This summer the logistics cluster, headed by UNJLC produced this web site to help coordinate field logisiticians from all organisations working on a particular operation.

It's open source, it's web 2.0 (just), it was graphic designed by a professional, it is standards compliant and accessible, it has feeds from ReliefWeb it even has a list of Accronyms [sic]. Typical page size is 40k, with 120k of cachable linked files. Not too bad, although a low bandwidth version might still be helpful.

There is a dropdown menu listing all the current activated logistics clusters, and a section of the web site for each. In that section there is country news, and a page for each kind of transport infrastructure, and other areas of focus.

On less successful aspects of the site, apart from the detailed search lacking a 'submit' button, concern its definition and scope, a consequence no doubt of trying to serve all actors and offend none. The purpose of the web site is nowhere stated, although the cluster mechanism is explained. While the site surely supports the work of the cluster and facilitates coordination and reduces duplication of effort, I feel the site could do so much more, in this direction and I hope the work on it continues.

Congratulations are still due to WFP, the cluster lead, for leading the way in using a web site as a coordination tool.