Sharing Information among Various Organizations in Relief Efforts

摘要

Today, information sharing is critical to almost every institution and organization. There is no more pressing need for information sharing than during an international crisis, during which multi-national, military-civilian coordination is needed. Successful information technology implementation for international crises could be increased by analyzing prior relief efforts. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of information technology in enabling the sharing of actionable information among various organizations in relief efforts. An analysis is presented of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami relief effort; specifically, how different organizations such as the military, United Nations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) used information technologies to increase information flow across the organizations and thereby enhance the level of success of the operation. At all levels of relief efforts, strategies to provide adequate help to the victims of disaster will rely on the development and distribution of actionable information. It is essential that participants strengthen their capacity to gather, share, analyze and disseminate such information. When using or developing information technology in relief operations, it is necessary to be aware of the obstacles related to information sharing. Due to the uniqueness of each relief operation, which is dependent on the participants and the nature of the disaster, it is difficult to define the problems, symptoms, and possible solutions of each one. This thesis attempts to establish the requirements for the development of a Disaster Information Management System by examining both the universal problems in disaster relief operations and their possible solutions from within information technology.