Strengthening UN World Food Programme’s Capacity Building programs through the identification, design and standardization of GIS and Remote Sensing Trainings

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations humanitarian organization responsible for the rapid intervention and long-term assistance in the event of a food crisis. The GIS and Remote Sensing unit in WFP actively supports the various humanitarian emergencies: floods, droughts, cyclones and socio-political events are classic examples of situations faced by WFP with the support of GIS and Remote Sensing. The Geographic Information Systems, associated with the increasing use of global positioning systems and remote sensing data have become an invaluable tool for preparedness to natural disasters, in the coordination of response actions and for planning of development interventions. The objective of the research is to put in place a more robust, targeted and standardized training framework through which capacity building activities in the field of Geomatics can be better prioritized and implemented according to the needs, ensuring its alignment with the Organization's broader strategic priorities (1. Prepare for and respond to shocks; 2. Restore and rebuild lives and livelihoods; and 3.reduce vulnerability and build lasting resilience.) The organization is evolving towards more targeted geospatial analyses in response to the shift from food aid to food assistance, demanding a much greater analytical work and engagement between WFP key functions, as well as requiring a series of additional information sets to better inform the targeting of areas for food assistance. As a result, the GIS and Remote Sensing skills required for meeting such objectives are much greater and the organization needs to ensure the staff will meet them satisfactorily; therefore there was the needs to revise the existing trainings to better align them with the current organizational goals. So far WFP has been covering trainings needs and demands throughout the world in a disordered fashion and despite the need for GIS expertise in the field, the trainings performed have so far not been systematically implemented. The methodology applied for identifying the capacity building requirements needed for achieving the goals defined in the GIS Strategy consists on a Training Need Analysis (TNA). The TNA provides a systematic investigation of training needs within the organization, and the trainings designed will be reviewed on regular basis to ensure the provision remain relevant to the objectives.