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Day 2 started with a keynote presentation by professor Tina Gomes of Delft Technical University. Information systems need to address decision makers needs, which is easier said than done. Because: who are they? The taxonomy map of decision makers in humanitarian aid is extremely complex, and covers levels from grass roots (field) level, up to international organisations. Understanding this mapping is a key starting point in system design.
Dr. Gomes made the point that the cycle starts with preparedness, where issues of interoperability, sustainability and accessibility are key to emergency aid system design. At the development stage as well as in the stage of monitor and control, the issues of timeliness and relevance need to guide the functionality. Reliability and verifiability come into view at this stage.
When actions are taken, these need to follow the humanitarian principles of impartiality, humanity, inclusiveness, reciprocity, accountability and confidentiality. System designers will have to take these principles into the system design as well.
When you provide information to decision makers, then YOU become part of the decision making process.
This is a point that Dr. Gomes communicated clearly to the audience, with the view that technology does have an impact.
Developing new systems for humanitarian aid is a complex matter, and the worst thing one could do, is rolling out a new system during a crisis. Gomes illustrated this with an example from the 2014-2015 Ebola response.
Implementing new information technology in low and middle income countries for response to humanitarian crisis is complicated by many factors, not in the least the inverse relationship of ID-address density and vulnerability of populations.
The second part of the morning included a series of elevator pitches of candidates for the innovation awards. More about that in an update of this post