communication
20	Public Health Communication and Information Integrity	Quality, science and communication
38	Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)	Quality, science and communication
40	Partnership and Localisation	Quality, science and communication
43	Intellectual Property, Open Access and Data Sharing	Quality, science and communication
Environment and donor requirements
28	Environmental and Social Safeguards	Environment and donor requirements
30	Lobbying, Political Activity and Advocacy	Environment and donor requirements
33	Branding, Marking and Donor Visibility	Environment and donor requirements
44	Environmental Sustainability and Climate	Environment and donor requirements

Framework Documents

Explore Governance
See PHIG’s Equivalent Page

Sister framework. The Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG), ASF’s adapter and partner in Georgia, maintains its own policy framework of seventy-five policies written to EU, US, WHO/UN and bilateral donor standards at publichealth.ge/policies. The two frameworks are aligned in substance and kept separate because each organisation is accountable under its own law; where PHIG acts for ASF in Georgia, ASF’s policies apply to that work.