Rapid humanitarian assessments and rationality: A value of information study from Iraq, 2003-04

This is an extended case study of a rapid humanitarian assessment and the factors that shaped a long series of decisions during its design and execution. The subject matter-contamination with landmine and Unexploded Ordonance (UXO)- and the settings- Iraq in 2003 and 2004- are almost incidental. The focus is on the rationality of decision-making during the assessment, meaning in this case, the value of the information produced versus the effort needed to produce it.

Recommendations:

• For the practitioners of rapid assessment:
• We warn against commenting to large samples in quickly changing survey environments and recommend more frequent learning cycles with the assessment users.
• There is a rural bias in humanitarian assessment and see the need for tools and staff incentives to assess adequately larger settlements and not get lost in multitudes of small remote places.