Evaluation of ReliefWeb http://www.reliefweb.int Prepared for Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations By Forum One Communications Chris Wolz Nam-ho Park 2006 The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, with the exception of Appendix H: Management Response Matrix Table of Contents Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................................3 1. Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................4 1.1 Background .........................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Evaluation Approach ...........................................................................................................................5 1.3 Users and Usage ................................................................................................................................5 1.4 Products and Services ........................................................................................................................6 1.5 User Perceptions of ReliefWeb Quality...............................................................................................7 1.6 Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................7 1.7 OCHA, ReliefWeb and Other Online Services....................................................................................8 1.8 Management .......................................................................................................................................8 1.9 Mandate and Mission ..........................................................................................................................9 1.10 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................9 2. Introduction to the Evaluation..............................................................................................................12 2.1 ReliefWeb History .............................................................................................................................12 2.2 Evaluation Purpose and Context.......................................................................................................12 2.3 Evaluation Team ...............................................................................................................................13 3. Methodology........................................................................................................................................14 3.1 Scope of the Evaluation ....................................................................................................................14 3.2 Research Approach ..........................................................................................................................14 3.3 Analytic Approach .............................................................................................................................15 3.4 Stakeholders .....................................................................................................................................16 4. ReliefWeb Usage ................................................................................................................................18 4.1 Key Questions...................................................................................................................................18 4.2 ReliefWeb Users ...............................................................................................................................18 4.3 Usage of ReliefWeb ..........................................................................................................................23 4.4 ReliefWeb Products and Services ....................................................................................................27 4.5 ReliefWeb Coverage .........................................................................................................................36 4.6 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................38 5. User Perceptions of ReliefWeb Quality...............................................................................................40 5.1 Key Questions...................................................................................................................................40 5.2 Credibility, Reliability, and Neutrality.................................................................................................40 5.3 Timeliness .........................................................................................................................................41 5.4 Independence....................................................................................................................................42 5.5 Representativeness ..........................................................................................................................44 5.6 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................45 6. User Experience..................................................................................................................................46 6.1 Key Questions...................................................................................................................................46 6.2 Usability of ReliefWeb Services ........................................................................................................46 6.3 Access to ReliefWeb .........................................................................................................................47 6.4 Information Architecture ....................................................................................................................48 6.5 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................48 7. Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................49 7.1 Key Questions...................................................................................................................................49 7.2 Current Partner Participation.............................................................................................................49 7.3 Partner Content Posting Process......................................................................................................50 7.4 Content Sharing Standards...............................................................................................................51 7.5 Partner Perceptions of Value ............................................................................................................53 7.6 Expanding Partner Participation........................................................................................................53 7.7 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................55 8. OCHA and ReliefWeb .........................................................................................................................56 8.1 Key Questions...................................................................................................................................56 8.2 OCHA Use of ReliefWeb...................................................................................................................56 8.3 OCHA Contributions to ReliefWeb....................................................................................................56 8.4 ReliefWeb and OCHA’s Mission .......................................................................................................57 8.5 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................57 9. ReliefWeb and Other Online Services ................................................................................................58 9.1 Key Questions...................................................................................................................................58 9.2 Other Online Services: Coverage and Cooperation..........................................................................58 9.3 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................61 10. Management .......................................................................................................................................62 10.1 Key Questions.................................................................................................................................62 10.2 ReliefWeb Staffing ..........................................................................................................................62 10.3 ReliefWeb