Operational Guidance for Coordinated Assessments in Humanitarian Crises - Provisional Version

Experience has shown that coordinating needs assessments not only brings significant benefits but can also help save more lives and restore more people’s livelihoods. Bearing in mind this valuable lesson, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) established the Needs Assessment Task Force (NATF) in March 2009 to improve coordinated assessment processes and strength- en the identification of strategic humanitarian priorities in complex emergencies and natural disasters.
Along with emergency preparedness, the timeliness and quality of assessments help determine an effective humanitarian response.The credibility and accuracy of assessment results are the basis for needs-based planning and can have long-lasting effects on everything from the quality of interagency coordination, to donor funding levels and relationships with national governments, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and disaster-affected populations.
The NATF developed this Operational Guidance for Coordinated Assessments in Humanitarian Crises to help realize the goal of better quality and more timely assessments through coordinated processes. It was not developed to fill a lack of assessment guidelines and tools, but rather to provide guidance for those seeking to make informed decisions on the coordination of assess- ments (harmonized or joint).The Operational Guidance was developed primarily on the basis of experiences gained during the early phases of large-scale quick-onset natural disasters, but it is also applicable to other types of crises. It provides guidance to coordinate assessments as well as technical tools in the annexes.
The NATF developed this Operational Guidance through a collaborative and consultative pro- cess with United Nations agencies, other international organizations, NGOs and donors at the global, regional and national levels.The Guidance was developed within the accountability frame- work of the humanitarian reform, and is fully in line with the coordination structures introduced by the cluster approach.

This Operational Guidance is divided in four sections:
1 The first provides background on the purpose, audience and scope of the document;
2 The second defines coordinated assessments and describes key actions to be taken, roles and responsibilities, as well as common principles to be considered when undertaking them;
3 The third provides recommendations on the types of coordinated assessments that can be carried out during the different phases that follow an emergency, and proposes standard operating procedures for doing so;
4 The fourth outlines key preparedness measures to prepare for coordinated assessments.
The NATF would like to thank those who contributed their experience and knowledge to this document.