SAHIMS
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The Southern Africa Human-development Information Management is an OCHA initiative which combines development information with Disaster management.
It is a large website with many different looking sections. The information is cut up into countries, development themes, and types (see the side menu).
Metadata is prominent for map downloads. Documents don't seem to be tagged but are quite findable.
The site is full of external links to all kinds of relevent sites. Even the photo gallery has links to other photo galleries.
Posted October 31st, 2007 by matslats
RedHum
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RedHum is a Latin American regional disaster information service in Spanish, comparable to and supported by ReliefWeb.
Lead by the OCHA Regional office in Panama, this project is spread between six country offices, making it Regional and National in scope.
The front page shows off its geotagged situation reports using google maps, but this is perhaps not the most useful information on the site.
Posted October 31st, 2007 by matslats
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Event:
Humanitarian Information Network Africa Workshop
| Organiser | UN/OCHA |
|---|---|
| Location | Nairobi |
| Year | 2006 |
Summary
Third in a series of regional workshops originating from consensus reached at the Symposium on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Exchange in 2002, the Humanitarian Information Network (HIN) Workshop took place in Nairobi, 29-31 May 2006.
Conclusions
the main outcome of this meeting was the Statement on Best Practices in Humanitarian Information Management and Exchange in Africa. (This document in an appendix to the conference report and does not seem to have been republished since) Its key points are summarised here:
User Requirements
Echoing the previous conference, it was stressed that the needs of the users should be considered if an information system is going to be relevant and successful
Harmony of data
The need was stressed to standardise data and procedures. Reference was made to SHARE)
Appropriate technology
This is important especially for the field environment. ' the use of open data formats, inter-operable technologies and off-the-shelf software was underlined by participant'"
Cooperation
More than any other field, the value of Information Management is multiplied when it is shared. The need was stressed to encourage this sharing by the formations of partnerships.
Preparedness
This means 'linkages with national actors, improved multi-sectoral risk mapping analysis, and the need to preserve institutional operational memory and organizational learning. '
Download report from
www.reliefweb.int/hin/doc/HINAfr_Report.pdfPosted October 12th, 2007 by matslats
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Event:
Workshop on Humanitarian Information Management in Latin America and the Caribbean
| Organiser | UN/OCHA |
|---|---|
| Location | Panama City |
| Year | 2005 |
Summary
We are especially encouraged by the degree of informal cooperation and regionally based information sharing initiatives that currently guide humanitarian information practitioners in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Conclusions
The actual conclusions document is indexed in the library, but here is a brief summary of the conclusions:
What are the common challenges to effectively manage and share humanitarian information?
Turf wars. When organisations are competing for funding, they are reluctant to give their peers anything for free. Donors should be made aware of this situation
Who are the principle users of emergency response information? What decisions must be taken by whom and what information is needed to take these decisions?
It is very important when developing a system, to do user profiling to understand the users. Data preparedness is as important as other kinds of preparedness
Information Usability: How can organizations effectively classify and structure information to facilitate logical user access?
Start the design with the users and do lots of paper prototyping and user consulting.
How can we coordinate our efforts, share our best practices and unify our approaches for humanitarian information management and exchange?
This region is advanced when it comes to CoPs. The IASC should keep an inventory of such groups so it knows who to consult.
What are the challenge to the effective use, management and exchange of geographic information for humanitarian response?
High costs are reducing, but there is still a lack of awareness about the usefulness of GIS. There are few standards or conventions to make data interoperable, and then there would be a need for meta-data catalogues as well.
What role does public information play in strengthening emergency response and how can it be best leveraged
Media needs to be educated and then given cordinated packages of information at crisis-time. Media officers should understand and distinguish between different types of media and the messages they should receive.
All of these were then packaged as a series of recommendations at the international, regional, and national levels. Agreement on a regional strategy was expected by 12 December 2005.
Download report from
http://www.reliefweb.int/hin/doc/panama_finalreport.pdfPosted October 12th, 2007 by matslats
Event:
Humanitarian Information in the Asia-Pacific
| Organiser | UN/OCHA |
|---|---|
| Location | Bangkok |
| Year | 2003 |
Summary
Unfortunately there seems to be no final report from this meeting.
See the link to all the information that exists
Conclusions
Download report from
http://www.reliefweb.int/hin/2003_bangkokPosted October 12th, 2007 by matslats
