HICs are information dissemination offices in the field. Run by OCHA, they collect and publish data from all reputable actors, and make it available online.

HICs are set up when the situation merits, and closed down when the need is no longer there. Sometimes there are attempts to preserve the HIC information, or re-use it in other projects.

Initially HICs were independent, but recently, especially with the release of the IM toolkit, HIC's are becoming more streamlined.