How do you prioritize community needs in an emergency?

1 Understand the situation

The first step in prioritizing community needs is to understand the nature, scope, and impact of the emergency. You need to gather reliable and timely information from various sources, such as field assessments, situation reports, local authorities, community leaders, and media. You also need to consider the pre-existing vulnerabilities and capacities of the community, as well as the potential risks and opportunities for response and recovery. By understanding the situation, you can identify the most pressing problems and gaps, as well as the most affected and at-risk groups.

2 Establish criteria and indicators

The second step in prioritizing community needs is to establish clear and transparent criteria and indicators that can help you rank and compare the different needs. You can use a variety of criteria, such as urgency, severity, feasibility, sustainability, equity, and alignment with the community's preferences and values. You can also use indicators, such as numbers, percentages, ratios, or scores, to measure and quantify the needs and their relative importance. By establishing criteria and indicators, you can ensure that your prioritization is based on evidence and logic, rather than intuition or bias.

3 Consult and coordinate

The third step in prioritizing community needs is to consult and coordinate with the relevant stakeholders, such as the affected community, local authorities, other emergency managers, humanitarian agencies, and donors. You need to communicate your findings and analysis, solicit feedback and input, and build consensus and agreement on the priorities and actions. You also need to coordinate your efforts and resources with the other actors, to avoid duplication, gaps, or conflicts. By consulting and coordinating, you can enhance the legitimacy, accountability, and effectiveness of your prioritization and response.

4 Adapt and monitor

The fourth step in prioritizing community needs is to adapt and monitor your decisions and actions, as the emergency situation evolves and new information emerges. You need to review and update your priorities regularly, based on the changing needs, capacities, and resources of the community. You also need to monitor and evaluate the outcomes and impacts of your response, to measure its relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. By adapting and monitoring, you can ensure that your prioritization and response are responsive, flexible, and adaptive to the dynamic emergency context.

5 Learn and improve

The fifth step in prioritizing community needs is to learn and improve your skills and knowledge, based on your experience and feedback. You need to document and share your lessons learned, challenges faced, and best practices adopted, with your peers, partners, and supervisors. You also need to seek and apply feedback, recommendations, and guidance from experts, mentors, and trainers, to improve your performance and competence. By learning and improving, you can increase your capacity and confidence as an emergency manager, and prepare yourself for future emergencies.

6 Prioritize community needs in an emergency

Prioritizing community needs in an emergency is a complex and challenging task, that requires a combination of skills, knowledge, and judgment. By following these five steps, you can improve your ability to make informed and effective decisions, that can save lives, reduce suffering, and enhance recovery. Remember that prioritization is not a one-time or fixed process, but a continuous and dynamic one, that requires constant monitoring, adaptation, and learning.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?