The HNO is a critical document in the HPC, a clear understanding of need is required before an adequate response can be planned or implemented. Work on the HNO should begin 6-8 months before the document is due as there are many dependencies. Ideally, the OCHA office should have a timeline or work plan for the entire HPC with clear deadlines and responsibilities.
Dependences for the HNO include:
CODs - Administrative boundaries and population statistics with sex and age-disaggregated to lowest possible level, at a minimum, are agreed upon, clean, and sharable.
Humanitarian Profile
Needs assessments
Access mapping
Humanitarian Needs Overview Guidance and templates - HNO guidance documents are available in English and French and are updated yearly. These documents clearly outline the information needed to produce an HNO.
Practical Step by Step Guide - includes Step-by-Step Practical Guide for HNO and HRP (includes: HPC Process Overview, HPC Visual Guidance, Design Assets, templates) Available in Arabic, English and French
Read the previous years HNO
Download and read all guidance documents as soon as they become available.
Contact the Programme Support Branch in Geneva to identify a focal point that can help you prepare for and plan especially if this is the first time you have been involved in an HNO.
Discuss the previous years HNO with cluster and OCHA colleagues. Ask what could be improved.
If not already done request a staff meeting on HNO to determine timeline and responsibilities.
Prepare an OCHA or IMU work plan for the HNO with clear deadlines and responsibilities.
Needed data is identified and acquired (note this can take an extraordinary amount of time - plan for it!)