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Experience has shown that coordinating needs assessments not only brings significant benefits but can also help save more lives and restore more people’s livelihoods. Bearing in mind this valuable lesson, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) established the Needs Assessment Task Force (NATF) in March 2009 to improve coordinated assessment processes and strengthen the identification of strategic humanitarian priorities in complex emergencies and natural disasters.

The NATF developed this Operational Guidance through a collaborative and consultative process with United Nations agencies, other international organizations, NGOs and donors at the global, regional and national levels. The Guidance was developed within the accountability framework of the humanitarian reform, and is fully in line with the coordination structures introduced by the cluster approach.

This Operational Guidance is divided in four sections:

The first provides background on the purpose, audience and scope of the document;
The second defines coordinated assessments and describes key actions to be taken, roles and responsibilities, as well as common principles to be considered when undertaking them;
The third provides recommendations on the types of coordinated assessments that can be carried out during the different phases that follow an emergency, and proposes standard operating procedures for doing so;
The fourth outlines key preparedness measures to prepare for coordinated assessments.