Needs Assessment

Operational Standards 

Age, disability and gender disaggregated information are collected on priority needs, risks and preferences for assistance, across sectors, and over time.

Key Actions

1. Ensure participation and buy-in from relevant sectors on needs assessment methodologies
2. Assess the preferred modality of assistance for people affected by the crisis to cover their various needs and ensure participation of different gender groups (if possible, disaggregate preferred methods)
   • IRC Safer Cash
     • Tool 1 : Question banks (English); (French); (Spanish); (Arabic)
3. Ask crisis affected women, girls, men and boys how they typically access markets and services and which needs they usually cover through markets. OR update this information if a gender analysis has already been implemented during the preparedness phase.
   • For E-Vouchers: Mercy Corps E-Transfer Implementation Guide
     • Annex 4: User Capacity Survey (English);(French) 
4. Assess how crisis affected women, girls, men and boys typically access cash and their current familiarity with digital payments if the context allows it
   • IFRC/ICRC CiE Toolkit
     • Community access to Financial Services template (English); (French); (Spanish); (Arabic)
5. Analyze the gendered protection risks (e.g. safety and negative coping mechanisms) for all genders and their sub-groups at outset and throughout the program.
   • Specific Gender/GBV Tools
   • CARE 
     • GBV Risk Analysis Tool
     • Assessing and Mitigating Risks of Gender-Based Violence in Cash-based Interventions Through Story: A Focus Group Discussion and Interview Guide (English); (French); (Spanish); (Arabic)
6. Capture needs of women, men, boys and girls in a Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) after ensuring that a MEB has not already been defined by one or more clusters at national level
   • WFP, UNHCR
     • MEB Calculator