Contributing factors include increasingly unstable environments, larger numbers at relief and development workers deployed, and the erosion of humanitarian neutrality and independence.
This increase has been difficult to quantify due to a lack of coherent security incident data, there is a general consensus that the humanitarian relief and development area is more dangerous than ever.
This security information gap hampers relief and development efforts by the United Nations and other national, international and non-governmental organizations because they lack a sound basis on which to make security relate operational and policy decisions.
The Information Management & Mine Action Programs (iMMAP) has developed a solution to fill the security information gap - the Operations Activity Security Information System (OASIS).
Common Operating Picture
OASIS builds the common operating picture (COP) by bringing disparate security incident and operations data together in one place. The COP facilitates collaborative security and operations planning, allowing OASIS users to achieve a comprehensive situational awareness.
Field focused
OASIS provides organizations in the field with:
- Shared security incident data;
- Standardized reporting formats;
- Evacuation planning tools;
- Personnel accountability tools;
- Radio room tools;
- Location monitoring;
- Easy to use hazard analysis tools;
- Mapping capabilities
OASIS gives policy makers:
- Aggregated security information;
- Comprehensive security hazard overview;
- Security analysis capabilities without specialist technical personnel;
- Simultaneous decision support at multiple levels;
- Overview of humanitarian project activity
OASIS delivers user-friendly security information tools for data entry, analysis, mapping, reporting, and data sharing.
OASIS breaks complex tasks into easy to understand guided steps using software wizards that minimize errors, reduce training requirements and encourage users to interact with the system. Non technical users can:
- Perform complex hazard analyses;
- Customize analysis to focus on specific sector, method of operation and location;
- Produce analysis maps without specialized skills;
- Create custom data tables without writing queries;
- Create custom analysis relevant to sector focus, method of operation and location
OASIS works under harsh field conditions. All data entry, analysis, mapping, and reporting functions of OASIS continue to work even if there is no Internet connection.
OASIS:
- Works offline;
- Low bandwidth, data transmitted as small text files;
- Runs on USB stick for external Internet connection;
- Does not NOT require heavy IT infrastructure
