When conducted at the outset of a national focus on adaptation, such assessments can contribute to a baseline of the country’s climate vulnerability against which progress on adaptation can be reviewed. If the assessments are repeated on a regular basis (e.g. to inform national planning and budgeting cycles) they can provide a picture of how climate risks and vulnerabilities are changing over time. However, to understand how these changes came about, the assessments can benefit from the application of complementary tools, including those outlined below.