Abstract

Implementation of GIS in a Humanitarian Assistance NGO
Track: Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs
Author(s): Brad Jamison, Seth Wiafe, Tim Wolfe

International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in development or long term humanitarian assistance (HA) have been slow in adopting GIS even though HA professionals are continuously working with maps, making mental geographical references, and evaluating gaps in service and coverage often for mobile and unstable population groups. Barriers which have inhibited implementation include a lack of understanding how a GIS can be a tool to improve programming and provide a competitive edge in the grant-driven field, and the perception of a steep initial investment in terms of hardware, software, and expertise which is beyond the means of many international NGOs. Loma Linda University School of Public Health Geoinformatics Laboratory partnered with the international NGO ADRA Honduras to study whether leveraging the GIS resources of a US-based university in partnership with an international NGO could determine the lowest level of investment and technology necessary to implement a GIS in an international NGO.

Brad Jamison
Loma Linda University
Nichol Hall 1313
School of Public Health
Loma Linda , California 92350
United States
Phone: 909-558-7662
Fax: 909-558-0469
E-mail: bjamison@llu.edu

Seth Wiafe
Loma Linda University
Nichol Hall 1202
School of Public Health
Loma Linda , California 92350
United States
Phone: 909-558-7596
Fax: 909-558-0469
E-mail: swiafe@llu.edu

Tim Wolfe
Loma Linda University
Nichol Hall 1313
School of Public Health
Loma Linda , California 92350
United States
Phone: 909-558-7662
E-mail: gwolfe@llu.edu