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CHAPTER 2
LIVELIHOODS AND ECONOMIC
RECOVERY ASSESSMENT
Contents
2.1 What information does a livelihoods
and economic recovery assessment provide? 14
2.1.1 Livelihood assets of individuals, households, and communities 14
2.1.2 Local economy 15
2.1.3 “Macro” issues and micro-macro linkages 16
2.1.4 Conflict and disaster risk 17
2.2 How is a livelihoods and economic recovery
assessment conducted? 18
2.2.1 Assessment team 18
2.2.2 Timing of the assessment 18
2.2.3 Information collection methods 19
2.2.4 Components of the assessment 19
2.2.5 Partnerships and participation 20
2.3 How can the assessment translate into a
programme?21
Programmes in crisis and post-crisis situations
can achieve their goals—and avoid inadvertently
causing harm—only when they are based on solid
assessments. Livelihoods and economic recovery
assessments provide information on the social and
economic context of a crisis or post-crisis situation.
Such assessments cover issues at both the “micro”
level (individuals, households, and communities)
and the “macro” level (the state of the economy,
the policy framework, and the nature and quality
of governance). The more practitioners know
about the situations they are trying to address, the
more likely they are to identify effective avenues
for programme development, and the less likely
they are to make mistakes. Moreover, a successful
assessment process will strengthen local capacity
for inclusive and participatory analysis, help
vulnerable people to have an effective voice in
decision-making, and create gender, conflict, and
disaster-risk sensitivity.
At the individual, household, and community
levels, a livelihoods and economic recovery assessment
identifies the capital assets (human,
natural, physical, financial, political, and social) of
crisis-affected people, their livelihood strategies,
and the ways in which they cope with vulnerability.
At the local and national levels, such an assessment
demonstrates how the economy, the system
of governance, and the physical environment
influence crisis-affected people and, indeed, are
in turn influenced by them, as well as by socioeconomic
opportunities. And, additionally, the
assessment reveals the power structures in place
at all levels, including those that are related to
gender, ethnicity, and other personal, family, or
community characteristics, while also analyzing
the conflict and disaster risk scenarios.
Each crisis or post-crisis situation is unique.
Therefore, the most appropriate design of an
assessment—the information to be sought, the
methods of seeking it, and the duration of the
assessment—will be different in every case. The
assessment design needs to be tailored according
to the nature and stage of the crisis, the timeframe
for response, the size and accessibility of crisisaffected
communities, the availability of local data
and expertise, the security situation, the logistical
support available, and other characteristics of the
particular situation. It is usually the case that quick
assessments are necessary, with periodic updates
that enable programmes to respond to a rapidly
changing environment.
This chapter provides guidance on the information
a livelihoods and economic recovery assessment
provides (section 2.1), how such an assessment
is conducted (section 2.2), and how a visioning
process can enable the translation of the assessment
into a programme (section 2.3). References
and suggested further reading are provided at the
end of the chapter.