Measuring the Self-Reliance of Refugees

This article appeared in the Journal of Refugee Studies.

How do we know whether a refugee household is self-reliant if this is not measured? Although self-reliance has been promoted as a critical assistance strategy for refugees in recent years, there have been limited attempts to rigorously measure the concept. This field report introduces a new measurement tool to assess the movement toward self-reliance among refugee households. The development and utility of a tool to measure self-reliance are described using pilot studies conducted in Ecuador, Egypt and Lebanon over a 9- to 18-month period.