Context and Statement of Problem#

The need for timely and accurate information about population, infrastructure, public services, and environmental factors is core for planning and policy intervention; a need that has only amplified by COVID-19, as change accelerates, and traditional data collection methods are no longer viable. Geospatial data are useful for humanitarian and development operations to spatially inform policy interventions that aim to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable groups. While many organizations have made use of geospatial data and analysis, data are often not collected, evaluated, or curated in a systematic manner, making project initiation, assessment, and implementation difficult.

The purpose of this activity is to understand what geospatial data are needed by the various actors in the humanitarian and development field, how they organize, handle, and share such data, and which standards are currently being used. The purpose is also to highlight the obstacles and difficulties that geospatial practitioners face and develop a simple workflow for practitioners to leverage when initiating new projects in situations of forced displacement.

We analyzed reports, documents and research papers, investigated more than 7802 geospatial data items available on the humanitarian data exchange platform, and conducted 14 interviews with geospatial practitioners from the World Bank, ICRC, IOM, UNHCR, a former REACH employee, UNFPA, Red Cross NL 510, UNDP, and the HDX team. The interviews took place in September and October 2021. The following report contains three sections:

  • In the first section we look at the information needs we learned from the desk research and the interviews.

  • In the second section, we look at how geospatial data is currently being managed in the interviewee’s respective organizations.

  • in the third section we identify specific obstacles to a more interoperable use of geospatial data across the sector.