For UNHCR and other agencies, targeting is a mechanism which is used to make the provision of humanitarian assistance more relevant, cost-effective, and efficient, while addressing the most urgent needs within displaced population groups. In the case of UNHCR, the decision to target is closely linked to the policy on Alternatives to Camps where targeting is seen as a crucial element to better address the needs of persons of concern in out-of-camp/urban settings.
UNHCR promotes the sharing and debate around the most relevant practice in the targeting cycle. Furthermore, UNHCR and WFP have worked together on improving and aligning targeting efforts with each other, of which one result is the Joint Targeting Guidelines which can be found on this portal.
The idea to set up this portal was discussed and developed during a multi-stakeholder meeting in June 2017, where different partners came together to participate in a targeting workshop. Participants of the workshop and contributors around the work on targeting include UNHCR, WFP, World Bank, JIPS, Oxfam, Trickle up, DRC, NRC, Universite de Yaounde, and the American University of Beirut.
The different initiatives around targeting, including this portal, have been facilitated through the support of ECHO. ECHO is one of the main donors who has been involved in establishing the capacities of humanitarian organisations, like UNHCR and WFP, in promoting the exchange and access to learning materials that discuss targeting in humanitarian settings. More on the work supported by ECHO on targeting can be found here.
The portal shall serve as resource library for various types of documents related to targeting which can be consulted by co-workers, partners and stakeholders. The portal also allows to share upcoming events and/or training initiatives which contribute to capacity-building around targeting. Furthermore, individuals are invited to join the Community of Practice where different actors can communicate and discuss with each other on issues related to targeting.
Accordingly, the objectives of this portal on Targeting in Humanitarian Response are:
- To provide a platform for sharing experience and lessons learnt in the area of targeting among multiple agencies, partners, and stakeholders
- To provide an evidence-base which can be consulted for developing targeted interventions by actors globally
- To establish a network among professionals and organisations involved in targeting
Definition of targeting or any other relevant information
The concept of targeting is used in humanitarian response as a way to identify the beneficiaries of interventions, following a needs-based and rights-based approach. Targeting aims at making humanitarian response more relevant, cost-effective, and efficient and by applying a targeting approach, those individuals who are most vulnerable and most in need of protection and assistance will be identified and provided with support. The identification and targeting of persons or groups of persons is usually based on a socio-economic or so-called vulnerability assessment. Targeting differs from prioritization in the sense that prioritization deals with resource constraints while targeting is used as a mean to identify the beneficiaries of an intervention based on specific socio-economic or other indicators. After the targeting decision, prioritization might still need to be applied if resources are limited.