Voices of the Vulnerable Research Project on New Methods for Information Collection, Analysis and Use Case Studies: Iraq and Uganda A joint UNICEF-SIPA Initiative May 2010 Ruby B. Choi Karoline Klose Till Papenfuss Maki Tsuchida Mark Weingarten Faculty Advisor: Professor Elisabeth Lindenmayer, Director of UN Studies Program, SIPA Client Project Director: Christopher Fabian, Director's Office, Innovation Unit, UNICEF Page | 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................……….2 Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 3 List of Acronyms and Key Terms....................................................................................................6 I. Introduction A. The Global Impact Vulnerability Alert System (GIVAS) .........................................................7 B. UNICEF Projects........................................................................................................................8 C. Aims of Our Research.................................................................................................................9 II. New Forms of Information Collection A. Benefits of Real-Time and New Technology……...…………………………………………10 B. Political and Social Benefits………………………………………………………………… 12 C. Data Access and Presentation………………………………………………………………...13 III. Main Issues & Recommendations 1. Stepping Stone Approach……………………………………………………………………..14 2. United Nations Leverage at Global Scale……………………………………………………..17 3. Information Appropriate for a Real-Time System……………………………………….....…20 4. Balance of Verification & Speed…………………………………………………………...…23 5. Ensuring Community Level Buy-In………………………………………………………..…25 6. Building Local Capacity………………………………………………………………………28 7. Develop a Framework for Monitoring & Evaluations………………………………………...31 8. Closing the Loop…………………………………………………………………………...….34 IV. Conclusions.……………………………………………………………………...……..…..37 Annex 1: Uganda Country Case Study…………………………………………….………….39 Annex 2: Iraq Country Case Study……………………………………………….…………...57 Annex 3: List of Interviews……………………………………………………….…………....72 References………………………………………………………………………….………...…74 Page | 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS New York: We would like to thank our faculty supervisor, Prof. Elisabeth Lindenmayer and our client, the UNICEF Innovation Unit, especially Christopher Fabian, Panthea Lee and Erica Kochi. We are also grateful to Björn Gillsäter (UNICEF) and Robert Kirkpatrick (GIVAS), Geoffrey Pinnock (WFP, Rome) and Kuang Chen (MVP, Berkeley). Uganda: We would like to thank the staff of the UNCIEF Country Office in Kampala and the Regional Office in Gulu, especially Sean Blaschke, Terra Weikel, Malthe Borch and Chipo Chiiya for making this trip possible and traveling with us. We would also like to thank the following people for taking the time to answer our never ending stream of questions: Millie, Lilia, Joan, Tanyana, Francine, Eva (UNICEF Health and Nutrition Unit), Mr. Ojou Napyali, Mr. Dicello Denis, Mr. Ogwang Oscar (District Health Office, Gulu), Dennis Lanyumi, Cecilia Ayot, Mark, Kennedy (Health Center Staff, Awach), Christine Layet, Yolanda Labol, Jimmy Omonu, Michael Loyollo, Simon Oyet (VHTs, Awach), Michael Okumu & Alfred Okiya (our ‘guides’ during the community household visits), Salima Abdung, Rhodina, Elen Atim (Households in Awach), Malika Ogwang (ACTED), David Gelvin (FIND), Dr. Karin Kallander & Clare Riches (Malaria Consortium), Maureen Gallagher (ACF), Andrew Bakainaga (WHO). Iraq: We would like to thank the staff of the UNICEF Country Office, especially Jaya Murthy, Juan Santander and Ban Dhayi for hosting us during the very tense period of developing the project, and Toby Wicks from UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office for an exciting discussion. We would also like to thank Jolie Nubani, Noor Higley, and Nadine Nasir and all the other staff from Columbia University’s Middle East Research Center for offering us wonderful facilities and the opportunity to network with organizations in Jordan. Finally, we would like to thank the following people who generously accepted our request for interviews and site visits, and gave us a lot of insights for our research: Taraf Ghanem (QRTA), Hania Barqawi (QRTA), Omar Al-Hmoud (Mercy Corps), Marian Affarah (Mercy Corps), Sirsa Qursha (JRF), Zeina Abu Innab (JRF), Dr. Arafat Awajan (RSS), Dr. Edward Jaser (RSS), Reem Al-Masri (JEI), Ibrahim Taha (Thoughtworks), Zaynab Leeya (Thoughtworks), and Puneet Goyal (Thoughtworks). Page | 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In light of recent global crises, governments of the G20 have called on the United Nations (UN) to create a system that can generate more timely and comprehensive information on vulnerable groups around the world. The UN has responded by beginning to develop the Global Impact Vulnerability Alert System (GIVAS), a real-time monitoring system. GIVAS will be designed to enable governments and other actors to identify changes in a timely fashion using new technology to more effectively forecast and prevent crises. Using new techniques for information collection and dissemination may lead to political sensitivities concerning validity and transparency of information. These sensitivities will need to be addressed in a timely manner and as appropriate. While GIVAS is still being designed, pilot projects using real-time technology are currently being developed. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is undertaking two such pilot projects in Uganda and Iraq, using mobile technology to collect real-time information and utilize it to better inform policy and programmatic decisions. UNICEF has asked the United Nations Studies Program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) to conduct a research project from December 2009 to May 2010 on the background and implementation of both projects. Along with performing desk research, three members of the SIPA workshop team traveled to Uganda and two members traveled to Jordan (current location of UNICEF Iraq Country Office) from 12 to 22 March 2010, to research the background and roll-out of both projects. UNICEF Uganda is currently in the early phases of implementing a technology-based vulnerability surveillance project. In this system, health and nutrition information will be collected by trained community members and sent via coded SMS text messages to local and national health officials. The goal is to create a system that can alert authorities quickly about situations of urgent need. As such, it will be used to supplement, not replace, more comprehensive existing surveillance systems. While the Uganda project is designed to track specific quantitative information, UNICEF’s project in Iraq is focused on collecting qualitative information. In Iraq, mobile phones will be used to hear directly from vulnerable populations and gain an understanding of their needs. Based on our research from the field, our team has developed the following recommendations for GIVAS and similar real-time information collection projects using new technology: Stepping Stone Approach: For countries with hesitance about real-time information collection, we suggest building capacity through less controversial projects such as polls or systems tracking a limited number of less-sensitive indicators on a small scale. Once governments see the merits of real-time technology and become comfortable using it, more robust surveillance can be developed. United Nations Leverage at Global Scale: As a global institution with political clout, the UN can use its leverage to assist country-level projects by negotiating for more favorable network service provider contracts and setting common technical standards. For example, the UN could negotiate with service providers for Page | 4 discounted SMS (text message) short codes or establish a global standard set of Geographical Information System (GIS) identifiers for easier integration of information into an online map. Information Appropriate for a Real-Time System: GIVAS will track a limited number of indicators on a global scale. However, these will need to be supplemented by a larger number of regionally appropriate indicators decided upon together with state governments. This would allow GIVAS to improve the functioning of existing state-run response systems, respect political sensitivities and would encourage governmental buy-in. The frequency with which this information is transmitted will also depend on the type of indicator. While highly dynamic indicators warrant immediate transmission, less dynamic information could be sent in batches at a significantly reduced network cost. Balance of Verification & Speed: As a real-time system enables information to be presented quickly, one concern expressed is that information could potentially be publicized before it is verified. Therefore, we stress the importance of implementing appropriate verification systems. The nature of these will depend on the sensitivity of the information being collected and the political sensitivities in the relevant country or region. Since this may potentially slow the flow of information in the system, a balance between speed and accuracy must be sought on a country-by-country basis. Ensuring Community Buy-in: For a project involving information collection from vulnerable populations on a global scale, community buy-in is as important as government buy-in. In order to prove