Using Web-Based Technologies for Monitoring

A Consortium

Background

Very high intensity earthquake in northern Pakistan in early October

Mountainous region Low Accessibility Poor Communications Large government, donor, INGO, local NGO

and individual response

Background

Two large problems in every such disaster Finding out about conditions in villages Coordinating responses Updating conditions

Question: Can new technology help? www.risepak.com in 2006 (winner Stockholm

Challenge Award in 2007) Similar new sites starting to come up now

Typical Information Systems

Designed for logistics and coordination within organizations (UN HIC is separate from Red Cross is separate from MSF) Not accessible to others Do not provide information on all villages Do not update information from individuals

outside the organization Do not record (and make available)

information at a level that allows for ex post verification by others (village vs. district)

www.risepak.com

Public information and coordination system Step 1: Pre-load site with all available

information at the village level Step 2: Allow all agencies and individuals to

update information, after basic checks Step 3: Collate and continuously update

information on damage and relief RISEPAK is an enabling environment for self-

coordination

How does www.risepak.com work?

“Give and Take” portal Take

Pre-Earthquake info on demographics, maps and distances available

Up-to-date info on access, damage and relief

Give Send village info using

phone/fax/sms/web Help us by using pre-prepared

forms or work with ISL team TakeInfo from Risepak

RisePakTeam

Compiles

GIVEInfo to Risepak

Relief ProvidersDo/Gather

Why is www.risepak.com different?

Uses most recent portal technology to integrate demographic, geographical and satellite images

Searchable at village level; all info is PUBLIC Overlaid with distances from major roads and epicenter Continuously updated with information received via fax,

phone, text-messaging and through www.risepak.com 8 hour turnaround

What does www.risepak.com do? Examples

Pre-Loaded Information on high-risk villagesDistance from epicenter (km)

7.2 7.2 7.2

5.1

9

4.5

7.2 7.2

8.4

5.8

7.5

6.2

2.9 2.9

1.1

3.42.9 2.9

4.4

2.9

2.2

2.9

4.3

1.7

3.1 2.9 2.9

9.2

6.8

8.88.5

6.46.7

5.4

7.88.1

9.5

8.7

6.45.8

5.3

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

78

9

10

BAL

GR

AN

DH

UM

RO

LI

GH

ART

NA

R

JHEE

NG

MA

JHO

TER

MIN

DG

RAN

PAN

JOR

GA

LLI

PULL

AH

MO

R B

UD

PAJG

RAN

MA

ND

AL

SAC

HIA

N

BAT

DU

AR

AH

CH

AKR

IAN

CH

ATH

IAN

CH

IMIA

N K

HAT

ER

DEN

NA

DO

LYA

R

GO

HA

RA

KH

A

KABH

IA

KOLI

MA

CH

HYA

RA

MO

HR

I; M

AC

HH

AYA

RA

PC

; MU

ZAFF

AR

ABA

D

TEH

SIL

PAN

JNAD

PAN

JOR

SAR

LI S

AC

HA

SER

NIA

N

BAN

DI K

HAT

AN

A

GR

AN K

OT

LI

KUN

DH

LA

PRA

K

CH

ARE

EL D

UB

RIA

L

GAL

I KH

ETE

R

GH

ATIA

N

SER

I BH

ER

I

GO

HA

RI

KAR

KA

-CH

IMA

TA

DH

ANN

I BU

MB

A

KHA

WA

R M

ANG

PUN

J G

RAN

RAT

ER

A

BAL GRAN GOJRA KAHORI MACHHAYARA SAIDPUR SERI BHERI NOURASERI

PANJGRAN

Note: all villages are in Muzaffarabad Tehsil, Muzaffarabad District, AJK

What does www.risepak.com do? Examples

Pre-Loaded Information: Risk and AccessibilityDistance from major road (km)

3.5 3.5 3.5

1.8

3.1

5.8

3.5 3.5

11.1

4.8

1.8

3.2

6.6 6.6

7.8

6.4 6.6 6.6

8.8

6.6

7.8

6.6 6.7

5.1

3.6

6.6 6.6

3.7

2.72.1

1.7

9.6

11.3

10.29.5

2.2

0.2

2.21.5

4.84.3

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

BA

L G

RA

N

DH

UM

RO

LI

GH

AR

T N

AR

JH

EE

NG

MA

JH

OT

ER

MIN

DG

RA

N

PA

NJ

OR

GA

LL

I

PU

LL

AH

MO

R B

UD

PA

JG

RA

N

MA

ND

AL

SA

CH

IAN

BA

T D

UA

RA

H

CH

AK

RIA

N

CH

AT

HIA

N

CH

IMIA

N K

HA

TE

R

DE

NN

A

DO

LYA

R

GO

HA

RA

KH

A

KA

BH

IA

KO

LI

MA

CH

HY

AR

A

MO

HR

I; M

AC

HH

AY

AR

A

PC

; M

UZ

AF

FA

RA

BA

D

TE

HS

IL

PA

NJ

NA

D

PA

NJ

OR

SA

RL

I S

AC

HA

SE

RN

IAN

BA

ND

I K

HA

TA

NA

GR

AN

KO

TL

I

KU

ND

HL

A

PR

AK

CH

AR

EE

L D

UB

RIA

L

GA

LI

KH

ET

ER

GH

AT

IAN

SE

RI

BH

ER

I

GO

HA

RI

KA

RK

A-C

HIM

AT

A

DH

AN

NI

BU

MB

A

KH

AW

AR

MA

NG

PU

NJ

GR

AN

RA

TE

RA

BAL GRAN GOJRA KAHORI MACHHAYARA SAIDPUR SERI BHERI NOURASERI

PANJGRAN

Note: all villages are in Muzaffarabad Tehsil, Muzaffarabad District, AJK

01

000

200

03

000

400

05

000

Tot

al P

opul

atio

n (P

CO

19

98)

0 10 20 30 40 50Distances of Villages From the Epicenter (KM)

Source: RISEPAK with technical support from The World Bank and NADRA

Muzafarrabad Tehsil

Population and Distances

You can plan where to go

Smaller relief-organizations may want to go to small villages close to the epicenter first (green); larger organizations to big villages close to the epicenter. To see which ones these are, go to village info

What does www.risepak.com do? Examples

Information within a week

Persons needing medical assistance

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

< 10 10 to 50 50 to 100 > 100

Vil

lag

e r

ep

ort

s

What does www.risepak.com do? Examples

Information within a week

Number of houses unliveable

0

50

100

150

200

250

< 10 10 to 50 50 to 100 > 100

Villa

ge r

ep

ort

s

What does www.risepak.com do? Examples

A Valuable Accountability Tool

What makes this portal a success?

Give and Take Village-level information Check in frequently for updated information to help

plan and coordinate relief effort Send damage and relief reports from the field Help ensure no village is left behind

RISEPAK successes

Vast use as a provider of information for all relief groups Locations of villages Maps of village areas

Updated information on 1220 of 2500 affected villages (examples here)

Received more than 1800 bulletin board posts

Risepak successes

Got relief agencies to think about data and recording relief Smaller agencies received higher donations once

they started posting (No success with larger organizations)

Accountability and evidence-based policy came on the radar screen And continues with the www.risepak.com reports

RISEPAK Failures: Obtaining Information Hard to get information from relief-

organizations Boots on the ground critical Managed to get large number of organizations

to record information at the village-level Great success with smaller organizations, no

success at all with larger ones (UN, WFP do not keep such data and do not know where the relief has gone)

Risepak failures: The village as the level of data recording

“Village” is the right unit to look at Small Variation within Villages Easy to locate villages given names by relief

agencies Received relief and damage information on 2300

villages BUT could match only 1220 to our database

So What’s a Revenue Village: Basantkot

Beyond disasters

Typical “supervision” in projects is top-down But with wide mobile-phone usage, bottom-up

reporting is far more efficient Already happening through flickr, twitter etc.

Perhaps not a great idea for long-term reporting or for services with a public-good aspect (absenteeism of teachers, sanitation)

But probably great for short-term reporting of programs with a big private transfer such as cash-grants

Example: Cash Grants

Pre-loaded information can contain the entire beneficiary database with location and other characteristics

Any complaint/issue linked in to the beneficiary

Overall complaint data can point to specific problems (for instance, widows excluded or better delivery in one district vs. other) Perhaps even more critical in crisis situations where

large programs are executed and top-down supervision may be insufficient

Lessons Learnt

Contrary to usual perceptions this is not hard to do Requires body of data collated before hand Requires business model to be clarified

(cannot run on volunteers for ever) Hardest bit is getting the donors to coordinate

And be willing to make information available publicly

Probably best if mandated rather than on a volunteer basis