GuidanceforCollaborationwithFormalHumanitarianOrganizations

InterviewwithSanjanaHattotuwa,ICTForPeaceFoundation

This interview was conducted with Sanjana Hattotuwa on June 11, 2013 by Annie P. Waldman. For more information on ICT For Peace Foundation, see: http://ict4peace.org/

WhatisyourbackgroundwithV&TCs/formalhumanitarianorganizations? The ICT4Peace Foundation does not getinvolved inactivations.In early 2011, the Foundation got arequest to set up a crisis informationmanagementwiki for Libya, for whatatthetime was avery volatilesituation on the ground. The Foundation had set up a number of these wikis in the pastandtheyveprovedrather useful for a range of actors, including journalists and senior management. Theres no set criteria to put it out but given the Foundations own human resource constraints, we look at setting one up and actively curating it whenever thereis along drawn outcrisis (e.g. Syria) ora largescale suddenonsetdisaster.This istheonly extent that we've been directly involved in any activation process. In 2012, the Foundation supported a simulation exercise for the Digital Humanitarian Network just after ICCM in Washington DC. Especially since the Haiti earthquake in early 2010, the Foundation has either led or been part of architecting interactions between the UN and V&TCs, as well as within the UN system to embrace more fully the capabilities and capacities of V&TCs. A short paper published soon after the Haiti earthquake proposed ways, for the first time, throughwhichtheUNhumanitariansystem in particularcouldwork with V&TCs, and vice versa. The Foundation has also worked very closely with UN OCHA for a number of years to support key institutional output, including a number technical platforms and whitepapers, around V&TCs. In 2011, the Foundation cohosted the ICCM conference in Geneva, Switzerland along with the EUsJoint Research Centre(JRC).

Whatwasyouropiniononformalhumanitarianorganizationsbeforeworkingwiththem? Idontthinkitsanydifferentfromwhatmanyperceivearoundtheworld.UNagenciesinthisareaare conservativeandconventional,andusually,withgoodreason.Theyaregenerallyconservativewhenthey gatherinformation,trustingmostifnotonlytheirfieldstaff.Theyareconventionalinhowtheyapproach humanitarianchallengesandreformbeingextremelyriskaverse,trustingonlytheirowninformation networksandplatformscreatedinhouse.TherewasabsolutelynointerestinICTsevenjustafewyearsago andwhentherewas,norealdesireorinteresttogobeyondthewellknowntechnologycompanieswhosold enterpriselevelsolutions,nomatterwhattheproblemwas.Inhouseinnovationwasnotthereoratbest, underrecognisedandnotencouraged.Therewasnocultureofcreativeorpositivedisruption.Noonesaw thoseaffectedbydisasters,ontheground,asresourcesorwithanyagencytohelpthemselves.Theywere alwaysseenaslargelypowerlessvictimswhoneededhelp.Therewaslittleornounderstandaroundhow theycouldhelpshapereliefandrecoveryefforts.Therewasnounderstanding,noyearning,noinstitutional impetus,noincentiveforseniormanagementtogobeyondthisconservativeandconventionalstructuresand cultures.Eveniftherewasanindividualwithavisionfordoingthingsdifferently,therewerenoentitieslike DHN,theV&TCsorthecrisismappingcommunitywritlargewhocouldhelp.BeforeHaitisearthquake,

whichIbelievewasasignificantturningpoint,traditionalhumanitarianentitieswereverydifferenttowhat theyaretoday.

Hasyourperspectiveonformalhumanitarianorganizationschangedafterworkingwiththem? Yes,ithasandespeciallysince2010sdevastatingearthquakeinHaiti.Therewasalotofoutputaround howthingscouldandshouldbedonedifferentlyaroundreliefandrecoveryeffortsafteralargescaledisaster. ItchangedmindsetsofeventhemostobdurateseniormanagementandleadershipwithintheUNsystem.It propelledchangefromwithintheUNsystemtodoandseethingsdifferently.Thespeedofchangewas difficultforsometoembrace.Soontherewerehighexpectationsaroundtraditionalhumanitarianentitiesby thoseaffectedbyadisaster.Greatertransparency,accountability,efficiencyandeffectivenessinreliefand recoveryeffortsweredemanded,andplacedinthepublicdomain.Institutionswerebeingjudgedonsocial mediafortheirwork,andincreasingly,almostinrealtime.Peopleonthegroundfoundnewwaystochannel theirneeds,andoften,discontent.Thosearoundtheworldfoundnewwaystocombine,interalia,historical data,postdisasterdataandcreatemashupsthatrespondeddynamicallytosupplyanddemand.Thisnew informationlandscaperequiredtraditionalhumanitarianentitiestobemoresensitivetoinformation exchangedontheweb,Internetandviamobiledevices,orfacetheireofbeneficiariesandnegativepublicity throughglobalscrutinyoverpoliciesandpractices.Itreallywasachangeordiemomentinthehistoryof humanitarianaid.

Whydidyoureachouttothehumanitarianorganizations? Ithinkitseventdriventhenatureofthecrisisanddisasterdeterminesthenatureoftheinteraction.Fora suddenonsetdisaster,suchasatsunamiorflood,theactivationmaybedrivenbynontraditional humanitarianactors,likethoseinDHN.Thepeopleinvolvedmightbeverydifferent.Forexample,theHornof Africa,thefoodinsecuritycrisisintheSahelregion,thecrisisinSyriawilleachattractdifferentactorswith differentcompetencies.Yeteachwillincludeamixoftraditionalandnontraditionalhumanitarianagencies. Dependsonthekindofdisaster.Sometimesthenontraditionalgroupsactivatethemselves,sometimeslike withthecyclonethathitthePhilippineslate2012,OCHAinitiatestheactivation.Formorelocalised conflicts,theremightbeanotherentitylikeeventhegovernment,WorldBankorgrassrootscivilsociety organisationthatmayactasabridgebetweenlocalandV&TCcapacities.Onecan'tsayexactlyhowits goingtooccurinthefuture.

Howdidyoufindyourpointpersonwithinthehumanitarianentities? TheICT4PeaceFoundationhasworkedwithseniormanagementofOCHA,plusatanumberofother operationallevelssince2008undertheFoundationscrisisinformationmanagementprogramme.The Foundationhasseenadramaticchangeintheattitudesofseniormanagement,whoaregenerallyisolated fromfieldlevelandoperationalwork.Mindsetshaveopenedupanditsnowreallyhardtofindanyone scepticalaroundthevalueanduseofsocialmediaandICTswritlarge.Therearealsorelativelyyoungerfolk withnewideasjoiningtheranksofseniormanagement.Thishaschangedthewayeventraditional humanitarianinstitutionsapproachandembracetechnology.Theworldwritlargehasalsochanged.Evena cursoryglanceatanymediasuggestsclearlythatthewaytheworldgenerates,curates,collates, disseminates,actsuponandstoresinformationisfundamentallydifferenttoevenafewyearsago.If institutionscannotaccessthesenewinformationflowsthatordinarycitizensarepluggedintotheyare quitesimplyirrelevant.Itisaquestionofmandateinordertofulfillit,theyneedtounderstandtechnology. Theressimplynoescapingthis.Allthismakesthediscoveryofapointpersonintraditionalhumanitarian entitiessomewhatofaneasierprospectthatevenafewyearsago.

Howdoyoulearnabouttheprocessofhumanitarianorganizations? Fortraditionalhumanitarianentities:webresources,guidancenotes,DHNswebsite,theamazingcollection ofresourcesatcrisismappers.netanddiscussionscondcutedonitsemaillistserv,ICCMlightningtalksand othermaterialgeneratedfromtheannualICCMconference.Thoughthereareanumberofwayspeoplecan learnmoreabouttraditionalhumanitarianentities,itisnotalwaysthecasethatthisinformationisavailable inlanguagesotherthanEnglish,oratbest,theofficiallanguagesoftheUNsystem. ForVTCs:respectivewebsites,speakingtomembersoftheV&TCdeployments,emaillistservsandpretty muchthesamesourcesasnotedabove.ThisquestionassumesthatparticipationrequiresthatV&TCs knowaboutthetraditionalhumanitarianentities.Whilethismaybedesirableitmaynotalwaysbeentirely necessaryiftheV&TCengagementistaskoriented.Forexample,generatingdatapointsonamapdoes notrequiretheV&TCsinvolvedintheprocesstoknowthatValerieAmosistheheadofOCHA,andindepth knowledgeofhumanitarianprinciples.

Duringtheactivation,wasthehumanitarianorganizationavailabletorespondtoinquiries? Dependsverymuchonthepersonsinvolvedandthenatureofthedeployment.

Weretheneedsoftheentityandwastheprojectclearlyandrealisticallydefined? TheFoundationhaswitnessedprojectsarenotalwaysclearandrealisticinwhattheyseektoachieveor addressandhowtheygoaboutit.Institutionalcoherence,fromboththeUNsystemandtheV&TCsneeds tobeencouraged.Conversationsandinteractionsneedtobeframedinsuchawaythatallthoseinvolved knowwhatthey'regettinginto.ThereisalotoffrustrationaroundtheperceptionofV&TC'sconsistingof superwomenandsupermen,abletodeliveranything.Weneedtobeawareoftechnologylimitations.There couldbeamarketplaceofneedsandsolutions,soconcernedstakeholderscanposetheirchallengesand membersoftheV&TCscanaddresstheminanopenandtransparentmanner,thatalsoencouragesfailing forwardandjointlearning.Butalotofthisisdrivenbythecultofpersonality.Afewpeoplegenerallyendup makingabigdifference.Butthispeopledrivenchangemustalsobeinstitutionalisedandsystematised.

Howistheworkflowbetweenyourcommunityandtheformalentity? Inanidealsituation,youhaveclearlydefinedcallwhichV&TCscanrespondto,andthereisaninstitutional cultureandarchitecturetodealwithandfullysupportwhatisoftenthetechnicalnatureofthecollaboration. Beforethecallissentoutormade,onthesideofthetraditionalhumanitarianactors,thereneedstobe clearguidelinesandworkflowsaroundworkingwithV&TCs.Thisoftenrequires,atleastinitially,senior managementoversightandguidance.Interalia,thereneedstobesomeunderstandoverprogressindicators (dependingonthenatureoftheresponse),coherentinternaldefinitionsforkeyaspectsoftheworkandclear institutionalresourcesdevotedtothetaskofliaisingwiththeV&TCs.Theappealcan'tbesomethingthatis haphazardlyengineeredorgeneratedadhoc.Confusionoverdeliverables,timelinesandmismatch expectationsareoftentheconsequenceofinadequatepreparationforcollaborationbetweentraditional humanitarianagenciesandV&TCs.

Doformalhumanitarianorganizationsunderstandthework/methodology/structureofV&TCsand understandtheimplicationsofworkingwithvolunteers?

Tovaryingdegrees.WithtraditionalUNentitieslikeOCHAandUNICEF,thereiscertainlynowahigher awarenessofV&TCcapacitiesandcapabilities.Withotherentities,whoareonlynowrealisingthepotential ofembracingmorefullytheV&TCs,notasmuch.

Doformalhumanitarianorganizationsprovideprivatefeedbackandpubliclyacknowledgethework oftheV&TC? Feedbackisessential,andnotjustattheendofaprojectorcollaboration.Thenatureofthefeedbackis alsoessentialwhetheritisstructuredornot,privateorpublic,restrictedtoemailsandsocialmediaor reflectedinsomesortofaphysicaldocument.ItisalsodependentonthenatureoftheV&TC geographicallydispersedcommunitiescannotexpectindividualisedfeedback.Thenatureoftheworkalso drivestheformsoffeedback.IftheworkissensitivesayaroundthecrisisinSyriaV&TCsmaynot alwayswanttoassociatethemselvespubliclywiththeongoingwork,andmaybemorethanhappyforthe UNsystemortraditionalhumanitarianactors,usedtoabsorbingpushback,toactasinstitutionalcoverfor theirwork.Inotherprojects,theV&TCsmayseekrecognitionandevenopenacknowledgementforthework theyhavefacilitatedorengineered.Sometimesitmaybe,forlegalreasons,necessarytoacknowledgethat theinformationgenerationorshowcasedhasbeengeneratedbynontraditionalactorsandnetworks. Occasionally,workthatisunderwrapsduringacollaborationforwhateverreasoncouldgenerate feedbackthataftersometimecanandshouldbemadepublic.Essentially,institutionsandkeyindividuals shouldagreeuponfeedbackstructuresandformsbeforesustainedandseriousengagement.

Whatarethebenefitsofworkingwithformalhumanitarianorganizations? Fortraditionalhumanitarianorgs:Thereisnoalternativeoroptionifthereisaninstitutionalmandatearound reliefandaid,V&TCsaretodayinextricablyentwinedinoperationalresponses.Theyarepartofthe ideationallandscapeaswell,providingfreshideasandthinkingaroundtheuseofinformationanddatafor moreefficientandeffectivereliefmechanisms.Theyarepartofaglobalcommunitywhoseexpertiseoften easilymatchesorfarexceedsinstitutionalhumanresources.V&TCnetworkspanasmanytimezonesas theUNitself,andoperatesinlanguagesandculturesoftentheUNsystemhasnocompetencein.Their tools,apps,platformsandsystemsattheirbestcangiveseniormanagementfreshperspectivesoneven old,vexedchallengesandprocesses. ForVTCs:Visibility,respect,trustworthinessareamongstthebenefitsofworkingwithtraditional humanitarianentities.Accesstobigdataisanother.Traditionalhumanitarianorganizationshaveoperatedin thefieldandincomplexpoliticalandhumanitarianemergenciesforyears.V&TCs,thoughrobustinformand function,neitherhavethisexperiencenorthemandatetheUNsystemhasforexample,arounddisaster responseandrecovery.Wartsandall,theUNsystemsmandateremainsvalidandinvaluableintodays complexworld,andV&TCscanthemselveslearnandgrowthroughamutuallybeneficialcollaboration.

Whatwerethechallenges? Bureaucraticdelaysandimpediments,oldthinking,seniormanagementthatisexcitedbytheprospectof workingwithV&TCsyetdontsignoffontheinstitutionalresourcesfinancialandhumannecessaryto fostersuchcollaboration,informationoverloadandasenseofhopelessnessdrivenbytheinabilityto analysethisflood,constantlychangingtechnology.V&TCsarefarmoreagile,whichiswhythereis enduringfrustrationwhenworkingwithtraditionalhumanitarianinstitutions.

Howdidyourcommunity'sprocesschangefromyourexperienceworkingwithformalhumanitarian entities? ThereisacertainmaturitytotheinteractionsbetweentheUNsystemandtheV&TCs,fromeventhetimeof theHaitiearthquakeresponsealittleoverthreeyearsagoatthetimeofgivingthisinterview.V&TCsrealize thattheyneedtoacknowledgethattheUNthinks,worksandrespondsdifferentlytowhattheyareusedto. V&TCshavebecomemorepatient,lessstridentintheirdemands,moreconstructiveintheirfeedbackand morewillingtocollaboratewitheachother.Thereisastrongsenseofcommunity.

Otherthoughts? GiventheworkandinputtheFoundationhasputintoprocessesthathavesoughttobringtogetherkey actorsfromthetraditionalhumanitarianinstitutionsandV&TCs,itisextremelyhearteningtoseehowthings haveevolvedevenafter2010.ThoseinthetheV&TCcommunity,andthosewithintheUNsystemare increasinglyawareofandrespecteachother.Thereisarealsenseofcommunitythatundergirdsthe interactions,arealdriveforprofessional,careandlearningthatresultsfromcollaborations.Driveninno smallpartbyleadingthinkersandpractitionersfromtheV&TCs(someofwhomareexstaffoftraditional humanitarianagencies)andtheleadershipofforwardthinkingactorslikeUNOCHA,todaysreliefandaid landscapehasfundamentallychangedfromevenafewyearsago,anddefinitelyforthebetter.Onecannot forcertainsayhowthesemodelswillevolveandmorph,butitiscertainlythecasethatsupportaround closedarchitectures,informationhoarding,obdurateleadershipandresistingthepotentialofICTsforaidand reliefhasceased.