NeedsBot: Aggregating Real-Time Needs from Anywhere via Chatbot
During times of emergency, access to accurate information about what’s needed is fragmented and hard to come by. We lack tools to respond quickly and effectively to rapidly changing needs on the ground. Meanwhile, private, NGO and public sector entities want to help but don’t know how. There needs to be easy ways for local organizations to communicate needs in real-time (internally to external donors & actors); and for supporters to access and respond to that information.
NeedsBot, by NeedsList, is a chatbot that allows vetted frontline responders to txt in urgent information, supply, and human resource needs into the NeedsList platform; an online marketplace for humanitarian aid. These needs are aggregated into a secure database made accessible to multiple stakeholders and via a feed through our API. This way, individual, corporate, and/or government responders can better understand what is needed and have a place to meet needs in real-time.
