by Mahran Alhayek, Melissa Harris and Sarah Nijholt As the World Health Organisation declared COVID as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, a group of staff from Oxfam, its partner organization and consultants were preparing to conduct interviews with women affected by ongoing conflicts and the presence of ISIS in Kirkuk Governorate, in Iraq, as part of Oxfam’s Effectiveness Review series. We put the …
What we’ve learnt about sharing real-time data
At Oxfam we are continually developing our use of digital technology for surveys. Here Simone Lombardini and Emily Tomkys Valteri reflect on lessons learnt from the process of using and sharing real-time data during fieldwork to conduct Oxfam’s Effectiveness Reviews. In 2015 Oxfam’s Impact Evaluation Advisers started using digital devices to conduct household surveys for Oxfam’s Effectiveness Reviews (ex-post, quasi-experimental …
ICTs in emergency response – what we’ve learnt
How can and should information and communication technologies (ICTs) be employed in humanitarian contexts to improve the quality and efficiency of aid delivery? Laura Eldon reflects on the findings of the Scaling Humanitarian ICTs Network (SHINE). Over the last three years Oxfam has sought to show how ICTs can best be used in emergency programmes through the Scaling Humanitarian ICTs …
Recycling computers, strengthening Nepal’s women leaders
Ganga Bhandari responded to Oxfam Asia’s call for young people to blog about urban development issues. Here she explains how an independent project she has set up is providing rural Nepali women with access to computers as a step up to access work and take advantage of business opportunities. In the 21st century everyone wants to simplify their life with …
Smarter aid: Why digital cash transfers are the future
With mobile internet now widely available across East Africa the arguments for aid through electronic cash transfers are overwhelming. Nigel Tricks, Oxfam’s Horn East and Central Africa Regional Director reflects on a recent visit to drought affected Somaliland. Two weeks ago, I visited Oxfam’s drought response in eastern Somaliland. We drove across a stark landscape; what should be a pastoralist …
Evolving ICTs in humanitarian: The power of networks
Amy O’Donnell unpacks the idea that ICTs save time, money and improve accuracy, whilst exploring the conditions needed for them to add value in humanitarian response. For three years, the Scaling Humanitarian ICTs Network (SHINE) funded by Sida has been exploring the role of Information Communications Technologies in humanitarian response. Last month all five countries in the network: Ethiopia, DRC, …