The EMB’s sustainability can be addressed through a thorough needs assessment, by which a country informs itself of its current election management capabilities and the resources, financial, technological, and human resources necessary to organize and conduct free and fair elections. An assessment may be undertaken by the EMB itself, but may gain credibility if conducted by a private audit firm or an independent NGO. Donors also usually undertake needs assessments in planning assistance programmes.

A needs assessment can be used to identify EMB sustainability at three levels: system, organisational, and individual. It is normally based on an expert analysis of the electoral environment, and identifies and considers strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

A system level needs assessment covers the broader issues of the legal and institutional environments in which elections take place, in order to determine the extent to which they help or hinder EMB sustainability. It includes a review of all parts of the legal and policy framework relevant to elections, and the EMBs functions and stakeholder relationships derived from these. The primary legal instruments to be reviewed are the constitution, laws dealing directly with electoral processes, and their subsidiary regulations and administrative policies. The assessment may need to cover parts of the legal framework that are indirectly relevant, such as public sector employment laws or polices, or government procurement rules and practices. It may also address the EMB’s linkages and relationship with other bodies, such as the host ministry of a Governmental Model EMB, government ministries which render financial and logistical support to the EMB, and local and international associations and bodies which serve as EMB networks of support and resource sharing.

At the organisational level, a needs assessment looks at the EMB’s strategies and management culture, and considers its processes of planning, policy-making and implementation; management structure; division of roles and responsibilities; communication and cooperation; and standards for financial reporting and staff performance. It helps the EMB calculate the amount of resources required to organize the conduct of any specific electoral event. The EMB can then work out what portion of the amount needed can be met from the national budget and how much, if any, would be needed from other sources. The assessment may also examine the nature and level of technical assistance required.

At the individual level, a needs assessment covers issues such as staff competence, available opportunities for staff development, and staff loyalty to the EMB’s objectives and mission.

Where there is a record of credible needs assessment reports over a period, a comprehensive picture of the ability of the EMB’s capacity begins to emerge, and it can be more accurately evaluated in terms of sustainability.