The GO team are committed to transparency as well as sharing the journey we are on to develop the platform. We organise a briefing each quarter which aims to review KPIs, new features and functions, user stories and future plans for GO. Read on for a summary, the slides and an edited recording from the two sessions.
Exponential growth in users
The GO platform continues to scale its user base. The Haiti earthquake response saw the numbers of unique visitors double its previous peak in August 2021, with 22,300 visitors to GO over the whole month and the most visits to GO in a day: 1,500 on August 15th. We continue to monitor and share key metrics to help us understand what value GO can add to the IFRC network.
Enabling access to GO data
We wanted to direct users again to the GO user library, which continues to grow. We have added instructions on how to access the GO data directly through the API, how to re-use the IFRC mapping data, including styling and handling of disputed boundaries. This adds to the guidance and code snippets which demonstrate our commitment to GO as a open source project.
Finally, we made a plea to the network for assistance in further expanding the range of templates. So, if you have time and skills to work with us on this exciting project, please get in touch IM@ifrc.org
IFRC surge services and real-time deployment data
The major update we had to share from the past quarter related to multiple upgrades on the surge page. This included automated data exchange with the new IFRC Rapid Response Management System (RRMS) and a redesign of Global and Emergency surge pages to include open alerts and at-a-glance deployment gantt charts.
In addition, we have been working hard with Surge colleagues to migrate the IFRC Catalogue of surge services to GO. This is a vital resource for surge desks preparing their rosters to respond to needs across the IFRC network, operations leaders deciding which resources to deploy and individuals to better understand the potential role they could play. Please explore the new catalogue, including new guidelines for requesting satellite imagery and analysis and FAQs for guiding use of the IFRC KoBoToolbox.
IFRC Alert Hub and GO — links in the end-to-end early warning and alert chain
On 12 October we launched the IFRC Alert Hub, a global platform that aggregates and disseminates official alerts about impending hazards that use the Common Alerting Protocol, also known as CAP. The alerts provide information about the forecast timing, location and type of hazard, its severity, the likeliness that it will occur and the name of the issuing authority. The Alert Hub is also designed to convey information about what actions to take in order to keep people safe.
Now that the Alert Hub is up and running, we’re reaching out to National Societies to help train them on the further dissemination of these CAP alerts, we’re getting their feedback on ways to improve the Alert Hub and enhance the information being disseminated. Thanks to the American Red Cross, we’ve also begun collaborating with Google to see how we can strengthen the information architecture, and we’re exploring how we can incorporate more information about the expected impacts of forecasted hazards into the alerts.
User stories from across the IFRC network
We heard from IFRC Bangladesh’s Muhammed Rabby Shakar, who illustrated the value that can be brought for monitoring and analysis through a long-term IM delegate creating dashboards to enable data-driven decision-making. In addition to sectoral and operational dashboards, Rabby described the IFRC and NS workflows from field to platform which GO underpins.
Representing one of GO’s most active National Societies, the Ugandan Red Cross’ Joel Kitutu described the role GO is playing in digitally transforming the National Societies’ disaster management workflows. Joel described how the Ugandan RC use the GO COVID dashboard to track the pandemic, the field report system for alerting the IFRC network to its domestic response as well as the 3w for tracking programmatic response across the country.
Recommitting to user-centred design with NS
In order to ensure an evidence-based understanding of National Society needs from the GO platform, we are embarking on a consultation process over the coming months to prioritise feature enhancements which emerge. More details to come soon and we invite you to get involved in the process, led by IM Coordinators at the IFRC Regional Office level.
Finally, we shared significant progress on the GO risk analysis and DREF modules, which will be covered in more detail in subsequent posts. We anticipate these enhancements to lead to a step change in the value add of the platform as they are released in the coming months.
