OCHA have released a DVD containing lots of software, including many alternative programs, lots of explanation materials, assessment forms, a load of open source software, IM training powerpoints, and reference materials.

The idea of the Humanitarian Information Centre is maturing, and in their Field Information Management Strategy 2004, OCHA Field Information Services (FIS) wset out "to improve standardization and support from headquarters". This would make it easier to set up HICs and deploy staff between them. This tool kit, is a good way of doing that. It leaves a lot of choices to the technical officer in the field, while encouraging the use of open source, standards based software. It also contains training and reference materials, templates, standard assesement forms and lots of GIS resources.

In 2004 OCHA adopted its information management strategy.

The main sections of the disk are as follows

Information Management Overview

Around 20 documents that define the sector so far. I will endeavour to get these documents indexed in this library

Standard Products

Who does what where (3W) package, a contact Directory, and meeting schedules

Mapping - GIS and GPS

Open source tools, data collection forms, templates and examples. There is also a section on alternatives to GIS and GPS

Management and Administration Tools

Examples and forms useful for running an office, or specifically, a HIC

Assessments

Forms, assessments, checklists, surveys ready for use or available for modification

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

General use open source software, and some previous MS Access databases

Information Centres

Seems to be all the previous HICs, on disk

Data Standards

Includes folder structure from previous HICs, a vocabulary list and other

Training

pdfs and PowerPoints

General Reference

Many important documents such as Sphere standards, handbooks and fieldbooks, the red cross Code of Conduct and some documents about humanitarian law

opinion

The tool box contains a well thought out selection of resources, but I wonder how much it will actually be used. Once staff have their own ways of working, merely making another disk available isn't going to change that. I wonder if the disk is accompanied by training? Experience shows that handing over a disk with a lot of stuff on is not enough to affect how people work. The disk would benefit from some kind of front end instead of being a rather bewildering directory structure