Examples of analytical frameworks

Some examples are listed here to create a more thorough understanding of what frameworks are and how they have been used.

1. Multicluster Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) Framework, IASC

The MIRA may be the most well-known analytical framework in the humanitarian community for assessment guidance. The MIRA is often used in sudden onset contexts; it has been criticized for being less suitable for conflict settings.

 

The MIRA is made for strategic decision making, separating data collected from assessments into the scope and scale of a crisis, conditions of the affected populations, capacities and response, and humanitarian access. These categories are meant to inform outcomes such as the humanitarian profile, the severity of the crisis, gaps in response, and operational constraints. The outcomes can inform the likely evolution of a crisis, which in turn informs decision makers on what the priority humanitarian needs are and will be. The model is both needs and risks based.

2. Index for Risk Management (INFORM) Risk Model

The INFORM Risk model has been designed to answer three questions: what countries are at risk of crisis, what are the underlying factors leading to this crisis, and how does the crisis change overtime (trend analysis). The model consists of three main dimensions (hazard and exposure, vulnerability or the susceptibility of the community to those hazards, and the lack of coping capacity on a more institutional level).