510 (la iniciativa Data & Digital de la Cruz Roja Neerlandesa) celebra su 7º aniversario.th year anniversary this month. Founded in 2016, 510 has become one of the leading data & digital establishments supporting humanitarian organizations in providing aid to people affected in some of the world’s most hazardous and conflict-ridden areas. Together with the 510 team, we are looking back at 7 matters in which 510 made an impact throughout the years.
Qué hacemos
Más información productos y servicios que ofrece 510 (pdf).
‘We support National Societies with data and digital products and services for Anticipatory Action, Cash & Voucher Assistance, Digital Transformation, Emergency support, Digital Engagement and Water & Landscape. Our dedicated team of staff, professional volunteers and research students are the backbone of our work. It’s incredible to see how many national societies we have been able to support with improving their humanitarian operations’
-Maarten van der Veen (fundador y jefe del equipo 510)
1. Liberar el potencial de la acción anticipatoria
La Acción Anticipatoria hace que las previsiones y alertas pasen de ser descripciones de cómo será el tiempo a evaluaciones de lo que hará el tiempo, lo que permite a organizaciones y personas de todo el mundo mitigar los efectos de fenómenos meteorológicos y climáticos extremos como tifones, inundaciones y sequías. Nuestro trabajo de Acción Anticipatoria consiste en identificar los indicadores clave de estos fenómenos y su impacto en los sistemas sociales, económicos y medioambientales, y en desarrollar estrategias y soluciones que puedan mitigar los efectos negativos de estos factores y ayudar a aumentar la resiliencia de las comunidades y las sociedades.
“Anticipatory action is an essential addition to humanitarian response and preparedness, as it is about acting before a disaster occurs to reduce its impact on communities and their livelihoods.”
-Marc van den Homberg (Coordinador temático Acción Anticipatoria 510)
Presently, 510 has supported 12 National Societies with their Anticipatory Action efforts in close collaboration with the Host and Partner National Societies, IFRC, and the Climate Centre. 510s support focuses on characterizing risk, developing hazard-impact databases, trigger models, and a corresponding decision support tool (510s Impact-based forecasting portal). 510 developed trigger models for multiple hazards, such as drought, floods, tropical cyclones, and epidemics. The trigger model for tropical cyclones in the Philippines has been adopted by other agencies. 510 developed together with the Philippine and German Red Cross the Typhoon Trigger Model, which reached its next stage of Maturity. The model not only triggers the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF), but also the UN’s Central Emergency Respond Fund (CERF) and Anticipatory Action funds of other NGOs in the Philippines. 510’s Impact Based Forecasting Portal (IBF Portal) is a digital one-stop-shop of information that supports the decision-making of disaster managers during anticipatory action operations. The IBF Portal visualizes this Trigger Model and gives clear actionable steps for a National Society. The IBF Portal has been implemented in more than 10 countries. Two recent examples are flood and drought anticipatory action in Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively. In 2022 the IBF Portal for floods became fully operational in Zambia. For droughts, the Trigger Model has been developed together with the Zimbabwe Red Cross and it became.
Previsión de la sequía en Zimbabue: avances, retos y oportunidades futuras
In Zimbabwe, agricultural activities are the primary source of income for 67% of the total population residing in rural areas. Most agriculture is rain-fed, making it susceptible to drought. Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of drought. This means the impact of drought on the livelihood of people increases. 510, the Data & Digital…
La Cruz Roja de Zambia toma las riendas de la acción basada en las previsiones
Written by the Climate Centre In Zambia in recent weeks, major components of the Netherlands-funded Response Preparedness II were handed over to the government and implementing Zambia Red Cross Society (ZRCS) branches as the five-year-old programme closed. RP II included provision for forecast-based financing through an early action protocol for floods developed by the ZRCS, the IFRC,…
Previsión basada en el impacto de los tifones en Filipinas
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has incorporated IFRC’s Anticipatory funding mechanism (based on 510’s Typhoon Trigger model) as part of their Anticipatory Action protocol. The German Red Cross (GRC) and The Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) have been supporting The Philippines Red Cross (PRC) with intervention area prioritization for most…
2. Apoyo a la distribución digital de ayudas en metálico y vales
Cash aid is an important part of humanitarian aid, as it allows people to meet their basic needs in times of crisis. In times of conflict and disasters, Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) can provide essential support to those affected, allowing them to purchase vital items such as food, shelter, and medical supplies. CVA is also a more efficient way of providing aid, as it allows affected communities to choose the items that best suit their needs. Furthermore, this form of humanitarian aid can be used as economic stimulus, providing an impetus for economic growth in areas that have been affected by crises. In this way, Cash and Voucher Assistance has the potential to provide much-needed relief to people in vulnerable situations in a way that is both effective and empowering. La FICR es líder mundial en asistencia mediante efectivo y vales y se ha comprometido a prestar 50% de su asistencia humanitaria mediante efectivo y vales de aquí a 2025..
“Cash and Voucher Assistance is a vital tool in the humanitarian field, providing families and individuals with the ability to purchase the essential necessities and resources they need to survive and rebuild their lives.”
-Lars Stevens (Coordinador temático de la Ayuda en metálico y vales 510)
To this end, 121 is a Cash Information Management platform that we co-designed with people affected and aid workers. It aims to support National Societies to scale up their cash programs. The platform launched in 2021 to support undocumented migrants in undocumented situations in the Netherlands, and the platform started being scaled up internationally in 2022. In addition, 510 provides Cash Information Management services to National Societies which reduces the administrative workload and introduces bite-size digital improvements in providing people affected with cash or vouchers. In 2020 for instance, the cash program in Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten reached 3500% more people than before by digitizing the local operations. So far, 510 has supported over 30 National Societies in their cash programs.
Digitization of CVA program in Botswana – Remote Cash IM in practice
Written by Saskia Tdlohreg During the COVID-19 pandemic, many National Societies (NS) increased Cash & Voucher Assistance (CVA) components in their emergency responses. In order to guarantee program quality of these CVA programs, Information Management (IM) plays a pivotal role. Botswana Red Cross Society (BRCS) was one of the NS looking to improve the use…
Cash & Voucher Assistance at Scale – Integrating Systems in St. Maarten & Aruba
Written by Saskia Tdlohreg How to set up Digital Cash support when scaling up from serving 100 to over 40.000 People Affected? This was the question 510 faced when launching a Cash and Voucher Assistance program in St. Maarten and Aruba. This case study will inform about what systems were used to make this scale-up…
3. Aprovechar el poder de la participación comunitaria y la rendición de cuentas
Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) is a way of working that recognizes and values all community members as equal partners whose diverse needs, priorities and preferences guide everything the Red Cross Red Crescent network does. This is achieved by integrating meaningful community participation, open and honest communication and mechanisms to listen to and act on feedback data. It is an essential component in the humanitarian sector as it allows communities to be involved in decisions that directly affect their lives. Evidence and experience shows that CEA helps to ensure that solutions are tailored to the needs of the community, which make them more appropriate, effective and sustainable. CEA also helps to build trust between communities and humanitarian actors, providing opportunities to foster relationships, create local networks, and build resilience. It provides humanitarian actors with local knowledge, needs and insights which help to inform decision-making and the design of intervention
“Community Engagement and Accountability is essential to the success of any humanitarian effort. It gives the people who are most affected by disasters or crises the opportunity to raise their voice and ensures that programs and operations are meaningful, sustainable and of high quality“
-Jonath Lijftogt (Coordinador temático Compromiso y responsabilidad de la Comunidad 510)
The IFRC aims to place local communities at the very centre of change so that actions are effective, inclusive and sustainable. With Digital CEA, 510 supports this process. Our team designs and develops products and services that help National Societies and their partners in having meaningful and scalable engagement with the communities they serve. The first Digital CEA product, the Helpful Information as Aid web-app, was launched in 2020 to provide information about services the Red Cross Red Crescent network or other (local) aid organizations offer. This first app of this kind was designed with and for undocumented migrants living in the Netherlands and has been visited over 5.000 times to date. In 2022, HIA was also used to help Netherlands Red Cross staff and volunteers answer Frequently Asked Questions from people fleeing Ukraine who were arriving in the Netherlands. To further support the IFRC and National Societies in their response to the conflict in Ukraine, 510 created a tool and a process for Social Media Listening (SML). We pull data from instant messaging platforms to see what people affected by the crisis think about their situation, what they need and how they interact with humanitarian organizations providing support. Combining qualitative and quantitative data and identifying key trends from these conversations helps the IFRC and the National Societies mitigate risks and define, implement and improve (CEA) programs and information campaigns.
Por último, junto con la FICR, varias Sociedades Nacionales, el Consejo Noruego para los Refugiados y otros socios, 510 ha estado trabajando en el pilotaje y la implementación del Digital Engagement Hub (DEH). Con el DEH, pretendemos crear un paquete de productos estandarizado que facilite el compromiso local, escalable y significativo a través de dispositivos digitales y canales de comunicación entre las organizaciones humanitarias y las comunidades. Hasta ahora, hemos colaborado en el DEH con ocho Sociedades Nacionales.
Un año de crisis humanitaria en Ucrania: El papel de apoyo de la tecnología
The escalation of conflict in Ukraine continues to fuel a devastating humanitarian crisis that is affecting the lives of millions of people. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) is helping to coordinate emergency response in Ukraine and other countries impacted by the conflict, in collaboration with local Red Cross and Red…
Ayuda digital en los Países Bajos para inmigrantes en situación irregular
Written by Sander Houston The world is witnessing record levels of migration and displacement, posing some of the most significant humanitarian challenges of modern time. Across the globe, people who migrate or are displaced from their homes face unacceptable risks and too often are deprived of the basic needs and protection they need to ensure…
4. Reforzar la prestación de la ayuda con la Transformación Digital
La transformación digital puede mejorar drásticamente la eficiencia y la eficacia de la ayuda humanitaria y los esfuerzos de preparación, ya que es capaz de identificar y orientar mejor a las personas que necesitan ayuda y garantizar que los recursos se distribuyan de manera más equitativa. Además, la transformación digital puede ayudar a agilizar el proceso de prestación de ayuda, por ejemplo mediante un proceso de registro más eficiente para las comunidades afectadas. Por último, también puede ayudar a mejorar la eficiencia de la recopilación y el análisis de datos, que luego pueden utilizarse para informar estrategias de socorro y preparación más eficaces.
“Digital transformation is a key enabler of smart and accountable humanitarian aid. It allows us to better understand and respond to the needs of people in vulnerable positions, and it increases our capacity to reach and interact with them.
-Liselot Kattemölle (Thematic coordinator Digital Transformation 510)
En su Estrategia 2030, la Federación Internacional de Sociedades de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja (FICR) destaca la transformación digital como una de las principales transformaciones necesarias para abordar los retos mundiales de esta década. Como tal, la FICR adoptó una estrategia de Transformación Digital en 2021 para acelerar el uso de la tecnología en los servicios humanitarios prestados por sus 192 Sociedades Nacionales. 510 es un impulsor clave de este objetivo estratégico mediante el desarrollo de productos y servicios digitales junto con las Sociedades Nacionales, pero también guiándolas en el establecimiento de datos y capacidad digital para mejorar los servicios humanitarios que prestan.
Together with the IFRC Digital Transformation team, 510 has led the development and implementation of a digital transformation assessment that supports National Societies to map their current and desired capacity for people, processes, and technology. This assessment methodology has been adopted in more than 50 National Societies, in collaboration with IFRC regional offices, the Spanish Red Cross, and the British Red Cross. 510 guides National Societies to mobilize resources based on their digital transformation assessments. Moreover, 510 is a key contributor to the IFRC’s Data Playbook which was launched in July 2022, with the help of 100s of Red Cross Red Crescent staff, volunteers, and partners. This tool includes social learning content that is designed to assist National Societies in their data journey. In addition, a free Data and Digital literacy introduction course became available that is intended for anyone interested in learning about data, information, digital technologies, and their responsible use within the context of humanitarian aid.
Curso gratuito en línea de introducción a los datos y la alfabetización digital
The Data and Digital Literacy Introduction Course is now online! The e-learning course is intended for anyone interested in learning about data, information, digital technologies, and their responsible use within the context of humanitarian aid. The course content is offered in 5 standalone modules to flexibly cater to learners’ specific learning paths. We have used…
El Marco de Madurez Digital: Establecer un vocabulario colectivo para la transformación digital
With 192 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies (NSs), the International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC) presents an enormous wealth of data and digital capabilities in a plurality of contexts. While some National Societies are adopting the rapid advancements of modern technology in their humanitarian service delivery, most NSs are at…
5. Asignación eficaz de recursos mediante el apoyo de emergencia
Cuando las catástrofes o los conflictos causan sufrimiento y penurias a las poblaciones vulnerables, el apoyo de emergencia es necesario para proporcionar socorro y ayuda esenciales, como alimentos y refugio, atención médica y apoyo psicosocial. Como tal, es una parte importante de una respuesta humanitaria más amplia, ya que ayuda a garantizar que los afectados por los desastres reciban el apoyo que necesitan para recuperarse.
“Data and digital tools are essential in providing a rapid, coordinated, and effective response to humanitarian crises. It is a vital way to improve the efficiency of aid to people affected.”
-Jacopo Margutti (Coordinador temático de Apoyo de Emergencia 510)
El apoyo de emergencia con datos y herramientas digitales ha sido un área de trabajo clave desde el comienzo de la 510. Nos hemos desplegado más de 20 veces como gestores de información into affected areas, directly supporting field-level operations and using those experiences to build more and better digital tools to help aid workers in emergencies. Damage assessments are a great example: after Hurricane Irma caused great devastation in Sint Maarten in 2017, 510 conducted a Damage Assessment using drones that were flown over the island, cataloging and open-sourcing more than 13,000 buildings. Following that experience, we researched how to automate the procedure, and ultimately deployed a fully Automated Damage Assessment (ADA) for the emergency response to the 2020 Beirut port explosion. ADA is based on a deep learning model that identifies damaged buildings in high-resolution satellite images. Automating this assessment makes it faster and far less dependent on human effort, therefore enabling 510 to quickly deliver the information that is needed. Most recently, ADA was deployed in response to the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria at the beginning of this year, to map damage in eight cities across the region and thus help the Red Cross and Red Crescent teams prioritize intervention areas and resource allocation.
Respuesta digital a los terremotos de Turquía y Siria
On 6 February, the border region between Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic was rocked by a series of earthquakes which have killed over 50,000 people, damaged infrastructure, and destroyed livelihoods. Following the earthquakes, the Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent swiftly commenced their response operations, with thousands of volunteers and staff working…
Beirut tras la explosión: la tecnología desempeña un papel vital
Written by Melissa El Hamouch The year 2020 in Lebanon, kick-started with ongoing revolutions, an economic crisis, a political collapse, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s unstable economic situation and the steady rise of COVID-19 cases were both major factors affecting the majority of the populations’ financial instability. Within this context, Lebanon was then hit with an unexpected catastrophe that took place on August 4th, 2020 that shook it to…
6. Soluciones digitales para la gestión del agua y el paisaje
In the humanitarian sector, data and digital water and landscape support allow for more efficient and targeted water resource management. By using digital tools to monitor and support water resources, humanitarian workers can better understand the needs of communities, identify areas of vulnerability and provide more effective and sustainable water solutions as a form of relief to people in vulnerable situations around the globe. Digital water and landscape support also enable humanitarian workers to provide relief to more remote areas, as it can provide a faster and more accurate picture of the environment. Being at the forefront of responding to global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs, the IFRC aims to protect nature and lives and to reduce disaster risks by working with nature.
“Access to safe, clean water and the protection of our landscapes are fundamental to the health and wellbeing of all people.”
-Marijke Panis (Coordinadora temática Agua y Paisaje 510)
To this end, 510 developed the Landscape Restoration Toolbox. One of the tools, Historical Analysis, allows for easy comparison between two satellite images of the same region. The tool shows which areas have been affected by deforestation. The site suitability analysis helps identify zones that should be prioritized in the response, as well as zones where the reforestation success rate may be higher, making it an important decision support tool that can guide project managers in selecting the areas to be reforested first. An example of landscape restoration is the Green Pearls project in Haiti, a country in the Caribbean that is prone to frequent earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. Since 2019, the Haiti Red Cross Society and the Netherlands Red Cross under the Princess Margriet Fund have been working to restore Haiti’s reputation as the ‘Green Pearl’ of the Caribbean through the development of many smaller green pearls – communities that balance human needs with natural resources and economic development. After Haiti was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in August 2021, 510’s Historical Analysis tool played an important role in this project by providing a scan of satellite images before and after the earthquake to create an overview of the most affected areas to be restored. At the time, the 510 data team provided regular digital support, giving insight into the situation, risks and opportunities.510 has been supporting the Dutch Surge Support (DSS-Water) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)Team with Information Management support. DSS-Water and 510 aim to rapidly respond in emergency situations, making use of the DSS-Water network of experts to deploy suitable candidates into the field at the request of humanitarian organizations. 510 provides technical expertise to support deployed water experts working in a humanitarian context. DSS-Water experts most often have a background in Civil Engineering, Environment, or Health, but not necessarily Information Management. As an example, in collaboration with the IOM WASH team, DSS Water, Deltares and 510 experts worked on a modelo de inundación para un drenaje sostenible en Nigeria.As part of the Fellowship “Analytics for a Better World in late 2022, 510 also worked on an analysis to identify areas in three localities in West Darfur State, Sudan, which are most suitable for borehole sampling, taking into account the presence of population, flood risk and social unrest. Read more about this project including code on GitHub aquí
7. Unir a estudiantes y voluntarios para impulsar la ayuda humanitaria
Los voluntarios y los estudiantes son esenciales para el éxito de los esfuerzos humanitarios, ya que aportan una gran cantidad de conocimientos, experiencia y entusiasmo a cualquier proyecto humanitario. Los voluntarios de la 510 son una fuente de apoyo inestimable para el equipo, ya que refuerzan nuestros proyectos con sus conocimientos en ciencia de datos, analítica de datos, diseño, ciencia de la geoinformación, traducciones, desarrollo de software, responsabilidad de datos y economía empresarial. Ya sea a través de colaboraciones con organizaciones como Analytics for a Better World o de particulares que desean contribuir de forma constante a un mundo mejor. Mientras tanto, los estudiantes aportan a la 510 los últimos avances científicos que luego se aplican en proyectos durante el trabajo de investigación de posgrado o unas prácticas en colaboración con universidades. En general, la mayoría de nuestros estudiantes trabajan en acciones de anticipación. Nuestros voluntarios trabajan en todos los proyectos de la 510. Al comprometerse con los estudiantes, las organizaciones pueden asegurarse de que están equipados con las habilidades y conocimientos necesarios para abordar eficazmente los problemas que están abordando. Desde 2016, 510 ha tenido el honor de trabajar con más de 200 voluntarios profesionales, más de 100 voluntarios corporativos, 16 becarios y 138 estudiantes de investigación.
“Volunteers and students are the spark that accelerates projects within 510, essentially increasing the efficiency of humanitarian aid and reaching more affected people.”
-Corina Markodimitraki (Coordinadora de voluntarios 510)
Voluntarios de 2022: ¡muchas gracias!
As the year comes to a close, we want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the 510 volunteers who helped us throughout 2022 by working tirelessly and passionately. The work of volunteers is highly valuable since they accelerate the projects in 510 and provide the expertise that 510 sometimes does not have…
Perspectivas de futuro
A medida que avanza la tecnología, el uso de datos y herramientas digitales será cada vez más vital para mejorar la rapidez, la calidad y la rentabilidad de la ayuda humanitaria. Ayudan a identificar las necesidades, orientar los recursos, seguir los avances y medir los resultados importantes, así como a comprender y supervisar el impacto de las intervenciones y garantizar que se llega y se atiende a las poblaciones en situación más vulnerable. Además, los datos y las herramientas digitales pueden utilizarse para proporcionar información en tiempo real, lo que permite a las organizaciones adaptarse y responder rápidamente a las necesidades cambiantes. El uso de datos y herramientas digitales en el ámbito humanitario creará oportunidades para intervenciones más eficientes y eficaces y, en última instancia, un mundo más sostenible y equitativo para todos. En los próximos años, la 510 se centrará en ampliar los productos y servicios existentes, colaborando estrechamente con la FICR, el CICR y las Sociedades Nacionales. Queremos asegurarnos de que podemos ayudar a las Sociedades Nacionales a prestar apoyo a millones de personas afectadas. Nuestro objetivo es complementar plenamente lo que ofrecen otros miembros de nuestra red. Nos centraremos en la sostenibilidad de estos productos y servicios, para asegurarnos de que podemos ofrecerlos con alta calidad durante un largo período. Innovaremos con modelos de negocio que nos permitan a nosotros y a las Sociedades Nacionales implementar productos y servicios de datos y digitales de forma rentable.
“Data and digital technology in the humanitarian field continues to create powerful possibilities for a safer future. With the right investments and commitment, data and digital solutions can revolutionize the way we tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.”
-Maarten van der Veen (fundador y jefe del equipo 510)
Qué hacemos
Más información sobre los productos y servicios que ofrece 510 aquí.
