Written by Elaine Donderer, Tom Haythornthwaite, and Andrej Verity
Key Messages
- Coding administrative boundaries eases the coordination of humanitarian agencies and resources during an emergency event.
- Integrated coding processes, with a shared methodology, are more efficient. The governance and maintenance of unique geographical identifiers must be expanded to an inter-agency effort.
- Meaningful collaboration with national Governments and international development organizations can provide coded spatial boundary data for humanitarian relief. Accrediting information sources for data ownership is important to establish these relationships with an anti-colonial approach.
- Unique identifiers can benefit from dynamic elements, for example, documenting the data’s temporal lineage.
- Alternative ways of coding geographical boundaries, such as automated processes with machine learning, provide exciting opportunities for the future and should be further explored.
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