GDACSmobile - An IT Tool Supporting Assessments for Humanitarian Logistics

Link Daniel, Widera Adam, Hellingrath Bernd, De Groeve Tom, Eidimtaite Gintare, Kumar Limbu Minu

Abstract
A rising number of people is affected by disasters, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2013 Philippines super-typhoon, and the 2015 Nepal earthquake. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, humanitarian decision makers have to assure that action is prompt and targeted although confronted with lack of needed information about the highly complex and dynamic operational context in the affected area. Mobile technology and crowdsourcing have emerged as technologies that can help supply much needed information. GDACSmobile is a mobile-enabled IT solution for the assessment of needs, issues of access, infrastructure damage and other cross-cutting operational issues. In contrast to similar tools, e.g. Ushahidi or KoBoToolbox, GDACSmobile is an integrated solution addressing both the general public and professional responders, which closes the information cycle between disaster managers and the affected population. After all, most first responders are local citizens. In this paper, we introduce the context of the application and its concept, including descriptions of user groups and information flows that enable effective quality control of information. Subsequently an application scenario based on the 2015 Nepal Earthquake illustrates the value of using GDACSmobile to involve logisticians and assessment experts to inform and control the processes of data collection and information analysis, wherein professional responders and citizens act as primary data sources.

Keywords
Needs assessment; damage assessment; crisis management