Needs assessment
Why is it Important?
For development cooperation interventions to generate a positive and sustainable impact on communities, it is necessary to ensure that the proposed solutions are aligned with the real needs of the population and have an impact on their coverage or solution. For this reason, it is of vital importance to carry out a pertinent, participatory and multidisciplinary diagnosis that takes into account the needs of the population in each specific context, paying special attention to people in vulnerable situations.
Following this line and to support the work of the Shire Alliance, the Platform for Refugees emerged. Said platform, currently integrated into the Africa Platform, is created in order to work on improving the quality of life of refugees, through the development and application of a needs assessment methodology (NAUTIA), and the subsequent formulation and implementation of collaborative actions and multidisciplinary projects based on their results.
Following this line and to support the work of the Shire Alliance, the Platform for Refugees emerged. Said platform, currently integrated into the Africa Platform, is created in order to work on improving the quality of life of refugees, through the development and application of a needs assessment methodology (NAUTIA), and the subsequent formulation and implementation of collaborative actions and multidisciplinary projects based on their results.
Following this line and to support the work of the Shire Alliance, the Platform for Refugees emerged. Said platform, currently integrated into the Africa Platform, is created in order to work on improving the quality of life of refugees, through the development and application of a needs assessment methodology (NAUTIA), and the subsequent formulation and implementation of collaborative actions and multidisciplinary projects based on their results.
Our Objectives
Improve and transform the NAUTIA methodology to apply it on refugee camps and host communities of diverse nature and context.
Develop suitable solution packages based on identifications and assessments made as a result of the NAUTIA methodology.
Develop a versatile needs assessment tool, based on previous diagnostic experiences, that is easily transferable and capable of adapting to different scenarios.
What is NAUTIA?
NAUTIA is a methodology that allows identifying and evaluating priority needs and linking them to proposals to improve the living conditions of refugees and their host communities, facilitating the identification of complex realities (disparities) that occur between both communities.
It assumes the interrelation of the challenges to be addressed by reinforcing the sustainability and resilience of the settlements, contributing to the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda and its challenge of “leaving no one behind“
It is a cross-cutting methodology with a comprehensive technological approach, both in its own design and in its application procedure. It links the relationships between the different areas it addresses: energy, habitat, water, food security, education, health, infrastructure and transport.
It is designed to be applied in those refugee camps that have already passed the emergency phase and are currently facing the typical problems of permanent settlements, thus seeking to strengthen the humanitarian-development nexus.
NAUTIA is a methodology that allows identifying and evaluating priority needs and linking them to proposals to improve the living conditions of refugees and their host communities, facilitating the identification of complex realities (disparities) that occur between both communities.
It is a cross-cutting methodology with a comprehensive technological approach, both in its own design and in its application procedure. It links the relationships between the different areas it addresses: energy, habitat, water, food security, education, health, infrastructure and transport.
It is designed to be applied in those refugee camps that have already passed the emergency phase and are currently facing the typical problems of permanent settlements, thus seeking to strengthen the humanitarian-development nexus.
It assumes the interrelation of the challenges to be addressed by reinforcing the sustainability and resilience of the settlements, contributing to the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda and its challenge of “leaving no one behind“
Participating groups
Case Study
The Shimelba Refugee Camp is one of four labor camps in the Shire Region of northern Ethiopia. It is the smallest of all and has a high percentage of people with various unmet needs.
As the first case study in which the NAUTIA Methodology was applied, a mission to Shimelba was carried out in October 2018. The work team was made up of researchers from UPM and members of the Shire Alliance, with coordination in the field of the ZOA team, which organized the logistics and participated in the proposed activities.
During the mission, interviews were conducted with the entities in charge of managing the camp and the organizations active in the area, as well as the local government, the national energy supply company and the Committee of Refugees. Regarding the participation workshops, three sessions were held, two of them with the most vulnerable population (women and those under 18 years of age) and the third with a sample of the general population. Both the refugee community and the host community participated in the workshops, with the aim of promoting dialogue and integration. During the geolocated information survey work, the settlements were mapped and the information obtained from the bibliography was updated. Finally, surveys were conducted in both communities, which included all ethnic groups present in the sample.
For more information on the results obtained in the application of NAUTIA in Shimelba, click here As part of the Platform’s commitment to improving the quality of life of refugees, the research staff traveled to the Saharawi Refugee Camps (SRC) in Tindouf to identify their needs and priorities, through the application of the NAUTIA methodology .
The Wilaya Smara was selected for being one of the most inhabited, with 50,700 people. The work team was made up of researchers from the UPM, with the coordination in the field of the team of the Spanish NGO Arenas del Desierto.
The Saharaoui Refugee Camps do not share space with their host community, due to the geographic location of the camps being far removed from it. So this preliminary study was carried out only with the refugee community.
The data collection mission in Smara began in December 2019, being distributed through the seven neighborhoods of Smara: Mahbas, Farsia, Jadria, Tifariti, Mahriz and Hauza. For this, it was necessary to identify key local actors and places of interest such as educational centers, health centers, social centers, sports centers, markets, orchards, businesses and hospitals. In the first place, geolocated information was collected in a sample of 20 homes for each neighborhood, allowing the collection of detailed data on infrastructures (water, sanitation, energy, waste management and transport), public spaces and productive areas (ecological gardens, fish farm, poultry farm, agricultural research and production center), urban services (educational centers, special educational centers, social aid centers, sports centers, health centers, hospitals, commerce), and housing.
For more information on the results obtained in the NAUTIA application in Smara, click here
Intervention Proposal
Following the application of NAUTIA in Shimelba, the results indicated that the most prominent differences between the refugee and host communities were observed in access to basic electricity services and in the quality of accommodation, notably lower in the refugee community. Only in the case of school infrastructure and home sanitation (latrines) the differences are in favor of the observed refugee community. In the rest of the sectors analyzed (access to water, energy for cooking, infrastructure and food security) both communities are in a rather precarious situation. Several proposals for appropriate solutions have been developed for their implementation in this specific case study.
First Proposal: “SECURITY FIRST”
Multi-sectoral security approach: physical security, food security, “fuel security” (safe access to fuel and energy) and “shelter security” (safe haven).
Promote the safety of women both in the refugee camp and in the host community through means of protection against fires in homes (shelters), and measures to reduce the impact of physical violence, especially to face aggression related to energy needs (lack of lighting on public roads and insecurity in the collection of firewood), as well as to reduce the negative effects on the health of women caused by the smoke generated by combustion during cooking.
This project seeks to meet the urgent security needs of the population, for example:
Neither the refugee community, nor the Shimelba host community, has access to good sanitation services. Respectively, 19% and 73% of the people do not have a latrine.
- The Shimelba settlement has no electricity grid, only a few households are connected to diesel generators to access electricity, which is neither reliable nor affordable.
- Women in both communities feel unsafe in their own homes at night. Only 34.8% and 8.1% of the refugee population and the host community respectively have light bulbs.
Second Proposal: “GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE”
Food Security – Natural Resource Management – Public Space
Develop a green infrastructure that includes productive areas (community gardens and private gardens) to increase agricultural productivity, supporting food security and improving public spaces.
The results show a deficiency in the intake of food of animal origin and a high dependence on basic food supplies by the refugee population. Although the agricultural sector in Ethiopia is one of the most important in the country, the reality shows a sector highly vulnerable to desertification and extreme weather.
In the same way, a shortage of public green spaces is identified, as well as areas for social gathering. The main open public spaces are soccer fields and playgrounds. However, there are not many and they are not well equipped. In addition, there are no trees and rest areas to promote social interaction, so there is a need for shady spaces.
Third Proposal “EDUCATION TELECENTRE”
Basic education – ICT – Energy – Construction – Agriculture – Digital literacy
Creation of a “telecentre” to develop training in energy, construction, agriculture and ICTs, using digital material and field work according to the sector.
This proposal does not satisfy a need directly identified by the population, but it takes advantage of the need to promote the creation of productive networks and the technical strengths and previous experiences of the people who make up the Platform in the rural African context.