Abstract: All too often the collection as well as analysis of data for humanitarian response only starts once a disaster hits. This paper proposes a framework to assess Data Preparedness on five dimensions: Data Sets, Data Services and Tooling, Data Governance, Data Literacy, and Networked Organizations for Data. We demonstrate for one dimension, i.e. Data Sets, how it can be quantified. First step is to determine which Data Sets must be collected before a disaster strikes so that as many as possible decision-makers' information needs are covered. Subsequently, a Data Sets Preparedness Index can be calculated based on Completeness, Recency and Accuracy & Reliability. We tested the index for Malawi and The Philippines and show how it can be used to direct data collection and determine when data analysis for e.g. predicting severity becomes meaningful. The index can be modified for reporting on global policies such as the Sustainable Development Goals.