NeedsBot: Aggregating Real-Time Needs from Anywhere via Chatbot
THE CHALLENGE
During times of emergency, access to accurate information about relief, resources, and other needs is often limited due to ever-changing field conditions, fragmented data collection, poor communication, and logistically complex means of on-the-ground knowledge-sharing. Consequently, private, NGO and public-sector actors may lack access to urgently needed facts to inform resource allocation and coordination of aid efforts. Particularly in rapidly evolving crises, the ability to obtain timely data on population needs is essential for optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the humanitarian response. Without a platform for communicating in real-time, humanitarian actors may fail to adjust rapidly enough to address emerging threats, resulting in highly detrimental delays in the delivery of aid, as well as avoidable losses of human life.
THE SOLUTION
To address the lack of effective platforms for enabling real-time communication of humanitarian needs, NeedsList created the “RespondLocal” mobile app to allow first responders to collect and securely broadcast the needs of communities in crisis to a global, multi-sectoral community of partners and supporters. Using this platform, local NGOs were able to log, communicate, and request more than 300,000 needs for refugees. This innovation enabled 22,150 people affected by conflict in Uganda to have information on their urgent needs collected in the field in real-time. In total, the CHIC-funded pilot achieved an equivalent value of USD 35,000 in total needs met. A third-party impact study helped further validate the potential to maximize value for money in humanitarian assistance by providing qualitative evidence of efficiencies gained for humanitarian first responders in Uganda.
