Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA)
Resilience measurement and analysis is critical for formulating evidence-based policy to promote food security and build resilient livelihoods. Since 2008, FAO has been at the forefront of efforts to measure resilience to food insecurity and has pioneered the development and use of the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA) methodology.
RIMA estimates household resilience to food insecurity with a quantitative approach to establish a cause-effect relationship between resilience and its critical determinants. RIMA is context- and shocks-specific; it can be adopted for impact evaluation, reflecting the Theory of Change (ToC) and Logframe of interventions. Within a Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) framework, this tool can be used for tracking progress during the project cycle and adapt interventions; to explore food security and resilience changes over time; and to improve programme design and inform policy decisions.
Currently, RIMA is used in several countries located in the West, East and sub-Saharan Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia and in South America. Central to this work are efforts to build national and regional capacities for resilience analysis. Through regional and country offices, FAO works closely with regional bodies such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel, the African Union, the Central American Integration System and international organizations (including the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), National Bureau of statistics (e.g. Senegal, Uganda, Palestine), academia and other institutional partners on data collection and analysis and impact evaluations on resilience to inform policymakers.
Digital certifications
Understanding RIMA – An introduction to the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis is an e-learning course that provides an overview of the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis. It is aimed at programme designer and implementers, monitoring and evaluation officers, policy makers and all those who want to learn how RIMA can support programme and policy development to reinforce households’ resilience to food security. The course is available in English, French and Spanish.