Livelihood Coping Strategies – Essential Needs (LCS-EN)

Outcome

Impact

% of households applying Livelihood Coping Strategies (LCS) to meet essential needs, by severity (no use, Stress, Crisis, Emergency)

The Livelihood Coping Strategies – Essential Needs (LCS-EN) Indicator is used to assess the degree to which households engage in coping strategies related to meeting essential needs, such as food, health, and shelter - typically during periods of crisis or acute food insecurity.

Determine the indicator's value by using the following methodology:

 

1) Identify Relevant Livelihood Coping Strategies: Begin by selecting the most common livelihood coping strategies related to essential needs used by households in the target area within the reference period (usually the last 7 or 30 days). These strategies measure how households meet essential survival needs. Contact the Cash Working Group (or possibly other major actors, such as ICRC or respected NGOs) to see if a list of locally relevant livelihood coping strategies is available. If so, review it to ensure the strategies are relevant to the context of your intervention. If such a list is unavailable, use focus group discussions with target group members to identify them.

Examples of livelihood coping strategies are included in the documents listed below.

 

2) Determine Severity Weights for Each Coping Strategy: Assign a severity weight to each livelihood coping strategy that reflects its negative impact on household wellbeing. WFP recommends categorising coping strategies into three severity levels—Stress (weight = 1), Crisis (weight = 2), and Emergency (weight = 3)—based on how much they undermine livelihoods and essential needs. When available, use severity classifications from the WFP or Cash Working Group guidance to ensure standardisation and comparability. If no standard exists, conduct focus group discussions with community members and stakeholders to agree on appropriate weighting.

 

3) Conduct a Household Survey Using Standardised Questionnaire: Interview a representative sample of households to ask whether they used each coping strategy in the specified recall period. Responses should include:

    - Yes (used in recall period)

    - No, not necessary

    - No, exhausted (already sold assets or could not continue practice within the last 12 months)

    - Not applicable (household never had access to this strategy)

    - Prefer not to answer

 

4) Calculate the Livelihood Coping Strategies – Essential Needs Score: Multiply each "Yes" response by its assigned severity weight. Sum these weighted responses across all strategies to compute the household’s total LCS-EN score. Higher scores indicate more severe or intense coping behaviour.

 

5) Classify Households by Coping Severity Category: Classify household coping scores into four groups based on thresholds established by WFP or relevant coordination bodies:

    - None (no negative coping strategies used)

    - Stress

    - Crisis

    - Emergency

 

6) Report Indicator Values: Always report two main indicators:

    - The percentage of households in each of the four coping severity categories (none, stress, crisis, emergency) to provide an overview of the population’s livelihood stress levels.

    - The average LCS-EN score across all surveyed households to capture the intensity of coping strategies used.

Disaggregate data by relevant criteria, including female-headed households, geographic location, socioeconomic status, and other context-important factors.

1) Consider reporting additional findings, such as the proportion of households reporting "exhausted" coping strategies, which indicates depleted livelihood assets or options.

 

2) The LCS-EN methodology requires contextual adaptation, but must maintain comparability with WFP standard severity weights and classification thresholds. Always consult the recommendations provided by relevant coordination groups (e.g., a Cash Working Group) who should lead this process locally.

 

3) Ensure consistent recall period for coping strategies (7 or 30 days) to ensure data comparability.

 

4) The Livelihood Coping Strategies indicator exists in two versions: For essential needs (covered on this page) and for food security (described here). The version for essential needs should be used in Essential Needs Analysis, or whenever the context is broader than food security. The Food Security version should be used when a narrow focus on food security is intended.

 

5) Refer to the full WFP LCS-EN guidance and supporting documents for detailed definitions, example questionnaires, and analysis scripts (see below).