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Tapping into Local Knowledge in Times of Disaster

Photo Credit: iRevolution

The World Bank and Google have announced a collaborative agreement to use a free, web-based mapping tool called Google Map Maker that enables citizens to directly participate in the creation of maps by contributing their local knowledge.

The agreement is aimed at improving disaster preparedness and development efforts in countries around the world. Under the agreement, the World Bank will act as a conduit to make Google Map Maker source data, more widely and easily available to government organizations in the event of major disasters, and also for improved planning, management, and monitoring of public services provision.

The Importance of Local Knowledge

The most innovative component of this agreement, I believe, is the effort to blend scientific and local knowledge to solve local solutions. The need for integrating modern technology and indigenous knowledge into disaster management and prevention has long been overdue. While the technical capability of the new ICTs is huge, it also requires the mobilization of human resources, especially locally available human resources in tackling such disasters.

Just as the expertise of local citizens are being utilized to project their views in urban centers/cities through data-mapping, local knowledge, which is context specific, could be used to interpret the natural landscape of past natural disasters and using these indicators to help in forecasting future disasters. Studies have shown that local knowledge practices are cost effective, and incorporating them into scientific projects could help build local trust of the people. The use of local knowledge such as weather predictions, smells, sounds, cloud color, direction and types of wind, appearance and movements of insects, etc. could be tapped into, in disaster prone communities to help develop sustainable measures in interpreting early warning signals of natural disasters.

Google Map Maker

The Google Map Maker data includes detailed maps of more than 150 countries and regions, and identifies locations like schools, hospitals, roads, settlements and water points that are critical for relief workers to know about in times of crisis. The data will also be useful for planning purposes, as governments and their development partners can use the information to monitor public services, infrastructure and development projects; make them more transparent for NGOs, researchers, and individual citizens; and more effectively identify areas that might be in need of assistance before a disaster strikes.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) will manage the World Bank’s involvement in the collaboration, building on previous joint mapping efforts. For example in April 2011, members of the Southern Sudanese Diaspora participated in a series of community mapping events organized by World Bank and Google to create comprehensive maps of schools, hospitals and other social infrastructure in this new country via Map Maker technology.

Google has enjoyed a strong relationship with World Bank for many years. As indicated by the World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region Obiageli Ezekwesili, “Today’s technology can empower civil society, including the diaspora, to collaborate and support the development process. This collaboration is about shifting the emphasis from organizations to people, and empowering them to solve their own problems and develop their own solutions using maps.”

Read more on the agreement and possible partnership and collaborations with the World Bank offices.

January 23, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Humanitarian Assistance, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Pakistan Floods – Use of Information and Communication Technology

One of the things that I spent a great deal of my time during the first half of this year is being launched today. With great support from Intel and Microsoft we at NetHope are launching a 60 page case study report on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the Pakistan floods last year.

In this report we look at how the humanitarian community responded, how ICT played a role in the response and how information management was utilized during the response.

Back in 2006, Paul Currion wrote a report on the use of ICT in the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. In our report we look back at his findings and identify ways in which things have progressed in these five years. Interestingly enough in many cases not much has changed.

One of the key things that has changed in these five years is easier access to connectivity. Whereas in 2005 most organizations relied upon V-SATs as the only available connection, the humanitarian organizations today relied much more upon broadband and mobile connections.

It is our hope that this report provides a great insight into the state of ICT and information management within the humanitarian system and that it generates discussions on how to further improve.

I want to use this opportunity to thank all those who contributed to the report, either by responding to our survey or be willing to participate in our interviews. Last but not least I want to thank everyone who helped review my often rough text and special thanks to our media queen Paige for making the report look so nice.

The report can be downloaded here

September 13, 2011/by actualize

Agriculture, Humanitarian Assistance, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Last Mile Mobile Solutions: An Efficient Aid Distribution Tool

Photo Credit: Last Mile Mobile Solutions

Last month, food assistance from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) reached more 26,500 people fleeing fighting in Sudan’s South Kordofan state. Not even close to a tenth of the 400,000 Southern Sudanese they fed before the latest outbreak of violence.

In humanitarian assistance missions, delivering aid to displaced people, at the right time, in sufficient quantities is extremely challenging, especially in inaccessible rural areas.

Lack of infrastructure prevents transportation, erupting violence hinders efforts, and overall allocation is inefficient and ineffective.

The Last Mile Mobile Solutions (LMMS) is a mobile technology aiming to change the aid distribution process.

LMMS bypasses the challenges that remote data collection typically faces in the last mile. With the swipe of a photo ID card, families receive the right amount of food, without waiting in line or conducting paper work

The beneficiaries of aid are directly registered in the field, and then immediately integrated into a humanitarian assistance project database, strengthening inventory control during aid distribution.

Ben Tshin of World Vision explains how the digitalization and automation of the aid distribution makes, “digital records of what we serve and how we serve them.” While the time to collect, stock, allocate, and report a humanitarian aid necessities is cut in half.

This is an illustration of how the LMMS system works:

Screen shot of the Last Mile Mobile Solutions steps on how their tool is used

Photo Credit: Last Mile Mobile Solutions

Initially working with World Vision, a partner of the UN’s World Food Program, LMMS was piloted in Kenya and Lesotho in 2008 to assist with general food aid distributions.

Success of the pilot led to an extension of LMMS being used in all of World Vision’s feeding programs. In 2009, LMMS was adapted for feeding programs targeted for vulnerable populations to improve World Vision’s distribution and reach.

LMMS was designed for food allocation, but “is not specific to World Vision,” Tshin states, its framework is flexible enough to be used by other organizations working in humanitarian assistance.

LMMS streamlines the distribution process, but digitalization also makes the donor money more transparent—allowing donors to see who, what, and where their funds are going. Information on aid delivery activities is stored, aggregated and can be sent to donor organizations in a PDF format.

This new communication tool makes organizations on the ground more accountable to their donors, encouraging fair distribution and preventing redundancy between projects.

The LMMS also has a long-term goal in mind for how organizations can use this resource in its full capacity.

Potentially, the mobile technology could be a, “cloud online solution,” where donors in Washington will be able to view what is happening in humanitarian assistance missions abroad, in real time.

LMMS can conceivably be a central and secure point for data collection to improve efficiency in program planning and effectiveness, a very useful tool in the newly emerging, conflict prone regions of South Sudan.

This mobile technology can also help the current humanitarian assistance in South Sudan identify those in need of emergency food assistance and reduce food allocation time, which provides more people with food in less time—before more violence erupts.

July 8, 2011/by actualize

Agriculture, Cross Cutting, Humanitarian Assistance, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Providing Connectivity During Humanitarian Crises: An Approach from Luxembourg

Photo Credit: UN WFP

Following actual natural disasters, humanitarian crises often escalate in gravity due to a lack of communication and connectivity between stakeholders that are on the ground. In an effort to eliminate these problems, the government of Luxembourg, in collaboration with the ICT Humanitarian Emergency Platform at the UN World Food Program (WFP), recently designed and created EPIC: Emergency Preparation Integration Centre.

The purpose of EPIC is to provide voice and data communications, via rugged mobile phones and digital radios with Internet-based phone service and GPS capabilities, to disaster zones within 14-20 hours of occurrence. The communication platform allows international agencies to communicate with each other, consolidating efforts and increasing response efficiency. Additionally, EPIC allows on-the-ground response teams to maintain communications with their agencies’ home bases, allowing for the transfer of swift and accurate news feeds in order to stimulate donor response as well.

Photo Credit: emergency.lu

The EPIC system is all contained in a single toolkit, stored at the UN’s five response posts, located around the globe in strategic locations. When a disaster hits, the toolkits are quickly flown to the scene, reestablishing communications as quickly as possible to help coordinate an organized response effort. The entire toolkit has yet to be used, but will be pilot tested in a mock trial in Cape Verde this July, according to WFP ICT regional director of Latin America Alf Ellefsen. If the trial run goes smoothly, the toolkits will be fully operational by September or October of this year.

I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Ellefsen at the WFP about the program following his presentation at the Aid & International Development Forum 2011 last week. He explained that this effort “fulfills our mandate from the UN as the lead of the Emergency Telecommunications Sector to provide telecommunications services during humanitarian crises.” As seen in Haiti and Pakistan, recently, the lack of collaboration between responders created new problems and slowed some efforts. The EPIC system would allow responders, such as the WFP, to collectively work with other public, private, and non-governmental organizations to efficiently distribute food to victims, locate resources, and communicate crucial messages.

Though initially a project by the government of Luxembourg, EPIC now includes deployment and funding partners at the UN WFP and Ericsson. The potential of EPIC is large; if functional, it could drastically reduce the systemic problems that result in the months following natural disasters, and save thousands of dollars in relief efforts that end up being duplicated.

June 14, 2011/by actualize

Agriculture, Education, Education, Education Partnerships, Humanitarian Assistance, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Leaders Education During Humanitarian Crisis: Aid & International Development Forum 2011, Day Two

Photo Credit: Teachers Without Borders

At the last workshop session of the AIDF 2011, international educators gathered to share lessons learned about education during humanitarian crises. The synthesis and common ground between the presenters was clear—education should continue in full force during humanitarian crises, and ICTs can help that happen.

Citing statistics that crises can last for decades during war-prone areas, the presenters repeatedly emphasized the need for education to continue despite the common excuse that “now’s not the time.” Given that we don’t know when crises will end, education should begin as soon as possible and continue during humanitarian crises, they argued. Additionally, the presenters explained that when education stopped, nations lost enormous amounts of human capital, which is essential to overcome crises in the future. Limiting education during crises, then, creates a poverty trap due to a lack of human capital.

Some of the best ways to continue education during a crisis include utilizing ICTs. Distance learning, accessing Open Educational Resources (OER) online, and radio-based educational programs all become increasingly relevant during crises.

Panelist Fred Mednick, of Teachers Without Borders, spoke on the importance of local cultural contexts in educational models. During natural disasters or military crises, international educators often forget about the ever-present cultural context that they must take into account in their curriculum and approach. This lessens the impact of their efforts.

Sergio Ramirez-Mena, Senior Program Director at AED’s Global Education Center, highlighted partnerships between NGOs, governments, and businesses to provide schools and education during humanitarian crises. The collaboration with businesses is especially innovative during a crisis, and, given that many crises extend for years, is quite helpful in terms for financial sustainability of programs, bridging the gap between humanitarian and development efforts.

Last, Lori Heninger from the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, discussed the need for collaboration between organizations in the humanitarian education space. The materials are out there, thanks to the rise in OER, Heninger explained, but getting the right information to the right people is a pressing challenge.

June 10, 2011/by actualize

Humanitarian Assistance, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

A New Approach to Humanitarian Information Management – Dealing with Disasters a post from Gisli Olafsson

This post originally appeared in @gislio ‘s blog on Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ten years ago, the humanitarian community came up with the concept of Humanitarian Information Centers (HIC) as a common information management service provider during conflict or natural disasters. The concept became widely used, although not always called HICs in the period 2002-2006. Following the Humanitarian Reform (HR) in 2005 the concept lost traction and was replaced by the Operational Guidance Note on Responsibilities of Sector Leads and OCHA in Information Management (OGN). In the OGN instead of a common service model, the opposite decentralized model was emphasized with information management (IM) responsibilities lying within each cluster and having OCHA handle inter-cluster IM.

Both these models had their drawbacks. The HICs often became bottlenecks and tended to focus on inter-cluster information management products, while in the OGN model inter-cluster information was lacking support and the capacity of individual clusters to provide high quality IM services varied greatly from one cluster to the other.

Improvements in connectivity and the rise of volunteer groups such as CrisisMappers (CM), Open Street Maps (OSM) and others provide an opportunity for the humanitarian community to re-think the current approach to crisis information management. It is important in this aspect to look at new models for doing this critical work with an open mind and not to keep things as they are just for formalities sake. We need to look at what has worked and what has not worked and take the best of both approaches and identify ways to avoid the things that haven’t worked in the past. At the same time we must be willing to think outside of the box for solutions we have not used before.

Key Principles

When looking for a new approach to crisis information management it is essential that we ensure that the following key principles are met:

Information is a shared commodity that all humanitarian organizations should have access to
Duplication of IM efforts should be minimized at all costs (i.e. don’t collect contact information multiple times)
Innovative ways collecting, processing, analyzing and visualizing information should be emphasized to improve the effectiveness of the crisis information management.

A Common Service

It is very easy to see that information is something that is of great value to the entire humanitarian community and spans the entire cluster system. Just like emergency telecommunication and logistics are handled as a common service to the entire humanitarian system, so should information management be handled. At the same time we must ensure that the common service is actually providing a clear level of support to the entire humanitarian community and not just focusing on the inter-cluster information management.

Service Contracts

An Information Management Common Service should up-front define the service it will provide to the rest of the community and the service levels it will adhere to. This means that the common service should negotiate with each individual cluster what information it will manage on its behalf. This way the common service can be held accountable for the service it is providing. At the same time clusters and lead organizations should also have to be held accountable towards providing information into the common service. Clearly defined processes and interfaces between the common service and the humanitarian community should therefore be put in place.

Scalability

Depending on the scale of the disaster the common service can take on different tasks. For smaller emergencies where it becomes difficult for individual clusters to provide information management capacity then the common service could provide these on behalf of the individual clusters. In large scale disasters and in prolonged disasters some clusters may elect to continue having dedicated information management capacity within the cluster. These information managers would then act as the interface between the common service and the cluster and provide additional cluster specific analysis on top of information provided by the common service.

Governance

The Common Service should not be a UN specific or UN OCHA specific entity. It should be an entity in which the entire humanitarian community has a stake in, a consortium/partnership of equals. This would ensure buy-in from more stakeholders and also the ability to ensure capacity is in place, because the common service could thereby make use of information management experts from a wide variety of organizations.

Funding

By classifying information management as a common service it also becomes easier to identify it as a separate funding line in the consolidated emergency appeals. Right now information management is scattered under various headings in different clusters and within the “coordination” bucket that OCHA requests. Donors are quite aware of the importance of information management but have not had a clear way of providing funding to it directly.

Distributed Model

One of the main drawbacks in the old HIC model was that it was entirely field based. An attempt was made to perform all the data processing and analysis in the field. With improved communication it becomes easier to off-load those tasks to people with better connectivity and better processing power than those in the field. These people could be trained information managers from the different humanitarian organizations or they could be volunteer communities that have been trained in performing particular predefined tasks.

Outsourcing

It is important for the humanitarian community to start leveraging the rise of volunteer groups, built up around social networks and communities. These people want to lend a helping hand during disasters and are willing to often perform very mundane tasks such as data cleaning and processing because through the sheer scale of number of people involved they can make these mundane tasks become easily overcome.

By applying the common services model it becomes easier for those volunteer groups to interface with the humanitarian community because they then only need to deal with one entity instead of multiple organizations.

Needs Assessments

The common service would work closely with the different clusters and individual organizations performing needs assessments on the ground to ensure limited duplication. By collecting data from these assessments jointly into a common service repository, the information becomes more widely available within the humanitarian community and thereby allowing for better decisions to be made.

A Common Information Management Roster

As a common service of the entire humanitarian community it becomes possible to put in place a common roster of information management professionals from UN Agencies, NGOs and other organizations that could be called upon to provide information management services as part of the common service. The funding provided through the CAP for the common information management service can then be funneled back to the organizations providing information management personnel for the particular disaster through the roster.

This also allows for common information management training to be created which would ensure that the different information management experts are all trained in the same methodology.

Partnerships

Through a common service approach it also becomes easier to put in place partnerships with other NGOs and volunteer groups since they don’t have to deal with a large number of humanitarian actors, but can focus on providing their service to the entire humanitarian community through the common service.

Innovation

By having a common service it also becomes possible to jointly work on innovative ways of improving information management activities instead of individual organizations trying to do things by themselves and thereby not achieving the economies of scale required to make innovation profitable. Attracting funding for innovation becomes much easier when the donors see that it will benefit not only one organization but multiple organizations.

March 6, 2011/by actualize