The IFRC GO platform is a pivotal tool for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) network, designed to enhance preparedness, response, and learning from disasters and crises. The platform offers a centralized hub for real-time data collection, analysis, and visualization, enabling National Societies to access critical information quickly and efficiently.
Key features include Crisis Categorization for every single disaster, country pages that provide snapshots of ongoing activities, strategic priorities, and capacity, drawing data from the UN, NGOs and the World Bank. The platform’s integration with the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) has streamlined funding requests, with over 360 successful applications since its launch. By prioritizing user requirements and employing innovative data collection methods, the IFRC GO platform has significantly increased its usability and value for different users.
This Q4 2024 briefing was the latest in the series of quarterly sessions we use to inform all our users of changes and resources available through GO. Read on for a summary, the slides and a recording from one of the two sessions we held to provide convenient options across timezones.
Crisis categorisation
The IFRC’s Emergency Response Framework (ERF) is driven by the categorisation of crises, provided by IM teams in Regional Office and Geneva, to prioritise our collective approach to risk, resource allocation and responsibilities. A revision of the ERF, approved in Jan 2025, means that the crisis categorisation will become even more systematic as a process.
While not a 1 to 1 relationship, we can see that crises categorised as red draw greater attention on GO.
Through this analysis, we can also see how attention fades over time for some emergency pages on GO, while for others, the user views are sustained. We are investigating this further, analysing user data to understand which areas of an emergency page they are returning to, for what purpose, to support GO to provide what they need more easily.
National Society Preparedness
GO enables the National Society Preparedness process from self-assessment, prioritisation through to workplanning and reporting of progress. Recently redeveloped (see blog here describing in more detail) and translated into the 4 official IFRC languages, we are seeing more National Societies adopt the tool to help them prepare for the inevitable.
Belen Zazu from the CREPD, IFRC Reference Centre for Emergency Preparedness, described how 11 National Societies have used the tool since its redevelopment. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and it has allowed GO to surface this data for wider use by the network on country pages and in other analytical processes and products.
To improve access to tools and analysis at a global level, we have been redeveloping dashboards and a catalogue of services. Belen provided a demo of these tools. The global performance dashboards are in the final stages of testing before going live in Q1 2025.
Improving the evidence we collect
Mobile data collection is indispensable in every emergency operation and long-term programme. Activities such as needs assessments, beneficiary registrations, distributions, and satisfaction surveys rely heavily on efficient data collection methods. We want to go further to improve the quality and targeting of the evidence collected. IFRC Kobo has increased in use, so that almost all NSs use it regularly. NSs submitted over three million forms in the last six months alone.
Emergency needs assessments data are often collected at the household level and come too late to inform key decisions. For needs assessments to influence operational intent, they typically need to be collected by day 14 after a sudden onset disaster.
We have built a Survey Design Tool and an accompanying bank of community-level key informant needs assessment questions to focus on that time window because we think we can get the biggest improvement as a result. The development is a user-friendly addition to the IFRC Kobo mobile data collection service.
Please find the video here explaining more:
Anticipatory action
As of writing, the GO platform has successfully supported 350 funding requests by the National Societies to respond to urgent needs supported by the DREF. Converting a previously email-based system to a modern, efficient and well-structured approach has contributed to quicker disbursements, improved collection and use of evidence and increased transparency.
We are now investing to bring the anticipation pillar of the DREF to GO. There are three different ways to access funding in anticipation of a disaster or crisis, and we are applying a user-centred design process to each, trying to understand where not only the online interface, but also the evidence and data visualisation that GO offers, can add value along the process.
The process to request funds to respond to an imminent crisis through the DREF has recently been streamlined, enabling National Societies to respond quicker when there is even less time to compile, analyse and submit evidence. A simplified flow which was demoed on the briefing is ready to be launched on GO, as soon as the new DREF procedures are approved.
In addition, we are midway through a consultation process to understand where GO can support the scale-up of more structured investments in anticipation through the system of Early Action Protocols (EAPs) and their simplified variant. These EAPs are the pre-agreed plans which National Societies develop based on an extensive analysis and co-development process with Government and other partners. They contain actions to be taken ahead of a crisis in preparation, as well as clear instructions on what should be done in the event that an identified hazard trigger threshold is met.
The data GO contains from the 100s of National Society operations per year, as well as operational learning, preparedness self-assessments, situational reports and other ancillary data from across our IFRC network and beyond, including that compiled in the million plus records of the Montandon Global Crisis Data Bank, is being considered for its added value at different steps of the development and initiation of EAPs.
GO Services
GO has been built by and for the IFRC on open-source, scalable and free to use technologies, allowing others across the network to benefit from our investments in code and infrastructure. Recently, we were contacted by an IM Officer from the Italian Red Cross who wanted to use the User Interface (UI) components we have built, and we realised that there could be many more out there who could do the same. So, we took the time on the briefing to explain what is on offer, how to access these resources, and offer to support those projects which could benefit.
Single Sign-On (SSO) — since we have a number of IFRC network-focused applications connected to GO, including the Alert Hub, Survey Design Tool and Montandon, we have built an SSO which enables users to use their GO log-in to access these seamlessly. While this successfully provides a solution for these applications, we have been working with the IFRC IT Department and are ready to shift towards a National Society-focused SSO when that is made available.
Geospatial data — We aim to build a single, easily accessible source of geospatial truth for the IFRC network. Providing this for all countries, boundaries, entities, and territories is a significant undertaking. It requires our team to respond to many changes in context, and we rely on a working group that includes colleagues from Operations, Humanitarian Diplomacy, Security, Legal, Governance, and IT. The data is accessible in a number of formats:
- Publicly accessible Offline Files (GeoJSON, Shapefiles, KML for Admin0 & Admin1 boundaries)
- Customized Mapbox tilesets and basemap for use in dashboarding apps such as PowerBI, Tableau etc
User Interface (UI) library — Consistent use of easy-to-use web components — including buttons, tables, fonts, colour palettes, icons and so on — are necessary for applications to be easily used and understood by users. To streamline design and development, we have made an online, open-source library of these components, free for the IFRC network to use. Please find the code and details here.
GO API — GO automates sharing IFRC network data through its API (Application Programming Interface). By connecting with external systems, GO enables greater visibility and accountability. Since we know using APIs is not for everyone, we’ve developed extensive use cases and step-by-step instructions on the GO wiki to help you plug IFRC data into your system or dashboard. We have also built a machine-readable Swagger API, enabling use for AI agents and other applications.
ERU module rebuild
Emergency Response Units (ERUs) are teams of specialists deployed when local facilities are destroyed, overwhelmed or do not exist. ERUs are maintained and funded by National Societies across different countries, but their deployment is coordinated by the Global Surge team in Geneva.
ERUs are deployed within 24–72 hours, are self-sufficient for up to 4 months, and come with their own equipment, funding, and management structures. There are currently six types of ERUs, each designed to address specific humanitarian needs in Health, WASH, Relief, Logistics, IT Telecoms and Basecamp (including the new Operations Support Hub). More information can be found in the Catalogue of Surge Services on GO.
We are currently in the final wireframing stage of rebuilding the ERU module, which has been unchanged since the launch of the platform 6 years ago. Through the rebuild, we will adapt to the more modular way in which ERUs are now deployed, involving multiple National Societies. GO will also allow quicker decision-making to call for ERUs based on their availability and readiness. We aim to have the working prototype ready by the end of Q1 2024. The Swedish Red Cross and SIDA have generously supported this work.
Supply chain and logistics — SPARK dashboard
The Supply Chain Preparedness and Response Knowledge (SPARK) is proposed as a central hub for critical supply chain information using scenario planning. The objective of SPARK is to improve real-time data on stocks, framework agreements and country-specific logistics data essential for preparedness and response. The main objective is to provide end-to-end support to Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies by accompanying them along their journey to develop EAPs and then using them to generate timely, effective actions when a forecasted trigger meets the activation criteria.
By matching modelled evidence on anticipated events, their impacts, likely humanitarian needs and proposed response options by National Societies, IFRC GO provides decision-support for National Societies. Adding data from the IFRC’s SPARK as well as leveraging its data exchange and leading role on the Steering Committee of ESUPS, GO will be able to incorporate and visualise data on procurement, logistics, and costing implications of different supplies. This data will be linked to other decision-making processes, such as the IFRC’s DREF funding mechanism, in order to leverage our global network’s learning and experience, thereby enabling more cost-effective and evidence informed preparedness actions by the IFRC network.
Workplan
Please find our workplan linked here and specific items in the slides below, which are now on pause due to the current funding environment. As you will see, there are many items which had progressed to prototype and wireframing stages, some of which can drive great efficiencies for the IFRC.
90% of GO development has been funded 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
