Knowledge Management

The Syria Multi Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) is the joint effort of the humanitarian community based in Turkey to conduct a multi-organisation, multi-sector humanitarian needs assessment in accessible areas in Syria. 

In June 2012, the South Sudan Humanitarian Country Team requested support to facilitate a series of coordinated assessment workshops to promote systematic use of the South Sudan Initial Rapid Needs Assessment (IRNA) tool. The workshops aimed to promote the IRNA joint assessment methodology by familiarizing humanitarian practitioners in South Sudan on the purpose and uses of the tool and to obtain feedback from intended end-users.

A Flash Appeal is triggered for sudden onset disasters, when the crisis surpasses the ability of the government and any one agency to respond adequately. A Flash Appeal is also issued when an L3-crisis is declared. According to GA Resolution 46/182, a FA should be issued within the shortest possible time and in any event not longer than one week after the crisis.

3Ws template in excel

The presentation reflect on weak areas, learn from good examples and identify approaches for assessment planning in different context.

Humanitarian actors can use the Environment Marker to identify the potential positive and negative impacts of humanitarian projects on the environment and to act on these considerations in work plans and funding proposals. This document informs on when and how the environment marker can be used. The document can be used by partners and clusters at the project development stage and by donors to screen projects for potential environmental impact. 

Between now and the end of 2018, OCHA’s Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division (HFRMD) will facilitate an exercise to generate fresh thinking about our organization-wide approach to humanitarian financing. In his speech, ‘A Collective Call Towards Innovation in Humanitarian Funding,’ USG Mark Lowcock proposed a fundamental shift from ‘reaction’ to ‘anticipation’ in the global humanitarian response and laid out a six-point policy agenda on how to achieve it. This agenda spans across best practices, emerging approaches, and policy research in humanitarian financing that resonate with the collective commitments of the World Humanitarian Summit and link with broader global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To inform his speech, the USG also posted a blog and asked OCHA staff to share their views on it.

The Humanitarian Needs Comparison Tool, with data on Nigeria as an example.

Generating structured information products that can facilitate joint intersectoral analysis of humanitarian needs is a major challenge in many humanitarian emergencies. At the same time, ensuring consensus on the key humanitarian needs of a crisis-affected population, and how these vary between sectors and geographic areas, can be invaluable in supporting both strategic and operational analysis of the response required. This becomes particularly important when considering setting priorities as part of strategic response planning, which the needs analysis must inform.

Using a methodology for vulnerability and severity ranking is recommended to condense large amounts of humanitarian needs information into a format that allows for comparison and discussion. OCHA has developed a standardised, Excel-based humanitarian needs comparison tool based on field practice.