Knowledge and experience sharing, quick interaction and confrontation of expertise in different background is the best way to improve assessments methodologies and practice.
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ACAPS provides an interactive platform for humanitarian practitioners, policy makers, academics and private companies to share best-practice and encourage innovative approaches to needs assessments and contribute to the global development of a commonly accepted needs assessments methodology. |
This learning and idea sharing centre for people involved in coordinated assessments will be launched within a few weeks.
What will this network achieve?
Bringing practitioners together
By providing an interactive and technical platform to share best-practice, lessons learned and innovative approaches to needs assessments with humanitarian practitioners, policy makers, academics and private companies, ACAPS aims to create a centre of excellence for needs assessments. This structure will help individuals and organisations at all levels to learn from each other as much and quick as possible and speed up the sharing of knowledge. It will also bridge the gaps between research and application, field and non-field practitioners knowledge, humanitarian and non-humanitarian experts.
Building a Network
The role of this community is broader than a question/answer forum to context-specific issues. Through identification and dissemination of lessons learned, but also research on needs assessments this network will contribute to improve efficiency of needs assessments, contribute to the global development of a commonly accepted needs assessments framework and strengthen the humanitarian response. Its function includes more in-depth activities, such as policy guidance, research initiatives and international meetings.
Setting the agenda
Over the course of 2011, ACAPS will invite members of the community of practice to collaborate on a number of products aimed at providing better tools and guidance for needs assessments. We will keep you informed of these projects through the newsletter. If you have ideas for what we should focus on, please let us know. You can email with your ideas.
Who can join this community?
Whoever wants to improve needs assessments and interact with other experts, by seeking, sharing, developing and disseminating innovative solutions in this area.
This includes regional and local partners, international organisations, NGOs, academics, technical experts and any other activists willing to promote best-practice. It is important to underline that this community not only seeks assessments experts, but also looks for expertise from different fields and backgrounds that work on humanitarian needs.
How can I join this community?
If you want to play an active role in this global effort to improve needs assessments, please send an email to
