Some terrific resources have come my way over the last few months regarding information communications technologies (ICTs) and disaster response / humanitarian efforts. Here’s a roundup:
Disaster Relief 2.0 – The Future of Information Sharing in Humanitarian Emergencies
The report analyzes how the humanitarian community and the emerging volunteer and technical communities worked together in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and recommends ways to improve coordination between these two groups in future emergencies.
Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC)
CDAC is a cross-cluster service working to enable humanitarian operations to get information to those populations affected by Haiti’s January 12 2010 earthquake and its aftermath and to channel their voices back to the providers of assistance working with local media and non-mass-media communications. CDAC uses various information and communication methods in an effort to act as a source of expertise and advice, a community of practice, and an advocacy platform that aims at ensuring that the humanitarian sector mainstreams CDAC and that local media play a role in maximising aid effectiveness, accountability, and transparency.
Left in the Dark: The Unmet Need for Information in Humanitarian Responses
This October 2008 policy briefing from the BBC World Service Trust explores the value of providing information and communication to disaster-affected populations by drawing on the example of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster – where, as stated here, the greatest dissatisfaction of the victims was over the poor information flow. “The humanitarian system as it stands is not equipped with either the capacity or the resources to begin tackling the challenge of providing information to those affected by crises. There is very little dedicated public communications capacity within major humanitarian organisations.”
infoasaid
infoasaid seeks to improve how aid agencies communicate with disaster-affected communities. The emphasis is on the need to deliver not just material supplies in times of crisis but, rather, information – defined here as aid itself. Amongst its actions: infoasaid is producing a library of generic key messages (with some tailoring for local context) to be conveyed to the affected populations during an emergency.
ICT for Disaster Risk Reduction
This set of case studies explores the ways in which information and communication technology (ICT) has positively impacted the various phases of disaster management. The document highlights the different digital technologies and their use to reduce disaster risks. The need for journalism and media development is also recognised. This is from the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, but isn’t focused only on Asia and Pacific countries.
10 things aid workers can learn from Haiti about urban disasters
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) office brings together to UK’s largest humanitarian agencies to fundraise after major disasters. The report looks at the world through post-Haiti glasses to pick out other cities with similar geographical and social vulnerabilities. The report points to the importance of disaster risk reduction and preparedness work – as well as agencies’ own continuity planning. ALNAP has a nice blog about the report.
A large NGO donated their security policy and protocols to OpenSecurityDocs. The name of the NGO has been taken out to make it more general for other NGOs. Here is the document. You are invited to donate your security documents for the benefit of other NGOs to this initiative as well. Per your direction, references to your organization can be taken out before your resource is published on the OpenSecurityDocs site.
Where do I find these resources? Often, via the Communications Initiative. I try to read their email update once-a-week, because I often find resources that help me in my work regarding communictions and community engagement for nonprofits, NGOs, international development agencies and others.
I also find them via who I follow on Twitter. Some recent tweets on the subject of ICTs & Disaster Response that got my attention:
Q: Are crisismappers bound by same accountability frameworks as humanitarian aid workers? A: Unclear, need to explore http://t.co/axAVL1W
[Video] An inside look at the Japanese #RedCross response to the March 11 #earthquake & #tsunami: http://ow.ly/52sCJ
New photos from #Haiti show us the continuing rebuilding efforts around Port-au-Prince. http://ow.ly/51px2 #RedCross
And don’t forget: I’m always looking for examples of how folklore, rumors (or rumours) and urban myths / urban legends interfere with relief and development activities, and government initiatives, and, even better, how these have been addressed. What you send may end up on this web page.
Tags: communications, public relations, engagement, engage, community, nonprofit, NGO, not-for-profit, government, outreach, innovation, non-traditional, innovative, staff, employees, volunteers, civil society, social media, technology, ICTs, Internet, network, smartphones, cell phones