A framework for strengthening data ecosystems to serve humanitarian purposes

Abstract

The incidence of natural disasters worldwide is increasing. As a result, a growing number of people is in need of humanitarian support, for which limited resources are available. This requires an effective and efficient prioritization of the most vulnerable people in the preparedness phase, and the most affected people in the response phase of humanitarian action. Data-driven models have the potential to support this prioritization process. However, the applications of these models in a country requires a certain level of data preparedness. To achieve this level of data preparedness on a large scale we need to know how to facilitate, stimulate and coordinate data-sharing between humanitarian actors. We use a data ecosystem perspective to develop success criteria for establishing a "humanitarian data ecosystem". We first present the development of a general framework with data ecosystem governance success criteria based on a systematic literature review. Subsequently, the applicability of this framework in the humanitarian sector is assessed through a case study on the "Community Risk Assessment and Prioritization toolbox" developed by the Netherlands Red Cross. The empirical evidence led to the adaption the framework to the specific criteria that need to be addressed when aiming to establish a successful humanitarian data ecosystem. CSS CONCEPTS • Information systems → Information systems applications; data warehouses; data analytics; • Applied computing → Operations research; forecasting; • Social and professional topics → Professional topics; management of computing and information systems;

A Taxonomy for Data Ecosystems

“…Based on the works of [48] and [49], [50] developed a framework to characterize data ecosystems based on five dimensions. This framework is, however, focused on the description of data ecosystems in developing countries.…”

Characterizing Data Ecosystems to Support Official Statistics with Open Mapping Data for Reporting on Sustainable Development Goals

“…We added incentive to share data as this was not a distinguishing characteristic for a data collaborative, but it is among actors in a data ecosystem. Haak et al [29] developed a framework of criteria for a successful data ecosystem specifically for humanitarian purposes, including data supply, user characteristics and governance criteria. The framework of Haak et al describes in more detail additional elements of a data ecosystem not explicitly covered in the work of Susha et al, such as data governance and data infrastructures.…”

“…We therefore choose to consolidate them to serve as a basis for our data ecosystem framework. Figure 1 and Table 1 present an integrated framework to characterize data ecosystems which combines the relevant existing frameworks [14,29,30] and further details and elaborates on additional elements. The framework is structured around five dimensions: actors, data supply, data infrastructure, data demand and data ecosystem governance, whereby each dimension has different indicators.…”

“…The data ecosystem governance comprises the framework of policies, processes and instruments to realize common goals in the interaction between entities [29]. The different elements we selected were participatory capacity, continuity of collaboration between users and suppliers, communication, incentive to share and use data, user selection and collaboration among data users.…”

“…The different elements we selected were participatory capacity, continuity of collaboration between users and suppliers, communication, incentive to share and use data, user selection and collaboration among data users. Participatory capacity means that the actors require certain capacities to be able to participate in an ecosystem [29]. A match between data supply and demand drives participation.…”