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Davos2015:Bigdataanddisasters

BigData FutureoftheInternet HumanitarianResponse

Canbigdatahelpus
respondtodisasters?
ByLauraGurski
Jan192015
Comments

119

Inthesummerof2011,theHornofAfricawashitwiththeworst
droughtin60years.Evenwithrepeatedwarningsigns,donors
werenotabletorespondquickly.Andwhenaidfinallycame,it
wasntwhatwascalledfor.Localcitizensknewwhatwasneeded,
but,asnotedbytheheadofalocalaidagencyinKenya,donors
didntwanttohearanyofittheyonlywanttofundemergencies.
Butmuchofthehumantollcouldhavebeenreducedwiththeright
kindofpreparedness.Andthatwasthemissedboat.
Imamanagementconsultant,sowhenIvewatchedmassive
disastersunfold,Ivealwaysthoughtaboutbetterwaystomanage
theresponse.Morerecently,afterworkingonsomebigdata
projectsforlargenationalandmultinationalcorporations,Ifind
myselfaskinganadditionalquestion:whatcanwelearnfromthe
waycorporationsusebigdatatosolveproblems,andhowcould
thatbeappliedtoaltruisticcausessuchasdisasterrelief?

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Davos2015:Bigdataanddisasters

Prevention,preparedness,responseandrecoveryareallaspects
ofcataclysmiceventsthatarebeginningtobenefitfromabigdata
approach,butitsveryearlydaysyet.Weveseensocialmedia
feedsbeingusedtoderiverealtimecrisismappingforexample
duringthe2013floodingoftheRiverElbeinGermanyor
duringHurricaneSandytodeterminewherefloodinghascaused
themostseriousstructuraldamage,andprioritizedisaster
response.
Bigdata,bigpotential
Mostcorporationsarestillfindingouthowtobenefitfrombigdata.
Ithasntyetbecomefullyintegratedintotheirwaysofworking,and
whiletheresmuchtalkaboutturningdataintoinsights,wearent
quiteinapositionwherewereturninginsightsintodecisions,
gettingleaderstotrustthosedecisions,andgettingallthis
informationtoflowthroughthesystemfastenoughthatthose
decisionsarestillrelevant.Bottomline,wehaveyettoreconfigure
theenterprisesothatitcanbecomeresponsivetothesenew,
rapidlyemerginginsightsthatevolveoutofthedataandhowthe
dataisqueried.
Wehavelearnedfromthecorporateworldthattheapplicationof
bigdataisntjustthechiefinformationofficersjob.Itsthechief
marketingofficersjob,thechiefexecutiveofficersjob,and
eventuallyitfiltersacrosstheenterprisetobeingeveryonesjob.In
applyingbigdatatodisasterrelief,itwouldbeinterestingtosee
whether,werewetostartapplyingthesameprinciples,wecould
usetodaystechnologytodeliverthingsdifferently,moreefficiently,
wheredisasterhasstruck.Itwouldbeevenmoreinterestingtosee
ifwecoulduseitbeforeadisasterhadstruck,potentiallyavoiding,
oratleastreducing,theeffectsofthedisaster.
WhenImworkingwithclients,Ialwaysaskiftheywouldmake
differentdecisionshadtheytheabilitytoaskdifferentquestions.
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Almostalways,theysaytheywould.Sowhythenaretheyrelying
onoldfactbasesoronwhattheygleanfromonesetoffacts?If
theycanmergedatasets,ifbigdataisusedcorrectly,blending
multiplesources,itcouldansweranydatadrivenquestions.But
whatquestionswouldtheyaskdifferently?
Askingtherightquestions
Indisastermanagement,oneofthequestionsweneedtobe
askingiswhetherdonorsaregivingtherightthingsattheright
time.Andhow,basedonourunderstandingofwheresomethingis
going,isthereadifferentwayofgettingitthere?Withtheabilityto
manipulatedatadifferently,wedbeaskingdifferentquestionsthat
wouldprobablychallengethestatusquo.Whatwehavelearned
frombigdatainthecorporateworldisthatitbecomesaquestionof
leveragingthefactbasetoaskdifferentandsmarterquestions.
Corporationsareusingbigdatatoanticipatequantityandlocation,
aswellastodeterminewhatproductisactuallyneeded.Thesame
applieswithdisasterrelief:itsaboutgettingwhatsneededtothe
peopleaffected.Howmuchproductdowesend,whereisitneeded
andhowsoon?Whataresomeofthehotspotsthatwouldbenefit
andpotentiallyseemoreimmediateresultsfromourefforts?
Fromthepointofviewofacharity,itmightbeaboutusingthe
informationNGOsandotherorganizationsalreadyhave,butina
differentway,andmergingitwithmoreinformationfromother
sourcessuchassocialmediaorsensordata,tomakeitmore
preciseandfinetuned.Then,aftertheoutcome,addingmore
informationtothemix,togetclosertobeingabletoforecasta
certaintypeofdisaster,orgetatthedemographicand
concentrationofwhatsneededtosuccessfullybringrelief.
Sothequestionishowdoyoulookatthatinformationandwhat
othersourcescouldyouusetorefineyourforecast?Andthenhow
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doyouensurethatinthefuture,yourdecisionsareinformedbya
factbasethatcomesoutofthericherviewsprovidedbybigdata?
Thiscreatesbetteropportunitiestousetheinformationtomakethe
rightdecisionattherighttime.
Whatarethequestionsbeingaskednow,andwhatmightbebetter
questionstoask?Currently,thequestionsbeingaskedare:how
much,howfast,andwherearewegettingitfromwhocandonate
what,howfast,howmuchofit,anddowehavetherightlogisticsin
placetogetitthere?Perhapsthequestionshouldbe,istherea
betterwaytodothis,arethesereallytherightitems,anddowe
needtheminthisorder?
Inbusinessasindisasterrelief,itsimportanttofigureoutwhether
weareaskingtherightquestions,andifnot,establishwhetherbig
datacanhelpusdoso.Ibelievethatinbothdisasterreliefandthe
corporateworld,wecanstilldomuchtorefinetheseprocedures.
Author:LauraGurskiisGlobalLeaderofPracticesandaMember
oftheSeniorLeadershipTeamatA.T.Kearney.
Image:Ethiopianmigrantswalkonthesideofahighwayleadingto
thewesternYemenitownofHaradh.REUTERS/KhaledAbdulla
PostedbyLauraGurski10:40
Allopinionsexpressedarethoseoftheauthor.TheWorldEconomicForumBlogisanindependent
andneutralplatformdedicatedtogeneratingdebatearoundthekeytopicsthatshapeglobal,regional
andindustryagendas.
AnnualMeeting2015
FutureOfTheInternet

BigData

Crisis&Cooperation

HumanitarianResponse

Davos2015

Disasters

Forum

Information

Infrastructure,LongTermInvestingAndDevelopment

Innovation&Industry

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