Resilience Planning and Project Finance Process:
4
Conduct Vulnerability Assessment

Urban Resilience Roadmap
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Conduct Vulnerability Assessment
Introduction Competencies/Skills Tools Tips Supporting Entities Potential Outputs
Introduction

Step four is to conduct a vulnerability assessment (VA), a critical decision-support tool for subsequent steps.  There are numerous methodologies for conducting vulnerability assessments, and the specific method that the city chooses will depend on a variety of factors, including spatial scale, goals, and guidelines from higher levels of government (e.g. directives and guidelines for risk assessments).  The overall goal of the vulnerability assessment is to complement the “top-down” nature of the data and information collected in step 3.  A rigorous vulnerability assessment provides “bottom-up” information about the perceptions, experiences and priorities of the city’s residents. 

The primary output of a VA is an evidence-based analysis of the key strengths and weaknesses of the city with respect to disasters, climate change, and other shocks and stresses.  It is during the VA that the city’s resilience agenda begins to take form. The key features of a VA assessment include:

  • Link stresses to impacts on livelihoods and city services and support systems;    
  • Help stakeholders understand the complexity of resilience challenges and drivers of vulnerability, including direct, indirect, and cascading impacts of stresses; 
  • Help identify priority vulnerabilities and understand where investments may be made to strengthen city resilience;
  • Inform overall policy framework (see step 6 for details); and
  • Raise awareness and empower residents to take actions individually and collectively to reduce vulnerability.

Some basic considerations for selecting the appropriate VA methodology include the following:

  • Ensure proper funding for the process.  Costs vary based on goals and methods;
  • Ensure support from political leadership and community groups.  Success will depend on the extent of support from stakeholders; 
  • Determine the types of information to be gathered, and the data collection techniques to be used.  Commonly used techniques include community mapping, oral histories, transect walks, surveys, focus groups, scenario analysis, asset/capability inventories and focus group discussions;
  • Ensure that the VA team has skills and capabilities that are consistent with the needs of the methodology; 
  • Agree on the goals and objectives.  Goals may include
  • Identifying threats and vulnerabilities in a given area or sector;
  • Increasing public awareness and collaboration; and
  • Identifying potential resilience building options and pathways
  • Define the unit of analysis.  This includes not only the spatial scale, but also the stresses that are to be included in the VA.  Consider piloting the methodology before scaling up to a city-wide assessment.  
Competencies/Skills
  • Selecting the context appropriate VA methodology;
  • Ensuring accurate and adequate data to support the VA;
  • Integrating scientific data analysis with consultations and community feedback; and
  • Community organization and outreach
Tools/Resources
Tips
  • A rigorous, participatory VA can address gaps in locally specific information about climate change impact and help to address this weakness;
  • City residents are not passive victims to shocks and stresses and can be effective partners in building resilience when empowered with the appropriate information and capabilities; 
  • Vulnerability assessments should be rooted in local knowledge and experience;
  • Vulnerability assessments should be reviewed and updated periodically as new information becomes available; and
  • Vulnerability assessments can serve as an effective line of communication between marginal/vulnerable communities and city officials.
Supporting Entities/Processes

Many international, national, and local non-government organizations have experience and expertise in conducting vulnerability assessment.  Organizations/agencies with expertise in conducting and/or supporting vulnerability assessments with an active presence in multiple countries include:

  • USAID;
  • GIZ;
  • Red Cross/Red Crescent;
  • UNDP;
  • UNEP;
  • MercyCorp; and
  • Plan International
Potential Outputs
  • Vulnerability assessment document