​The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of debates concerning impact assessments and to help clarify key issues around their application and utilisation in humanitarian aid.

It is hoped that the discussions at the 24th ALNAP meeting, and subsequent work, enabled the ALNAP membership and the wider humanitarian community to develop a shared understanding of the limits and possibilities of humanitarian impact assessment, and to use this understanding to outline a practical vision for future work in this area.

Karen Proudlock and Ben Ramalingam