Information Systems Innovation in the Humanitarian Sector - Information Technologies & International Development, Vol. 7, No. 4

Author(s)
Tusiime, E. and Byrne, E.
Publication language
English
Pages
18pp
Date published
01 Jan 2011
Publisher
Information Technologies & International Development
Type
Articles
Keywords
Accountability and Participation, Accountability to affected populations (AAP), Innovation
Countries
Chad

With the increase in humanitarian crises and consequent aid, there is greater demand for evidence of the effectiveness and accountability of aid. Information Systems (ISs) are critical for emergency response and humanitarian opera- tions in fulalling these demands, but also because the consequences of having or not having timely and accurate data are usually life and death. IS innovation in the context of the humanitarian sector highlights the need for context- based approaches to innovation. In this article, we explore the process of the improvement, development, and implementation of an international development organization’s logistics and supply chain system in Chad. Actor-network theory provides the framework for making sense of this IS.