Humanitarian efforts to save lives and rebuild livelihoods are carried out in chaotic and often dangerous environments. Information, key to sound decision making, is usually incomplete, inaccurate and inconsistent.
Decisions must be made quickly, in pace with fast-evolving crises. Given the emphasis placed by donors on the direct task of saving lives or rebuilding communities, field agencies can rarely afford the time required to collect, store, process, and analyze data in a structured or documented manner, as would be expected in more stable environments. This leads to poor accountability, duplication of effort and uninformed operational decisions.
Humanitarian aid and reconstruction organizations specialize in providing critical support in countries torn by disaster and emerging from crisis. These environments are chaotic and dangerous, often leaving the responding organizations grasping for a clear understanding of what is happening. At its core, iMMAP enables the sharing of a common picture of the problems that exist and those striving to address them.Everything is connected by information. How bad is the situation? What aid is needed? What is being delivered? Where are goods and services lacking? Who is available to fill the gaps? Crossing organizational boundaries, iMMAP makes information sharing and coordination of effort possible and effective. At a more complex level, aid providers must be able to measure which location faces the most devastation or the greatest needs. Prioritizing resources, and facilitating collaboration and coordination, iMMAP simplifies and transforms answering these questions into a sequential process that speeds decision making and saves lives. Effectively focused information sharing is at the heart of the need. The humanitarian work environment is dangerous, chaotic and confusing enough. iMMAP helps humanitarians work smarter and safer.
