Rationale and Objectives
Within the protection sector, partners identify a significant gap in systematic and structured information collection around needs of various refugee groups at the inter-agency level. Sector partners facilitate their own needs identification processes through different modalities, including participatory assessments and focus group discussions, ad hoc needs assessments and observations through individual case response. However, outcomes and findings of the structured assessments are not systematically compiled and analysed between partners. Considering the limited alignment between these processes, it is challenging to capture a comprehensive understanding around refugees’ protection related needs.
In consideration of the above, protection partners agreed that the ongoing COVID-19 situation presents an opportunity for the sector to develop a common, harmonized, inter-agency rapid needs assessment tool. While the tool is predominantly related to protection, in order to capture a holistic understanding around needs, questions related to other sectors and thematic areas are also incorporated. It is noted that while the tool developed is specific to the COVID-19 situation,
UNHCR Inter-Agency Coordination (IA) and Information Management (IM) Units are simultaneously working on contextualizing the tool to become a general protection needs assessment tool for future reference and use. As the assessment will be conducted by the Protection Working Group on a quarterly basis, this will ultimately serve to improve the current information collection and analysis capacity of the sector and promote evidence-based programming.
The development of a common, protection specific rapid needs assessment tool is expected to serve the below objectives:
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Develop a better understanding of the protection and humanitarian situation in Turkey;
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Establish a mechanism to systematically identify refugee needs in relation to thematic areas on protection, basic needs, livelihoods and education;
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Systematize and standardize data collection and analysis processes to better inform evidence-based programming and the larger refugee response (including via the 3RP);
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Inform and develop protection programming initiatives to address identified protection needs and gaps.
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Inform advocacy efforts on the local and central level with various stakeholders, including UN agencies, I/NGOs and public institutions;
