Transcript No Slide Title

Information Management for
Humanitarian Response:
an Introduction
Rhonda Davis
Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance
United States Agency for International Development
Jeff Henigson
Office of Emergency Programs
United Nations Children’s Fund
Dennis King
Humanitarian Information Unit
United States Department of State
Introduction
Structure of the Presentation
Part One: Structured Humanitarian Assistance
Reporting (SHARE)
Part Two:
Humanitarian Information Centers
Part Three: Best Practices
Excerpts from the Symposium on Best Practices in
Humanitarian Information Management and
Exchange
Part One
Humanitarian Information
and the SHARE Approach
The SHARE Approach
Information in Humanitarian Emergencies
Information is critical from the earliest stages of a
humanitarian
emergency:
No single organization
or entity has all of this information
• locations and numbers of affected people
• the extent and distribution of damage and needs
Time is of the essence
• the locations of assistance projects and other
resources
Integrating
data
from different
humanitarian
sectors and
• the factors
affecting
the security
of the affected
organizations
canassistance
increase the
quality of data analysis
population and
workers
available to decision-makers and improve the efficiency of
humanitarian operations.
The SHARE Approach
Basic Information Reporting Standards
Date/Time Stamp (date the information was collected
and frequency - date range)
Geo-reference (region, country, 1st administrative unit,
2nd administrative unit, population centre, latitude /
longitude)
Source of information (provider - collector)
Information about the data (measurements,
methodology, terms, etc.)
Building an information system based on P-codes
Using the SHARE Approach
Place codes in humanitarian information systems
Place codes, or P-codes, are unique numeric,
alphabetical, or alphanumeric identifiers of populated
places. They help overcome the confusion associated with
multiple names for the same place, or multiple places with
the same name.
Country
Angola
AN
Province/State
Benguela
02
County
Huambo
16
District
None
00
City
Huambo
249
Note that each administrative level location…
has a corresponding code
The units combine to form a single P-code: AN.02.16.00.249
Note that P-codes should be developed prior to the onset
of a humanitarian emergency.
Map with codes along with town names
Data coding facilitates the analysis of information
The P-code links
information about the
village,
convoys,
and
housing damage
P-codes applied: Who is doing What Where
P-codes facilitating cross-sectoral data analysis...
The SHARE Approach
Institutionalizing SHARE in the humanitarian community
The SHARE Approach was developed and promoted by
the Geographic Information Support Team (GIST).
Guidelines
Inter-Agency Standing Committee
US Census Bureau
OFDA Proposal Guidelines
Humanitarian Information Centers
Part Two
Humanitarian Information Centers
Humanitarian Information Centers
Defining HICs
Humanitarian Information Centers (HIC) are information
centers that are set up in the field during humanitarian
crises to serve the data and information needs of the
humanitarian community. HICs serve multiple roles
during humanitarian crises:
data coordination points
data processing centers
data dissemination platforms
information resource centers
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Coordination Points
Humanitarian organizations responding to a
humanitarian emergency require a common set of base
data and humanitarian data about the crisis area, e.g.
the location of:
settlements
refugees and internally displaced persons
roads, railways, and airstrips
hospitals and public health facilities
rivers, streams, and other waterways
topographic features and elevation
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Coordination Points (2)
Humanitarian organizations benefit from specific
information about the location and activities of other
humanitarian agencies responding to a crisis.
Recall that specialists in humanitarian information
management often refer to this as
“Who is doing What Where” reporting
or “Who What Where” reporting.
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Coordination Points (3)
Humanitarian organizations can deliver--in person or
electronically--humanitarian data and “who what where”
reports to an HIC. The HIC serves as a data
coordination point.
Humanitarian
Information
Center
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Processing Centers
HICs often have to process data they receive from
humanitarian organizations in order to make the data
useful to other agencies.
For example, HIC staff members
might input data into a
settlements database.
Set_ID Name
Type
42335 Refugee Medical Center Medical
City
Chaman
Admin1
UNICEF
Admin2
MSF
Loc_LAT Loc_LONG RprtDate
30.9167
66.45 22/06/2002
RprtSM
Erica Woods
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Processing Centers (2)
One of the main roles of HICs is to promote data
standards within the humanitarian community. This
might involve encouraging humanitarian organizations
to support the SHARE approach
to add geographic coordinates to their data
to use place codes, or p-codes
to employ a common metadata standard
Because HICs are based in the field, they are in a
unique position to promote the use of common data
standards in the humanitarian community.
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Dissemination Platforms
HICs can output data and information products in a
number of ways. An HIC might deliver a settlements
database via any of the following methods:
Diskette or CD-Rom hand-delivered or mailed
Hard copy (e.g. printed) hand-delivered or mailed
Compressed file sent via electronic mail
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Dissemination Platforms
Information can also be disseminated via the Internet...
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Data Dissemination Platforms
Or uploaded to a specialized data repository….
Humanitarian Information Centers
Functions: HICs as Information Resource Centers
Because HICs are actually deployed in the field, staff
members of humanitarian organizations can visit an HIC to:
Request data, maps, and other information products
Register their organizations and services
Meet with other humanitarian agencies
Pick up correspondence
Output their own data via printers and plotters
The primary function of an HIC is to serve the information
needs of humanitarian organizations in the field.
Humanitarian Information Centers
Web sites of existing HICs
Afghanistan
Afghanistan Information Management Service (AIMS)
http://www.aims.org.pk
Horn of Africa
Data Exchange Platform for the Horn of Africa (DEPHA)
http://www.depha.org
Kosovo
Humanitarian Community Information Center (HCIC)
http://www.reliefweb.int/hcic/
Occupied Palestinian Territories
HIC for the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt-HIC)
http://www.reliefweb.int/hic-opt/
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Information System (SLIS)
http://www2.reliefweb.int/sle/hic/sierra_leone_information_system.htm
Part Three
Best Practices in Humanitarian
Information Exchange and Management
Best Practices
Operational Principles for Humanitarian Information
Management and Exchange
Accessibility
Inclusiveness-- i.e., transparency
Inter-operability
Accountability
Verifiability
Relevance-- i.e., Practicality
Objectivity
Timeliness
Sustainability
Humanity
Best Practices
Providing Products and Services
Establish field-based HICs to serve as a neutral
information broker and provide value-added products
and services to the field-based humanitarian community
Assess and Define User Needs and create information
products/services that support decision making
Consult data providers as well as affected populations
when designing products
Create and disseminate templates for sectoral
assessments and analysis
Best Practices
Maintaining Data and Information Quality
Maintain and promote data and information standards,
such as SHARE. Use and catalog metadata. Keep it
simple
Geo-referencing data during collection allows GIS
analysis and creation of displays/maps to effectively
communicate information to decision makers
Use templates to speed data collection
Define ambiguous terminology. Identify methodologies
and indicators
Best Practices
Preparedness
Collect and analyze baseline data before and
throughout the emergency
Maintain preparedness “toolboxes” containing operating
procedures, database templates, training materials,
manuals, etc. both on-line and off-line (CD-ROMs)
Preserve institutional memory, document datasets with
meta-data, and define an exit strategy
Best Practices
Developing and Maintaining Partnerships
Maximize resources by expanding partnerships with
national governments, UN agencies, NGOs, private
sector and research organizations
Engage local and national actors (NGOs, civil society)
in information projects and build and strengthen national
capacity
Promote trust and transparency through linkages and
use distributed networks and neutral portal repositories
to assist with information sharing
Best Practices
Use of Technology
Use appropriate technology for widest use and
dissemination
Disseminate information products through multiple
platforms and mechanisms ie. Internet, CD-ROM,
diskette, hard copy, etc.
Use open data formats and inter-operable technologies
Promote technology training and awareness
Information Management for
Humanitarian Response
Thanks for your attention!
We will now proceed with a short,
60 question exam on the presentation.
Just kidding! ;-)