Innovating for access: the role of technology in monitoring aid in highly insecure environments

Operating in insecure environments is one of the more critical tests for the humanitarian community. Access constraints, uncertainty, attacks and aid diversion make these unlikely settings for innovation. Yet several new approaches come from highly insecure environments. In these settings, technologies like mobile phones, radios, Internet platforms and GPS trackers are sometimes the only way to send and receive vital information, or track the movement of goods. This article draws on the findings of a three-year research programme, Secure Access in Volatile Environments (SAVE), by Humanitarian Outcomes and the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). In close collaboration with aid agencies in Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan and Syria, the research examines access, quality and accountability in highly insecure settings, including assessing the technologies aid actors use for monitoring aid in hard-to-reach areas.