The initial assessment of needs is an essential stage in humanitarian aid. Carried out by a single organisation or as part of a multi-agency assessment, it helps the organisations to understand a crisis, its context and the needs, capacities and expectations of the population. We currently find ourselves in a global context of multiple, complex, acute and protracted crises, where needs are immense and funding is constantly decreasing. The question of prioritising needs therefore naturally arises for organisations that are faced on the ground with situations of extreme vulnerability and limited capacity to respond. 

How can needs be effectively identified and prioritised in this situation? Most importantly, how can communities be given a legitimate voice in deciding what their priority needs are and how to respond appropriately? 

In an attempt to provide some answers to these questions, we propose to give the floor to various practitioners in the sector, MEAL, Technical Experts and AAP specialists in charge of framing the methodology for initial needs assessments and supervising these surveys in the field, so that they can share their experiences and good practice with us. We will also hear from researchers working on the issue of community participation in crisis contexts, who will shed a different light on these issues.