5.1 Assessment planning quick checklist

Checklist

Analysis Plan	Does the assessment team have a framework providing details of the information that needs to be collected from primary and secondary sources? Reminder: one common problem is that too much data is collected!
Clear objectives	Are the objectives of the mission clear, included in the terms of reference, and understood and agreed by all team members and key stakeholders?
Appropriate team composition	Has the Assessment Team Leader been identified? Has the team got the right mix of technical and functional skills to achieve the objectives of the assessment? Does the team include women and men, and people with local language and cultural skills? Are other agencies and/or the affected community represented on the assessment team?
Logistical support	Has adequate logistics and administrative planning been done to ensure the team can get the job done effectively and safely?
Information requirements	Has the team planned and identified the priority information needs to focus on during the assessment? What information is required to meet the objectives and to conduct the analysis required? What information is needed to ensure that cross-cutting issues can be understood? (for example, gender, protection)
Involving disaster affected people in the assessment	How will the team involve disaster-affected women and men in the assessment process? Has the community been informed of the planned visit?
Information sources	Who is the team going to talk to? What are the available sources of information?
Data collection methods	What mix of data collection methods will the team use? What skills or tools are required to use these methods?
Guidelines and tools	What guidelines and tools will the team use in the field to help with information gathering and analysis?
Analysis frameworks	How will the data be analysed? What contextual analysis is necessary to make appropriate recommendations? What information and tools can help with the analysis?
Recommendations	What types of decision-making recommendations are expected of the team? Who are the recommendations for?
Reporting	When will the team deliver a preliminary report? Final report? What format will the team use for the report? Will an internal version and a public version of the report be released?
Proposals and other outputs	What other outputs will the team prepare? What is the expectation for proposals, operational plans and communications outputs?