Using Data to Guide Decisions for Cash-Based Interventions: UNHCR's Needs and Market Assessment Approach

Cash-based interventions are a means to provide refugee populations with resources to meet their own needs in an autonomous way. Yet, markets must be functioning, accessible, and expandable enough for refugees to utilize them. Situational information, including demographic information regarding the population of concern, provides the context to ground the project in. An assessment of needs will identify what is needed, how much, and by whom. This information will guide the market assessment to determine if the market has the capacity to absorb additional demand for the goods/services within the intervention scope. This chapter aims to provide a review of how data is used to guide the decision-making process of whether to implement CBI projects and the methods involved during the needs assessment and market analysis. This is followed by a practical example demonstrating how data can be used for decision making for a CBI project in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.