{"id":184125,"date":"2013-12-03T14:36:16","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T14:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.rm.gfolkdev.net\/?p=184125"},"modified":"2022-10-04T14:56:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T14:56:34","slug":"quickpanel-disaster-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/quickpanel-disaster-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"QuickPanel: Disaster Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natural disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan,<\/a> which last month devastated much of the Philippines, bring immense information challenges, from reports and warnings issued beforehand to the web sites that handle donations afterward. \u00a0How does UX factor into disaster preparedness and response? \u00a0We asked a panel of experts to weigh in. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

How have web and mobile technology changed the donation process for example, the ability to text donations? \u00a0Have non-profits such as Kickstarter, Indigogo, and Crowdtilt raised the bar for easy experiences?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Lisa<\/a>Lisa Welchman<\/a>: \u00a0I believe these sorts of organizations have improved the experience for donation, but they\u2019ve also crowded the field, which makes it hard for donors to determine the nature and status of the organizations doing the fundraising. We all want to be sure that we are donating to an organization that will make most effective use of our funds. On the positive side, newer donation methods make it easier for an individual to target their donation either to a specific geographic region or to fill a particular gap in infrastructure, such as housing or food supply. \u00a0And, the ease of donation can also put demands on the physical supply chain.<\/p>\n

Non-profits should take care to understand the full process, from making the quick donation all the way to the goods or monetary instruments reaching those who need them. \u00a0Kiva loans are powerful, for instance, because there is a direct connection between the one supplying the loan and the one receiving it. That connection, and reporting back on the use of the loan, helps give the donor the confidence that they are really making a difference.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/a>Kelly Goto: When Katrina hit in 2005, I donated using Red Cross because I had heard it was the best way to ensure your money was going to the right places at the right time. Later, I donated to my local church, which was very well connected to local churches in the hurricane-hit area. \u00a0That seemed even more direct and helpful but a fluke because it was based on a personal relationship. Today, there are sites that help you vett who to donate to, and the ability to send $10 via SMS is compelling and very friction-free. The \u201ccrowdsourced\u201d assurance that your funds are going in the right direction works on that local community-based level, which feels the most impactful.<\/p>\n

There was some debate over Kiva in the last few years, where you were not assured that the micro loans were being handled properly, and the information on the web site was not 100 percent clear or accurate. Local\/community-based services such as Task Rabbit and AirBnB help jumpstart activity on a local level while assuring systems of privacy and protection are in place. The same local-based mentality of helping someone you know or a project you respect via Kickstarter, or joining a smaller cause where you can see the effect directly, does seem to have more emotional resonance, and thus a bigger impact for smaller funds. Not only is the experience friction-free, but the meaning is there, thus the desire to join in and believe you can make an impact.<\/p>\n

Whitney Quesenbery<\/a>: \u00a0The ability to text a small donation, charged to your phone, is an amazingly successful way to allow people to act on their natural, human impulse to help out in a crisis. \u00a0Ushahidi<\/a> and similar SMS-based systems let everyone not only have access to information, but contribute information as well.<\/p>\n

We see this sort of bottom-up information system in our daily commute. Drivers’ reports of accidents or traffic jams are reported on maps and even in radio traffic updates. And the data from navigation systems supports real-time predictions of travel time.<\/p>\n

Mobile money is also having a profound effect on humanitarian aid. Getting supplies into the affected area is important, but this article in User Experience<\/em> describes how relief agencies are using mobile money so that families can make their own decisions about what they need and have the resources to get it. \u00a0The author, Gabrielle Smith, writes, \u201cThere has been overwhelming evidence from many humanitarian relief efforts around the world, that cash transfers give people more dignity and flexibility in meeting their day-to-day needs.” Isn\u2019t that a goal worth designing for?<\/p>\n

Is there anything we can take away from Haiyan to be applied to future catastrophes? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Kelly Goto:<\/strong> \u00a0There was a disconnect of language and communication on a very straightforward level that really hit me. The term “storm surge” rather than “tsunami” was used and unheeded by so many. No one knew what a storm surge was but everyone knew what a tsunami was. If the government and news had used “tsunami”, I heard 80 percent more people would have evacuated, even if the term wasn’t 100 percent correct. \u00a0(A tsunami is a wave or series of waves caused by an earthquake in the ocean that come in as rapid surges. A storm surge is caused by a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone. They are wind-driven, generally come in more slowly, and are easier to predict.)<\/p>\n

How we handle these warnings and respond now, as well as take lessons away for the future, is a \u201clife cycle\u201d of great magnitude. Kind of like two friends of mine who have PhDs in social welfare, but one\u2019s on the hands-on side of social work and the other on the policy\/plan-for-the-future side. \u00a0It takes both disciplines to make change happen, over time, while dealing with the crisis on the ground.<\/p>\n

I could not help but think about an amazing lecture I heard by Ravi Sawheny<\/strong> of RKS Design on the methodology used to design the Hydropack<\/a> technology\u2014I was mesmerized to see similar frameworks we use in user research to help companies like Samsung \u201cinnovate\u201d while RKS was using their focus to change the world.<\/p>\n

I would like to see a brain trust (not just a think tank) of donated time from smart individuals and teams dedicated to solving more of these types of problems. As someone who lives along a tsunami warning-labeled coastline, it does hit home.<\/p>\n

Lisa Welchman:<\/strong> A storm surge is a storm surge and a tsunami is a tsunami. I think accuracy is important. If people don’t know the difference, then the focus should be on educating them so that they do. Perhaps we need to stop talking about catastrophes using meteorologically focused, sound-bite naming conventions and start quantifying and talking about them in terms of the catastrophe\u2019s impact on a number of different factors\u2014things like loss of home, loss of life, loss of services. We do some of that already, but it would be interesting to create a scale using those factors. Folks could then be socialized into the new measurement paradigm. Storms are interesting, but what drives me to donate is their impact.<\/p>\n

I was mesmerized to see similar frameworks we use in user research to help companies like Samsung \u201cinnovate\u201d while RKS was using their focus to change the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Whitney Quesenbery:<\/strong> \u00a0Words and definitions are important, but it\u2019s more important that people understand not only what they mean but what actions they should take.<\/p>\n

That fits the definition of plain language (from Ginny Redish<\/strong> and international plain language organizations, including the Center for Plain Language<\/a>) that clear communication means that people can<\/p>\n