• Introduction to targeting
• How should I approach targeting?
• Targeting by level of vulnerability: Who is most vulnerable?
• Geographic Targeting:  Where do you find more OVC?
• How do I set constraints on the number of children assisted?
• How identify eligible children at the community level?
• What if community-based methods are not possible? 
• What about children outside family care?
• Is there a role for (public) institutions?

Set hard constraints on the number of children assisted in each area

The budget divided by the estimated cost of services per child sets a numerical limit of OVC that can receive services in each geographical area selected for interventions. The use of a numerical constraint allows targeting of scarce budgetary resources to the most vulnerable children and discourages overstated lists and leakages of assistance to non-OVC. To set budgets at the district level, first determine the available budget at the national level, then allocate these resources to the provincial and then district levels based on population size and likely OVC concentration. Include resource demanding factors like poor infrastructure and long distances that are likely to increase the per-child cost of interventions in certain areas when allocating the funding on zones. You should also try to identify existing projects for OVC, and adjust your number of targeted OVC to the number of OVC in the province that already receive assistance from other projects.

Targeting within provinces to the district level may not be reasonable because of the risk that the presence of an assistance program will attract participants from neighboring districts. It may therefore make sense to distribute funds across districts using population weights for children under 15. Targeting to districts may also be necessary because the budget is insufficient to serve all districts within a province or because OVC are highly concentrated within specific districts. In that case, the best way to allocate the budget within a province could be to conduct a rapid social assessment. Such an assessment relies, in general, on information gathered from small group meetings (e.g., with mothers, youth, farmers) and from contacts with key informants such as traditional leaders, clergy, and local officials (see the social analysis sourcebook)