Since 1994 FSAU has invested considerable energy to improve the rigour of the units food security, nutrition, and livelihoods analysis, and its relevance for decision making. To help meet these goals of rigor and relevance, since February 2004 FSAU has been developing and using a tool called the Integrated Food Security and Humanitarian Phase Classifi cation (IPC). In addition to consistently improving analysis and facilitating effective response in the context of Somalia, there are strong in dications that the IPC is relevant on a wider scale, as it serves as a common currency for food security and humanitarian analysis. This manual provides technical guidance to the use of IPC among FSAU analysts and technical partners, and will hopefully contribute to on-going global efforts to standardize core elements of humanitarian analysis and response (e.g., the SMART, Benchmarking, Needs Analysis Framework, Humanitarian Tracking Service, and Sphere Project). The IPC builds from aspects of many existing classifi cation systems and academic literature. The practical strength of the IPC, however, is that it was developed through the every day realities of conducting food security analysis and linking it to action within the context of a complex emergency. In addition, the IPC development has benefi ted from technical feedback of expert practitioners and high level decision makers through dozens of forums in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA. Appendix 7.1 lists just some of these meetings, for whom we are extremely grateful for their technical input.Thank you to the FSAU technical partners from WFP, UNICEF, OCHA, SC-UK, CARE, the Somalia Transitional Federal Government, authorities from Somaliland and Puntland, and numerous others for their technical input and continued support towards the development and usage of the IPC. Wolfgang Herbinger and many other colleagues from WFP Rome have also made substantial contributions to the IPC revisions.