Findings from Accra
The Triple Helix of Information, Logistics, Coordination
Back from our Field Research in Accra in Mid-December, we have analysed the interviews that we conducted with responders from different UN agencies and NGOs. Naturally, these findings only provida a snapshot of the situation as it was seen by our interviewees. Nevertheless, we present in this initial brief the most important emerging themes and concepts:
- Fluid coordination and decision-making structures
- Volatile situation developments, requiring quick adaptations and agility at operational level
- Complexity of the medical logistics conflicting with standard push-based logistics systems and long planning cycles
- Confusion of emergency management and advocacy / development aims
- Lack of information sharing, and comparable data sets particularly between the three affected countries
The Triple Helix of Information, Logistics, Coordination
Back from our Field Research in Accra in Mid-December, we have analysed the interviews that we conducted with responders from different UN agencies and NGOs. Naturally, these findings only provida a snapshot of the situation as it was seen by our interviewees. Nevertheless, we present in this initial brief the most important emerging themes and concepts:
- Fluid coordination and decision-making structures
- Volatile situation developments, requiring quick adaptations and agility at operational level
- Complexity of the medical logistics conflicting with standard push-based logistics systems and long planning cycles
- Confusion of emergency management and advocacy / development aims
- Lack of information sharing, and comparable data sets particularly between the three affected countries
| drlreport_ebola2014_keyfindings_20141228.pdf |
The Health Disaster?
The ongoing Ebola outbreak threatens the safety and well-being of thousands. The current outbreak in Western Africa, (first cases notified in March 2014), is the largest and most complex outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. End of November 2014, WHO counts almost 6000 deaths in the three worst hit countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The very nature of this disaster requires rethinking standard processes and procedures that are designed to respond to natural sudden onset disasters, or conflict situations. Ebola has been labeled as health disaster, economic disaster, social disaster, city disaster - it seems we are still searching the "right" category and a deeper understanding of how to manage the response. To understand decision-makers' information needs in the contexts of the response, we deploy research teams to different locations in the field while providing continuous remote expert support during the team's operations. This combination enables us to research disasters by drawing from field experience and scientific analyses.
DRL Ebola Field Research Aims
From Decision Makers' Information Needs to Strategic Decisions
The number of problems that need to be addressed in the response to a disaster is overwhelming - so is the number of decision-makers. To find out more about which information is relevant, and for whom, we investigate decision-makers' needs and compare different roles and decisions that are made at different organizations and hierarchical levels. We aim at eliciting information requirements in terms of relevance, credibility, interoperability, accuracy and actionability for different decisions and perspectives.
Setting priorities: Starting from decision-makers’ needs, we investigate how the response to Ebola was designed at strategic level, and how the interaction between headquarters and field level, UN agencies, national authorities and NGOs, experts from specific domains - such as healthcare, logistics or IM, shape the response. We collect information to understand data collection and strategic decision-making processes and the relations between different hierarchical levels, particularly field vs. headquarter driven decisions.
Information Sharing and Coordination
Starting from decision-makers’ needs, we investigate which information is available, and which information is used by decision-makers in the acute response. We collect information to analyse the flows of information between different actors and organisations including the mechanisms and tools that are used to communicate, process and share information. We aim at understanding information collection and information flows; information sharing protocols; and enablers and barriers of information sharing.
Aligning decisions across the different actors and organizations is key to efficient response. Coordination remains a challenge between professional and volunteer actors; military and civil organizations; local and global actors across hierarchical levels or contexts, in which decision makers are acting. We aim at analysing decision-making processes and investigate if information flows and decision structures are aligned.
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
The process of supplying disaster relief goods, such as food, water, or medical aid, to the right people and at the right time is a key challenge in disaster management. Supply chain management (SCM) serves as bridge between preparedness and response, procurement and distribution, headquarters and field operations, and the problems of decision-making, information sharing and coordination can be studied with this special logistics focus.
We propose a business and flow modelling approach that helps in understanding and evaluating logistics. Practically, we collect information to draw flows and business processes cartographies following standard notations. The resulting models can be used to improve the coordination capabilities and business transactions within and between relief organisations.
Reporting practice and technology use
The work of synthesizing fragmented information and transform it into meaningful reports, describing critical aspects of ongoing operations have proven to be time-consuming, difficult, and frustrating. Reporting work is often achieved during severe temporal conditions, part of dynamic organizational processes, and with limited technology support. Reporting that ideally should support decision making and improve coordination, creates friction in and between organizations and is often perceived as drawing resources and attention away from the real work.
To find out more about the challenges of reporting, we study team leaders, information managers and coordinators in their local work settings with specific attention to the situated use of information technologies. We aim at conducting observational studies to make visible reporting work practice and how such practice is shaped by the situated use of information technology.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak threatens the safety and well-being of thousands. The current outbreak in Western Africa, (first cases notified in March 2014), is the largest and most complex outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. End of November 2014, WHO counts almost 6000 deaths in the three worst hit countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The very nature of this disaster requires rethinking standard processes and procedures that are designed to respond to natural sudden onset disasters, or conflict situations. Ebola has been labeled as health disaster, economic disaster, social disaster, city disaster - it seems we are still searching the "right" category and a deeper understanding of how to manage the response. To understand decision-makers' information needs in the contexts of the response, we deploy research teams to different locations in the field while providing continuous remote expert support during the team's operations. This combination enables us to research disasters by drawing from field experience and scientific analyses.
DRL Ebola Field Research Aims
From Decision Makers' Information Needs to Strategic Decisions
The number of problems that need to be addressed in the response to a disaster is overwhelming - so is the number of decision-makers. To find out more about which information is relevant, and for whom, we investigate decision-makers' needs and compare different roles and decisions that are made at different organizations and hierarchical levels. We aim at eliciting information requirements in terms of relevance, credibility, interoperability, accuracy and actionability for different decisions and perspectives.
Setting priorities: Starting from decision-makers’ needs, we investigate how the response to Ebola was designed at strategic level, and how the interaction between headquarters and field level, UN agencies, national authorities and NGOs, experts from specific domains - such as healthcare, logistics or IM, shape the response. We collect information to understand data collection and strategic decision-making processes and the relations between different hierarchical levels, particularly field vs. headquarter driven decisions.
Information Sharing and Coordination
Starting from decision-makers’ needs, we investigate which information is available, and which information is used by decision-makers in the acute response. We collect information to analyse the flows of information between different actors and organisations including the mechanisms and tools that are used to communicate, process and share information. We aim at understanding information collection and information flows; information sharing protocols; and enablers and barriers of information sharing.
Aligning decisions across the different actors and organizations is key to efficient response. Coordination remains a challenge between professional and volunteer actors; military and civil organizations; local and global actors across hierarchical levels or contexts, in which decision makers are acting. We aim at analysing decision-making processes and investigate if information flows and decision structures are aligned.
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
The process of supplying disaster relief goods, such as food, water, or medical aid, to the right people and at the right time is a key challenge in disaster management. Supply chain management (SCM) serves as bridge between preparedness and response, procurement and distribution, headquarters and field operations, and the problems of decision-making, information sharing and coordination can be studied with this special logistics focus.
We propose a business and flow modelling approach that helps in understanding and evaluating logistics. Practically, we collect information to draw flows and business processes cartographies following standard notations. The resulting models can be used to improve the coordination capabilities and business transactions within and between relief organisations.
Reporting practice and technology use
The work of synthesizing fragmented information and transform it into meaningful reports, describing critical aspects of ongoing operations have proven to be time-consuming, difficult, and frustrating. Reporting work is often achieved during severe temporal conditions, part of dynamic organizational processes, and with limited technology support. Reporting that ideally should support decision making and improve coordination, creates friction in and between organizations and is often perceived as drawing resources and attention away from the real work.
To find out more about the challenges of reporting, we study team leaders, information managers and coordinators in their local work settings with specific attention to the situated use of information technologies. We aim at conducting observational studies to make visible reporting work practice and how such practice is shaped by the situated use of information technology.