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A Proposal

Presented to:United Nations

World Conference on Disaster ReductionJanuary 18-22, 2005

Albert J. Simard

Global Disaster Information Marketplace:

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OutlineOutline

Sharing

information

Information market

Market infrastructure

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BenefitsMaking disaster information more readily available when, where, and as needed.

Lowering the cost of producing, providing, and using disaster information.

Leveraging the efforts of existing disaster information and relief networks.

Supporting more timely and better coordinated disaster response.

Creating synergy to enable the production of new kinds of information.

Sharing Information

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Barriers Information is fragmented and hard to find

Different languages, cultures, and mandates

Lack of methods to integrate information

Information is often not formatted to be useful when and where needed

Sharing information

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Principles

PeopleKnowledge must be volunteered; it cannot be conscripted

People need time to provide and search for knowledge

Sharing must be recognized, rewarded, and facilitated

A champion is insufficient; a majority must participate

InfrastructureBuild a real/virtual “place” for exchanging knowledge

IT greatly increases market efficiency

Don’t force fluid knowledge into rigid structures

Don’t focus on systems; also consider content

Sharing information

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MechanismsTalking (real, virtual)

E-mail (individuals, list servers, distribution lists)

Chat rooms, forums, discussion groups

Communities of interest, informal networks

Groupware (teams, working groups)

Conferences, workshops, knowledge fairs

Data bases, information bases, knowledge bases

Digital libraries (repositories, search, retrieval)

Sharing Information

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Finding the Right InformationThere are some excellent

disaster Web sites

Some order is emerging,

Most sites are hard to find

We need a structure for disaster information

Sharing Information

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OutlineOutline

Sharing information

Information market

Market Infrastructure

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A Business Model:

Supply (Providers)

Demand (Users)

Providers and users connect

through an Information

Market

Information market

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AttributesPrice – reciprocity, repute, altruism

Trust – visible, ubiquitous, top-down

Signals – position, education, networks

Inefficiencies – incomplete information, asymmetry, localness

Pathologies – monopolies, artificial scarcity, trade barriers

Adapted from Davenport (1998)

Information market

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Autonomous providers and users

Diversity - mandates, jurisdictions, roles

Trust - security, privacy, control

Legal - accountability, responsibility, liability

Certification - inclusion, authenticity, reliability

Quality - completeness, timeliness, accuracy

Infrastructure - standards, networks, systems

Information market

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The Provider Face

Provider FaceAcademiaAcademia

NG

Os

NG

Os

Priv

ate

Secto

rP

rivate

Secto

r

Public SectorPublic Sector

Government disaster

organizations

Universities, colleges, institutes, schools

Disaster-related businesses

Non-Government

disaster organizations

Information market

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The User Face

Public, educators, youth, seniors, media

Policy advisors, decision makers,

regulators

User Face

PublicPublic

Pra

ctitio

ners

Pra

ctitio

ners

Polic

y M

akers

Polic

y M

akers

BusinessBusiness

Businesses for innovation and marketing

Scientists, managers, professionals, specialists

Information market

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General InformationInformation market

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Information for PractitionersFire Monitoring, Mapping, and Modeling System

Information market

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Information Facilitator Enable information search and retrieval

Support global database search and access

Create value-added information products and reports

Support networking among communities of interest

Assist providers with communication and cataloging

Help users with searching, reformatting, and interpretation

Information market

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OutlineOutline

Sharing information

Information market

Market

infrastructure

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Portals:

Gateways to cyberspaceLinks to related sourcesLimited contentAdd value to contentSearch capabilityOrganize informationCustomizable interface

Content

Portal

Market infrastructure

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Market infrastructure

How (technical)• Databases• Technology• Scientific knowledge

What (subjects)• Type of disaster• Function• Libraries

Where (place)•Interactive maps•Place names•Latitude & longitude

Who (directories)•Organizations•Experts•Products & Services

When (time)•Events & meetings•Schedules•Time series

Why (about)• General • GDIN• Management

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Scale

Market infrastructure

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Prototype Cube Design

Market infrastructure

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Rotating the Cube

Market infrastructure

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Canadian Forest Fire Portal

Market infrastructure

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The Way AheadEstablishment

agreements, plans, funding

Designconcepts, architecture, projects

PrototypeBuild a key component

DevelopmentIntegrate components

ImplementOperationalize, maintain

Summary

Http://www.gdin.org