“SELECTING INDICATORS FOR NATIONAL FIVIMS”

1. “SELECTING INDICATORS FOR NATIONAL FIVIMS” Yassin Wehelie, FAO APERI, Tehran, I.R. Iran 23-25 October 2007

2. What is a food security indicator? Indicators are constructed from a set of data, or measurements, of food security-related conditions. For example, DES as the indicator used by FAO to measure undernourishment (i.e. Kcal/day/person)

3. Choosing among indictors • Generally, there are large number of indicators to choose from • Indicators may have different ways of measuring them • Thus, factors to consider in choosing among different indictors are: • Cost of collecting basic information • Ease of processing and analyzing the information

4. Chosen indicators should be: • Relevant to FS context and local systems • Credible and universally understood • Time sensitive

5. The 15 information domains of FIVIMS • FIVIMS IAWG has identified 15 information domains for collecting and organizing relevant indicators • These domains are grouped into: • National & sub-national context (6 domains) • National food economy (3) • Household context (3) • Individual outcome (3)

6. Recommended process for choosing indicators for FIVIMS • Review a large number of possible indictors (suggestive list provided in the Tools & Tips); • Add needed country-specific indicators; • Evaluate each indicator as to whether it fulfils requirements • Drop or retain indicators on the basis of the above • Basic information for some indictors may be lacking, thus, decide what to do