The IFRC comprises a global network of 191 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies known for their local action at global scale. In this briefing we presented some key advancements on the GO platform to collect and surface data from across our unique network.
This Q1 2024 briefing was the latest in the series of quarterly sessions organised to inform our users of new and upcoming features and resources available through GO. Read on for a summary, the slides and an edited recording from the two sessions held to provide convenient options across the world.
Focus on National Societies
Insights from the member-driven GO Survey in 2022 provide the over-arching framing for development of the platform, where we were encouraged to develop services and awareness to allow National Societies to benefit from the platform for domestic emergency operations, as well as encouraged to work directly with National Societies to learn their needs for the platform.
As part of this effort we raised the visibility of country pages and have been researching and implementing improvements. We interviewed some key users from National Societies and the IFRC Secretariat, exploring their user ‘journeys’, to develop wireframes based on their stated needs and preferences.
A longer blog about the process will follow but please do check out the new page from your country and let us know what you think — IM@ifrc.org
Putting National Society data on the map
Geographic information on National Society national, provincial and community-based Branch offices, health facilities and related services and resources is a crucial component of preparedness and readiness, and having an in-depth understanding of their number, location and level of functionality can significantly help better plan response efforts, resource mobilisation and coordination. Indeed, a significant number of our members provide medical services professionally, in addition to those provided by volunteers and community health workers.
Until now, we did not have global repository for data on where the national society facilities are located, what health services are provided, and the number of staff working in the different types of facilities that the National Societies own or operate.
Two initiatives have been working on developing a solution, helping us to map the IFRC Network. The Professional Health Services and Local Unit / Branch Office mapping projects have collected geographic and capacity data from across our network, and we presented how this data will be managed on, and through, GO.
By providing a simple, easy to use interface for National Societies to manage their geographic data, we aim to provide a better understanding of our voluntary and professional services and capacities.
On the briefing we heard Zarraf Tajwar Adib from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and Benjamin Kwenda speak of the current situation and experiences, challenges and expectations of the system we have been working on. Please take 5 mins to watch this highlight from the briefing below:
We also take this opportunity to invite you to the ‘Mapping the Network’ event on Monday 13th May, as shown below. Please email health.mapping@ifrc.org to receive connection details.
Quality data in, decision-support analysis out
In order to understand emergency needs, the IFRC uses the emergency needs assessment approach. However, most emergency operations do not conduct emergency needs assessments in time, if at all.
In an emergency, survey design often takes days, wasting valuable time and missing the window to inform response design options. There can sometimes be a ‘battle of the questions’ between different sectoral and technical focal points, understandably keen to use the opportunity to learn more about their specific area of concern. Where questions are designed ad hoc in the heat of the moment, they are of lower quality, and often miss critically important questions.
All of these reasons and more led us to work on an initiative to help our network to learn from its own collective experience and intelligence. We first collected emergency needs assessment questions, organised into the IFRC analysis framework and stored in a ‘question bank’. We then made these questions available on the IFRC Kobo mobile data collection service. Following that, we collaborated with WFP to adapt their survey design tool to provide an intuitive ‘wizard’- like interface to enable users to generate appropriate surveys for their needs. Next, we are planning to bring the survey design tool on to GO in Q2 2024.
Sneak peek at a redesigned operational learning module
A brief description on the background to the operational learning initiative here. On the briefing, we shared the current availability of the data via the GO API, as well as the proposed wireframes for a redesigned interface to gain easy access to the summary of learnings from across the network. As well as a centralised dashboard, we will be ‘sprinkling’ these learnings across the platform, as well as making available for other evidence-based processes.
Finally, we provided a brief overview of the GO workplan, which provides timeframes for the deliverables we have committed to for the platform in the next 18 months. Please get in touch if you are keen to contribute or collaborate on any of these features.
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.
To honour the Country Pages release, we listened to ‘Egyptian Reggae’ by Johnnie Richmann and the Modern Lovers, and John Denver, ‘Take Me Home, Country Road’ before and after the briefing.
