The Food Consumption Score Nutritional Quality Analysis (FCS-N) is a tool derived from the Food Consumption Score indicator, that looks at three main nutrients (Vitamin A, Protein and Hem Iron) of the food items consumed. The gathered data from this FCS-N module is essential for understanding nutritional health and well-being of households. The FCS is calculated by inspecting how often households consume food items from the different food groups during a 7-day reference period. In addition to this, the FCS-N module collects data on sources of the consumed foods acquired by households.
Available Resources
Please find below some resources to help you collect, calculate, and analyse the FCS-N: -
Technical Guidance Note
Read the detailed FCS-N technical guidance document to understand how to implement, analyse, and report on the FCS-N accurately.
Questionnaire Modules
Download the standard questionnaire modules for the FCS-N in Word format.
XLS Forms
Access to the XLS form for the FCS-N module designed in WFP Survey Designer. The XLS form can be converted into an ODK form for consistent data collection across mobile and web platforms.
Training Material
A training presentation on FCS-N for use by enumerators, VAM and M&E staff is available in the following languages:
Scripts
The following standardized scripts are currently available on GitHub for use by analysts.
Sample data for calculating the FCS-N can be found here.
Additional Resources
Small Quantities Guideline: Refer to the FCS Cut-offs for Food Group Consumption document for detailed thresholds on what qualifies as "consumed" by the household for each food group.
The Data Quality Guidance provides practical steps to maintain data quality across all phases of evidence generation cycle
A two-part FCS-N tutorial video - introduces the FCS-N tool, the main steps of analyses in SPSS, and finishes off in Excel (useful for analysts): FCS-N Tutorial Part 1, FCS-N Tutorial Part 2
For more context, refer to the CARI guidance document and the CRF indicator sheet, which provides detailed information about how the indicator integrates with food security analysis frameworks.
For more information, please contact the Assessments and Targeting Unit in HQ VAM at global.assessmentandtargeting@wfp.org.