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Those crazy jokers at the UN Joint Logistics Centre have just released version 2.0 of the UN Spatial Data Infrastructure for Transport database schema, based on feedback received since last September’s release and developed with WFP and Ithaca (good to see that partnership being productive). This version covers an XML schema, the schema documentation, template [...]...

So it all kicked off in Myanmar this week, except that it didn’t, because the military regime has managed to bungle the response to Cyclone Nargis. We could get into a long discussion about the whys and wherefores, and there’s some frightening talk about the “right to respond” over-riding sovereignty, but let’s stay focused on [...]...

Well, not yet, but they will [pdf]. Janet Ginsburg explains the development of the idea of the Humanitarian Technology Review, while Bruno Giussani covers the recent TED breakfast, where Eric Rasmussen gave an update on InSTEDD. Initially the idea of a Humanitarian Technology Review sounds like a good idea - if it’s done right. The first two questions - remember the first two questions, everybody! - are: who is the target audience, and what do you want them to do with the information you’re providing? The briefing paper I linked to above says The Review’s readers, like the Review itself, span many niches: medical researchers, software developers, policy-makers, funders, doctors, veterinarians, communities trying to prepare for or reeling from disasters - even other media....

Public transport doesn’t often provide pointers for the humanitarian community. The recent cracking of the London OysterCard (following hot on the heels of the earlier crack of the Dutch transit card system) came as no surprise to digital security experts, but it should teach us fundamental lessons about information security and personal privacy issues. Security researchers say they’ve found a way to crack the encryption used to protect a widely-used smartcard in a matter of minutes, making it possible for them to quickly and cheaply clone the cards that are used to secure office buildings and automate the collection of mass transportation fares. No electronic identification scheme is secure. It doesn’t matter how good your technology is, any system which is built by...

Standards for data management in the sector have been a headache since the beginning. Standards are essential for sharing data between agencies, whether at HQ or field level, but the politics involved in developing them have frankly defeated most previous attempts. Recent discussions in the IASC sub-group on information management have started the ball rolling in some of the clusters, but it’s still painfully slow given that we started talking about this eight years ago. Where there has been progress is in the development of spatial data infrastructure for the UN system, a fairly comprehensive effort overseen by the UN Geographic Information Working Group. The UN Joint Logistics Center has just released the UN Spatial Data Infrastructure for Transport database schema (UNSDI-T...

Word reaches my inbox from the Fritz Institute, who have been field-testing the Helios software program for the last two years with a few NGOs, particularly in east Africa. For those of you keeping track, Helios is the second generation of Fritz’ Humanitarian Logistics Software which was developed and implemented with IFRC.  By all accounts, the IFRC implementation was a tricky devil, and Fritz learnt a lot of hard lessons in that process. Those lessons have been put to good use, and everything I’ve heard about Helios so far has been positive. The real question, of course, is how many NGOs will take them up on the offer - Fritz will provide a Helios license free of charge, while implementation costs will be borne by each organisation. Now this works for the big-hitter...