Livelihood Coping Strategies – Food Security (LCS-FS)

Outcome

Impact

% of households applying Livelihood Coping Strategies related to food security, by severity (no use, Stress, Crisis, Emergency)

The Livelihood Coping Strategies - Food Security (LCS-FS) Indicator measures the extent to which households adopt livelihood coping strategies in response to food insecurity. It captures the medium- to long-term capacity of households to maintain access to food under stress or crisis conditions; it is a key component in assessing food security.

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

1) Identify Relevant Livelihood Coping Strategies: The first task is to identify the most common coping strategies households use to manage food access challenges. Consult Cash Working Group or other local coordination bodies for existing lists of such strategies and review them for local relevance using focus group discussions with affected populations. Examples of the standard LCS-FS question list grouped under stress, crisis and emergencies are available in the guidance below. Select approximately 10 coping strategies balanced across severity groups: four stress, three crisis, and three emergency strategies.

 

2) Determine Severity Weights for Each Coping Strategy: Assign severity weights based on WFP’s categorization of coping strategies into stress (weight = 1), crisis (weight = 2), and emergency (weight = 3) levels. Severity reflects the extent of negative impacts on future household food security and livelihood sustainability. Use locally validated severity classifications developed through focus group discussions with affected populations, ensuring that weights remain consistent for comparability. Contact the Food Security Cluster or other relevant actors to determine whether such a classification already exists. If not, refer to the WFP (2008) Coping Strategies Index – Field Methods Manual and the LCS-FS Guidance Note (see below) for detailed guidance on community validation and severity weighting procedures.

 

3) Conduct a Household Survey Using a Standardised Questionnaire: Interview a representative sample of households using probability sampling. Ask whether each strategy was used within the recall period. Survey response options should include:

   - Yes (used within 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

Train enumerators to minimise "prefer not to answer" responses through clear explanations and trust building.

 

4) Calculate the Livelihood Coping Strategies – Food Security Score: Multiply each "Yes" response by its assigned severity weight and sum all weighted responses to generate the household’s total LCS-FS score. Higher scores indicate greater use and severity of livelihood coping strategies related to food security.

 

5) Classify Households by Coping Severity Category: Categorise household scores into four groups defined by WFP or coordinating groups:

    - None (no negative coping used)

    - Stress

    - Crisis

    - Emergency

These bands reflect increasing levels of livelihood stress and food insecurity risk.

 

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

    - % of households in each coping severity category (none, stress, crisis, emergency)

    - average LCS-FS score across all surveyed households

Disaggregate the data by gender of the head of household, geographical area, wealth and other relevant criteria.

1) Stress strategies typically include actions such as borrowing money or spending household savings to meet food needs. Crisis strategies are more severe and often undermine productive capacity — for example, selling productive assets or withdrawing children from school to reduce expenses. Emergency strategies represent the most extreme responses, such as selling land or housing, begging, or permanently migrating in search of income.

2) Consider reporting also the prevalence of "exhausted" coping strategies to understand the depletion of livelihood assets and predict future vulnerability.

 

3) The LCS-FS methodology requires contextual adaptation, but must maintain comparability with 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.

 

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

 

5) The Livelihood Coping Strategies indicator exists in two versions: For food security (= this indicator) and for essential needs (available on this site). 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.

 

6) Refer to the full WFP LCS-FS guidance for detailed methodology, example questionnaires, and analysis guidance (see below).