Between 2005 and 2006, Groupe URD carried out a series of field visits for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan, in Colombia and in Laos to look into how needs were assessed and how this affected decision-making.

The project was commissioned by ODAN, the Emergency Needs Assessment Unit of the WFP, based in Rome, which had just published the first draft of the ‘Emergency Food Security Assessment Handbook’. The research results led to specific recommendations for each programme and general recommendations to revise the handbook.

The study involved both field work and discussions with the WFP and its partners and led to an overall analysis of WFP’s methods of carrying out initial assessments, operations, monitoring and evaluation. Almost the whole Groupe URD research team was involved in the project, with each member taking part in a different mission. The final synthesis was the product of collaboration and exchange – principles which are fundamental to the way Groupe URD functions.

Both fa scinating and challenging, this project reflected the complexity of humanitarian action, covering different types of crisis, different types of intervention, different cultures, different ways of operating, etc.

The reports are available in PDF format on the World Food Programme website:
- Afghanistan : Real-time review of selected food aid programmes implemented in Afghanitsan and implications for emergencyfood security assesments
- Colombia : Estudio de situación de programas alimentarios y no alimentarios seleccionados e implicaciones para el diagnóstico de seguridad alimentaria en situación de emergencia
- Lao : Real-time review of selected food aid programmes implemented in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) and the implications for emergency food security assesments
- Synthesis : Synthesis of real-time review of selected food aid programmes in Afghanistan, Colombia and Laos