S&S Assessments: Detailed Needs Assessment


Targeting individual beneficiaries and communities with our shelter and settlements assistance options.

Damage assessments at the household/community infrastructure level identify the need/eligibility for different types of assistance options proposed. The detailed assessment phase therefore enables us to identify program targets, inform detailed budgets and prepare our overall program of works.

*Note – this step may come before or after the development of the response strategy and the proposal development depending on the time and resources available.

  1.4.a)   Household Damage Surveys

General Categorization

Housing damage assessment may be undertaken to categorize beneficiary households based one eligibility for different assistance packages. Such assessments may be relatively simple and rely of defined criteria. Where categorization of damage is to be undertaken by a team, to avoid assessments becoming subjective, CRS has previously used visual and descriptive damage categorization guides. CRS typically uses four levels of damage categorization from 1, unaffected to 4 heavily, completely damaged.

Household damage assessments – developing designs and BOQ for specific reconstruction works

Where building reconstruction works are needed a more detailed, technical, damage assessment and conceptual proposal will be required. This must be undertaken by a suitably qualified/experienced engineer or construction specialist.

It will be the responsibility of the technical specialist to propose the necessary reconstruction works and develop the BOQs as needed. It is important to remember to take photographs or the existing condition to enable comparison ‘before and after’ as a record of the works.

Tools & Examples