Innovation and data are important themes in humanitarian relief, as well as in the larger Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. It underpins the entire agenda as a vehicle to solve wicked challenges across all the SDGs.
One example of real-time information systems is UNICEF’s U-Report, a simple SMS tool that enables decision-makers to source the opinions of young people. Currently, U-Report is live in 21 countries and more than 2 million people are sending or receiving messages every week. A recent poll of U-Reporters in Liberia triggered government action to address the rampant problem of sexual abuse of students by their teachers.
‘Phones against Corruption’ is an SMS-based tool powered by UNDP to report corruption in real-time in Papua New Guinea. A first version was made available to 1,200 public servants, and within four months, more than 6,000 SMS were received and investigated. There are now over 200 cases of alleged corruption under investigation.
These initiatives are not worthy of mention because they leverage mobile phones or include an app, but because they are examples of initiatives that led to actual action. They influenced decision-making and were designed based on innovation principles that underscore the importance of designing with the end-users.
Although the question of how new data and real-time information systems can improve decision-making is very much work in progress. However, the underlying principles are worth pursuing for future innovation. The innovation discourse in the humanitarian and development spaces is evolving. The global networks launched at the WHS, the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation and the Global Humanitarian Lab, are a testament of this.
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