A prerequisite for any appropriate decision-making and coordinated response is the facilitation of a shared understanding of the situation, the needs, risks, and priorities. Needs assessments and analyses are conducted at the beginning of a sudden onset emergency or, in protracted crises, on a regular basis. Needs assessments are usually conducted by FSC partners, including FAO /WFP, and shared with the FSC. The role of FSC is to coordinate and facilitate the harmonisation of assessments (tools and methodology) and support joint analysis. This is sometimes done through an ‘Needs Assessment Working Group” (NAWG), set up for this purpose (if inter-sectoral, this would take place through the ICCG). Partners and national authorities, to the extent possible, should agree on a joint situation analysis as a basis for strategic response planning.