Abstract:For the last few years, the increasing need for humanitarian support has led to increasing demand and responsibilities for the international humanitarian system. This trend raises questions regarding the use of alternative and complementary data sources and potential additional actors and communities that could be involved in support efforts and cover some of the tasks of humanitarian organizations. The article provides an overview of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, their practices and activities as well as current needs and challenges. The article illustrates the potential of OpenStreetMap and digital volunteers for humanitarian activities, with a particular focus on disaster risk reduction in the scope of the Missing Maps project. The background and objective of the collaborative project as well as its potential and impact for the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement are elucidated. The conclusion and outlook section presents future plans and visions to make further use of the potential of the Missing Maps approach in additional sectors and contexts.

The desire to more appropriately prioritize resources within U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and to better understand the risk posed by its dams to the public required Reclamation to move beyond a deterministic assessment of its dams. Risk assessment and risk management were viewed as a logical method to prioritize these resources for the most benefit to the public. Through research and development, Reclamation pioneered the application of risk assessment to its portfolio of 367 high hazard dams. Since the late 1990s, Reclamation has performed over 1300 quantitative and semi-quantitative risk analyses on its portfolio of dams. This paper discusses the evolution of risk analysis within Reclamation's dam safety program to its current state of practice, and some key ongoing initiatives. The focus is on the role of risk-informed decision making within the overall context of a dam safety risk management program.