Basic Needs Assessment Guidance and Toolbox

The Basic Needs Assessment (BNA) is a multi-sector needs assessment approach that can be applied in both sudden onset and protracted emergencies, but that – in the present edition – has been piloted only in two protracted crises, namely in Borno State (North-East Nigeria) and in Fafan zone (Somali region of Ethiopia). The approach took inspiration from ECHO’s Basic Needs Framework for Integrated Response.

The BNA produces a ranking of priorities for assistance as perceived by the population. It provides information on the access, availability, and quality constraints people face in securing what they need from local service providers and markets, and the perceived severity of related humanitarian consequences.

The BNA quantifies what basic needs means for a community, why – according to members of that community and its affected households – these needs are unmet, and how they would like to be assisted. This holistic, people-centred approach spans the sectors, bringing them together to consider households’ needs in a shared vision.

The BNA can inform response programmes in all humanitarian sectors; however, its findings are best complemented through local experts’ knowledge of the context and in-depth assessments that sectors may require. While the BNA may contribute to addressing existing analysis gaps it is not, nor was it ever intended to be, a silver bullet but rather a complementary tool.

The BNA uses both secondary and primary data; the latter is collected in the field using two main data collection techniques, Community Group Discussions (CGDs) and Household interviews (HHIs), which are both contained in the Toolbox alongside with tip sheets on how to use them. When rolled out in sudden-onset emergencies, primary data collection would be streamlined and the use of the CGD tool would be prioritised over the HHI.

This Guidance presents the conceptual BNA framework and related processes, and a Toolbox, which includes tools, templates, training materials, and examples drawn from its two pilots.

The BNA is conceived to go hand in hand with the Facilitator’s Guide for the Response Options Analysis and Planning (ROAP; a separate document), as it is part of a broader situation analysis and response planning process (see 2.1 Key concepts and definitions). It shall be carried out with other assessments on the operational environment and would not add any value if undertaken in isolation.