Challenges of Humanitarian Information Management in Iraq

Abstract

Humanitarian information management in Iraq after April 2003 has been heavily influenced by the interplay of three factors. These are: Continued efforts at standardization and institutional support that had been pioneered in preceding emergencies, notably in Kosovo and Afghanistan; preparations in response to an announced war; and, later, a deteriorating security situation. The politics and dynamics of humanitarian information management are investigated in detail by the example of two large-scale rapid assessments in Iraq. Although continuing instability there makes it difficult to abstract general lessons, the Iraq experience points to several areas in which humanitarian information management requires strengthening. These include the discipline that a sober “value-of-information” approach fosters, improved tools for urban assessments, assessment designs that can shorten learning cycles, and more constructive politics of information coordination.