The AWG has, in collaboration with the Health and WASH clusters, has developed an  Initial Rapid Assessment Tool intended to provide a quick snapshot of the situation in the first 24 to 72 hours after a crisis has begun.  It is not intended to provide detailed quantitative information and should be used to help understand the situation and guide needs assessments.  It should be adapted to the local situation and, if possible, be tested and translated in advance of an emergency as part of a preparedness plan.

The tool is derivative of many existing tools used by governments, NGOs, donors and the UN and has been peer reviewed and includes annexes to help guide data collection. Both field level and country level guidance have been developed which includes pre-crisis data checklists in the annex. To date, the draft of the tool as been field tested in six countries in collaboration with the UN Country Team in each location (Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Chad, DRC and CAR) and, based on the field-testing report , modifications to produce a final version will be made in the early 2008 in a process that UNICEF is supporting. The accompanying IRA Guidance Note should be consulted when intending to use the IRA tool.  The final draft of the IRA tool, incorporating comments from the field testing, should be ready by April 2008.

As a natural segway into continuing work on identified gaps in emergency nutrition assessments the nutrition the Global Nutrition Cluster's AWG is beginning to explore how the cluster can support efforts to operationalize the SMART method. 

Since the initial steps on the Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transition (SMART) process were begun in 2002, considerable field experience has been generated using Version 1 of the SMART Manual and Software.  Recognizing both the technical gains of SMART and the need for targeted support to address issues highlighted during field use, the IASC Global Nutrition Cluster is planning a meeting to review and further develop the SMART methodology, software and training and guidance materials.  Under the direction of the Assessment Working Group of the Nutrition Cluster, the meeting will bring together specialists and organizations who have developed and used the three modules (anthropometry, mortality and food security) in different emergency and non-emergency contexts.  By reviewing the experiences with SMART, the meeting will discuss gaps, opportunities and the next steps for operationalizing SMART in Cluster-related work at the country level, and will also have an input into development of the next version of the manual, software and training materials.

The meeting will have four main objectives: to resolve outstanding technical issues or identify a process to resolve these issues in the SMART methodology; to clarify sections of the manual identified by users as unclear or incomplete; to determine revisions needed to the Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA of NutriSurvey) software that accompanies the SMART manual; and to identify a way forward in developing a consolidated and standardized set of training materials.  The meeting will identify activities that the Nutrition Cluster can undertake or support in 2008 to further develop and roll-out SMART, to meet the needs of the broader humanitarian community.