Each quarter, the GO team provide a briefing to members of the RCRC Movement on progress made and use cases for the platform. This session included analysis of the use of the platform, introduction of some new tools, and a demo of features which are near completion. We were also joined by the Costa Rican Red Cross and surge IFRC IM Officers supporting the Hungarian RC and wider response to the Ukraine crisis. Finally, we updated on our priorities for the rest of 2022 and invited your contribution to help shape the platform. Read on for a summary, the slides and an edited recording from the two sessions.
Who is using GO?
We keep a close watch on the use of the platform, aiming to understand and respond to IFRC network needs. One of the tools we have developed is a GO usage overview dashboard, which provides a simple interface on which National Societies are biggest users, where they are accessing the platform from and what they are most interested in. As part of our commitment to transparency, this dashboard is open access — allowing us all to understand and react to those trends.
One interesting element we have been tracking is the consistent and geographically dispersed engagement in the Ukraine emergency page. Providing access to IFRC emergency response data, information products, reports, needs assessments and analysis, the page is the go-to place to find out more about the Federation-wide response to the crisis.
3w for emergencies
A new feature designed to collect and present Red Cross Red Crescent emergency activity data was developed and released on the platform in March. The development of the feature was accelerated to capture the response to the crisis in Ukraine, but can be used for all future responses, helping to make sense who across the IFRC is doing what, where, when and for whom.
The 3w for emergencies was developed in collaboration with IFRC operational sectors and leadership, providing a structure which allows granularity within a flexible structure. We encourage National Societies and IFRC-supported operations to make use of the data structure to track activities at sector, sub-sector levels. A more detailed explanation of the background, specific features and way the GO 3w is being used for the Ukraine response is available here.
Risk module
The IFRC is committed to shifting our response towards a more anticipatory approach, with a flagship commitment to bring this to 25% of our humanitarian response funding by 2025. In order to do this, systems, processes, capacities, and evidence needs to be built.
As detailed here, the GO platform is a key systematic enabler for this shift going to scale. The risk module was launched on the platform in March, providing access to information on past crises, known risks, as well as impact forecasts for imminent crises. By surfacing our own data on past crises, as well as pulling in analysis from vetted partners, this new feature provides a way for Red Cross Red Crescent societies to easily find and use information to help us make risk-informed plans and respond earlier to avert or minimise crises.
The launch of the risk module is in its first version — as more and better data emerges, we will add this to the platform to make sure we act early with confidence. A key design principle is to provide feedback loops from those implementing emergency response to those designing the impact forecasts which can help to trigger earlier response.
We are keen therefore to hear your feedback — please add any specific points here, or get in touch with our team via im@ifrc.org for a demo or to brainstorm how the module can be applied or adapted to your use case.
Making GO easier to use
As well as eye-catching new modules on the platform, we continue to make the platform easier to use and to integrate with IFRC network processes. We made a number of small — but important — upgrades to enable easier registration, improved data integrity, more control for National Societies and simpler URLs so that key information can be found by those who need it fast.
We have also launched a wiki for GO, which provides more detailed description on how to use specific parts of the site. The wiki aims to lend a hand to those who want to know more about how to use specific features and provide guidance to avoid people getting stuck or frustrated. It is currently focussed on providing instructions for those using the back-end admin interface, but will gradually extend to provide tips, tricks and explanations on the front-end of the platform.
User stories from across the IFRC network
In the morning session, we heard a first-hand account of surge IFRC IM support to Hungarian RC data collection and analysis. The use of GO for the Ukraine crisis helped to standardise and visualise reporting across the multi-country response, helping to paint the bigger picture, while also allowing sufficient granularity for sub-national analysis. Feedback from the field included the need to include greater flexibility in the mapping functionality, allowing admin2 or district-level reporting, as well as the ability to map people reached and other data layers.
In the afternoon, we heard about how the Costa Rican RC use GO to track COVID response. Luis Angel Jiménez Cárcamo, National Coordinator for Community Resilience, explained how the CRC have used the inbuilt flexibility of the platform to alert national authorities, host Ministry of Health situation data, response activity data and business continuity data such as number of staff vaccinated.
Looking ahead
The GO workplan provides an overview of the enhancements we aim to deliver on the platform, as well as how those features and functions link to other key IFRC data processes.
90% of GO development is funded directly by our National Societies, and we depend on their continued support to deliver on these plans. If you would like to hear more about our work, or offer financial or material support, please contact im@ifrc.org
We heard from the DREF team around the ongoing work to bring the DREF process on to GO, from request to update and final reporting. This feature has been much anticipated due to its promise of greater speed, efficiency, use of evidence and visualisation of our collective response. We are excited to be close to launch, but want to make sure we get it right from the start, as it will mark a step-change in the platform’s ambition to digitally transform key disaster workflows across the IFRC network.
Help us to shape the future of the platform
Since the launch of GO three and a half years ago, we have introduced a number of processes, data, features and tools on the platform. This means that the original designs and site architecture need to be revisited, to make sure we help our network access the right information at the right time.
At the same time, we are keen to hear from you how GO can be more useful for the IFRC membership. We are looking for answers to questions such as:
1. What IFRC data is most important for our network, including (but not limited to) NS decision-makers?
2. What domestic RCRC IM systems can GO support, connect to, or provide an alternative for?
3. How do we tailour the user experience to different needs of different users?
4. What do you want GO to do for you?
In the process of this wider consultation, we have launched a survey in all 4 IFRC languages. The survey could take 5 minutes, or 50 if you have plenty to tell us! Click here to begin.
A final thanks once again to the GO team for all their hard work — from National Societies donating their time to provide analysis or comment on designs, subject matter experts leading on development of new features, as well as our developers, designers, and IM experts across the IFRC.
