Resources

Common Needs Assessments and humanitarian action

This Network Paper draws on field experience from more than a dozen Common Needs Assessments (CNAs) to identify the opportunities, costs and trade-offs involved in carrying them out.At their best, common inter-agency, inter-sectoral needs assessments help to develop a better joint understanding of needs, capabilities, and appropriate response. Yet in trying to meet too many objectives, CNAs have sometimes failed to live up to their promise. Carrying out a CNA takes time and resources;even when funds and experienced assessors are available, results have not always been useful or timely.

Author

Richard Garfield, Courtney Blake, Patrice Chatainger, Sandie Walton-Ellery