Sustainable Livelihoods Approach
Annex 1: Components of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework
- Livelihood Assets
- Policies, Institutions and Processes
- Livelihood Strategies
- Livelihood Outcomes
- Vulnerability Context
Livelihood Assets
Livelihood assets serve as the basis for people’s livelihoods. There are five types of asset that together enable people to pursue sustainable livelihoods:
- human - knowledge, skills, ability to labour and good health
- social - the resources people can draw upon in pursuit of their livelihood
- objectives, including social networks and relationships of trust and reciprocity
- natural - the natural resources available
- physical - basic infrastructure and producer goods available
- financial - the financial resources people have available
Policies, Institutions and Processes
The institutions, organisations, policies and legislation that shape livelihoods, both positively and negatively.
These structures and processes:
- operate at all levels from domestic to international
- operate in all spheres, from the most private to the most public
- determine a household’s livelihood strategy, given its livelihood assets
Livelihood Strategies
These are the range and combination of activities and choices that people make/undertake in order to achieve their livelihood goals. Livelihood strategies encompass productive activities, investment strategies and reproductive choices, among other things.
Livelihood Outcomes
Livelihood outcomes are the achievements of livelihood strategies. Individuals and households will usually try to achieve multiple outcomes, which may include:
- more income
- increased well-being
- reduced vulnerability
- improved food security
- more sustainable use of natural resources
Livelihood outcomes feedback into household assets, with for example more cash income increasing a household’s financial capital.
Vulnerability Context
This describes the environment in which people live. People’s livelihoods and the wider availability of assets are fundamentally affected by critical trends as well as by shocks and seasonality - over which they have limited or no control. Shocks can be the result of human health, natural events, economic uncertainty, conflict and crop/livestock health. Transforming structures and processes influence the vulnerability context. The vulnerability context in turn affects a household’s assets.