By Sivaram Ramachandran | Tue., August 2, 4:30 PM | Comments ( 1 )
With the onset of the earthquake in Haiti in last year, the use of technology in information sharing has been widely discussed within the international development and humanitarian community, and rightfully so. Three seemingly simple questions often come up. People want to know “Who is doing what? Where? Why?” On the surface the questions seem simple, but as you delve into the data world you quickly realize that these questions are quite difficult to answer, and how to access this information is often the center of a complex debate.
Most practitioners and donors can agree on one thing. Having readily accessible answers to these questions might be the key to improving aid delivery to millions around the world, and ultimately, help pave the path to eradicate hunger and poverty globally.
One thing that is often clear in the delivery of aid is that there is often a clear imbalance between supply and demand for various products, services and commodities, hence making some things more accessible and others less. The same is true for data. When available, we instinctively attempt to squeeze every last drop of information that can be derived from it. When scarce, we exhaust all resources, sometimes seeking innovative solutions or as we have seen from recent media reports, controversial methods to acquire data and information. Data’s ability to enhance our knowledge and understanding of a subject matter, and assist in visualization and decision making, makes it a highly prized commodity. To put it simply, data isn’t just for data geeks.
Like others, since the earthquake a little more than 18 months ago, InterAction has leveraged technological capabilities and applied these very concepts of information sharing and data accessibility to create something that makes data, dare we say, beautiful. NGO Aid Map, an online, interactive mapping tool publically shares information on NGOs work at the project level. Since its launch in January 2011, over ninety organizations have contributed data on projects in close to 80 countries around the world. The site is visited by thousands of individuals each month from over 160 countries. It’s clear that there is a need and demand for this type of information.
To further make information accessible, NGO Aid Map, in the coming months will allow users to download the raw data in three file formats and allow users to analyze the data for their own individual needs. The beauty of data is that there are endless possibilities on how to view different aspects of a data set. The picture of the map above presents just one way to look at the information on NGOs work by sector in 140 communes in Haiti. Created from a download of data from NGO Aid Map, the map demonstrates the cross-sector approach of InterAction members’ response in Haiti. Each colored ring represents a sector in which projects are being conducted (i.e. Blue = WASH, Red = Health, Orange = Education, Purple = Shelter, etc.) and the size of the rings varying based on the number of projects taking place.
Through funding from FedEx for Haiti Aid Map and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the Food Security Aid Map, NGO Aid Map brings a fresh perspective to aid delivery around the world. NGO Aid Map aims to increase transparency within the NGO community, help facilitate partnerships and improve coordination among NGOs, private sector, governments and donors; and help inform NGOs and other involved in relief and development make better business decisions about where to direct their resources.
Visit our site, http://ngoaidmap.org/, access the information and see what you can create.
Sivaram Ramachandran is the InterAction’s Data Coordinator for Haiti.
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