Food Security Assessment - Learning Repository

Food Security Assessment and Analysis Activities are challenging exercises, often done in difficult conditions such as political instability or after natural disasters. They are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated to ensure the right response, effective targeting and the most efficient use of scarce humanitarian resources. To ensure quality assessments, WFP needs skilled and experienced assessors.

WFP offers various workshops, one part of a blended learning approach, to strengthening technical knowledge and skills. Learners interested in participating in a workshop will need to remember that raising EFSA technical skills is an iterative process. Technical workshops will need to be combined with experience, professional training and / or additional technical workshops. Each learning event or assessment activity undertaken contributes to enhanced capacity.

Most workshops require that learners have specific pre-requisite skills, knowledge and experience prior to participation. Learners are encouraged to review these requirements when considering participation in selected events.

Level 1
Level 2

The purpose of the Level 1 is to equip learners with the knowledge and tools to:

build common understanding of food security concepts;
increase knowledge and provide tools to participate in simple / local initial assessment of changes in community food security conditions and
place learners in a stronger position to use assessment information in programming.

The course is targeted to those WFP and partners staff who

use assessment information for programming and/or reporting;
have an active role in an upcoming assessment activity and
are new to food security assessments and require introductory knowledge and skill of data collection tools and qualitative methods.

Learning Objectives

Specific course level learning objectives will be developed for each workshop. This will be based on the outcomes of the learning needs analysis and knowledge and skills to be targeted through the specific learning event.

Staff Development Principles:

Enhancing technical competencies in food security assessment and analysis is an iterative process. Each learning event and assessment helps to enhance individual capacity. An individual workshop or serious of workshops are only steps in a longer term process; continued hands-on training and technical training – both through experience and in the classroom – is needed to reach the required standards.

Commitment, continued practice and technical feed back are all required to build and retain the specific technical competencies to contribute to or lead assessment and analysis activities.

The learning needs analysis is an essential first step. The needs analysis will result in a skill, experience and ability profile and gaps analysis. This profile will be used to identify an appropriate learning path.

The purpose of the Level 2 is to equip learners with the knowledge and tools to:

lead an initial assessment of changes in community level food security condition using updated food security analysis knowledge and tools;
participate, under supervision, in one or two functional areas of a simple / local rapid assessment of community level food security conditions and
develop introductory understanding and skills in interpreting and present EFSA information.

The course is targeted to those WFP and partners staff who

have an introductory understanding and some experience implementing food security assessments and require a common understanding of updated methods and tools;
assessment and analysis activities are included as part of routine his/her responsibilities (work plans);
able to dedicate time to continued learning through participation in assessments, integration of skills into daily work and undertaking distance learning and
are interested in addressing specific skills gaps through the foundation followed by on the job learning and technical training workshops.

Learning Objectives

Staff Development Principles:

Enhancing technical competencies in food security assessment and analysis is an iterative process. Each learning event and assessment helps to enhance individual capacity. An individual workshop or serious of workshops are only steps in a longer term process; continued hands-on train and technical training – both through experience and in the classroom – is needed to reach the required standards.

Commitment, continued practice and technical feed back are all required to build and retain the specific technical competencies to contribute to or lead assessment and analysis activities.

The purpose of the Course is to equip learners with the knowledge and tools to:

design, plan, deliver and evaluate needs assessment trainings.

The course is targeted to those WFP and partners staff who

are Potential Advanced Assessors and Advanced Assessors, already knowledgeable of the EFSA technical content and who may or may not have been exposed as trainers/facilitators in delivering training courses, but who will be now be called upon to deliver EFSA trainings.

Learning Objectives

Define the relevant EFSA guidance disseminated
Interpret their own learning and effectively build on it
Explain different adult learning principles and styles
Demonstrate effective presentation and facilitation skills
Conduct a basic Training Needs Analysis
Do a basic workshop adaptation
Plan and conduct a training session
Conduct a basic evaluation of a course and follow up
Prepare their individual action plan
Prepare/ Review CO learning action plans
Draw lessons from previous EFSA trainings conducted in the region

Learning Needs & Monitoring

Workshops

Distance Learning

On-the-Job Learning

Learning Events