2012 Sept 12

These call-ins / check-ins are at their most basic a way to strengthen the connections across response organizations (traditional, digital, and otherwise), individuals, and projects. Some calls are focused or topical, but are always meant as open spaces for cross-sector and -organizational collaboration. Defined organizations, networks, and other ways of delineating and focusing response are absolutely necessary, but so too is a space external to that for emergent possibilities.

Attendees:

List yourselves out as you join the call, the order we go in will be determined by this. Willow goes last.

• Evert with Haiti Connect
• Cat with Humanity Road
• Scott with FEMA
• Pascal with Crisis Commons
• Jen with Crisis Mappers
• Willow with Geeks Without Bounds

Agenda:

What we're up to today - Willow Organizational overview - what has everyone been up to? Take 3 minutes tops

• Person before you in the list takes notes. (A takes notes for B)
• Person after you keeps time. (C keeps time for B)

Final notes / thoughts / potential overlaps

Organisational Overview

Cat with Humanity Road

This week's Situation Report  - From Maine to Nova Scotia - overview on Leslie hitting Newfoundland.  Also wanted to let folks know about an event our volunteers monitored this week for impact.  One brought in the Mexico shootout panic happening on Twitter. As background on this, drug cartels in Mexico are killing folks who report suspicious activity via social media.  This new incident covers people who are starting rumors in social media that create panic Mexico . Might be prudent for crisis responses teams in social media to become aware of this type of thing so they are informed of the risks. We attended and facilitated a panel discussion on the SMILE Conference #SMILEcon held in Richmond on 9/11. We're attending and looking forward to ICCM.

Scott with FEMA

Deploying a strategy over the next year for FEMA.gov on drupal. Expect to create a number of APIs, raw datasets and feeds. Make some core data available. Try to see areas where we should focus - response or preparedness, long term recovery, fire, etc. Just me part time right now, will get some staff later. Going to ICCM to listen, but got some requirements from Willow to make an announcement or make shelters available. Real-time system of status and location. White House's safety.data.gov datasets and tools around residential fire and incidence. Expanded sets on flood and such. KML google overlay but want to get to more of a web service capability, facilitate applications. Need requirements for datasets, how FEMA can help.

Jen with ICCM

Coming along really well

Pascal with Crisis Commons and UW

Trying to build out capability for legal org, signed docs. Working on project with GWOB and Gisli and Microsoft on building a place for better tools, continuity, maintain better documentation and support for tools and projects. Researchable, people can find things. If it was built awhile ago, you can go grab it and modify it. Part of Visual Studio release. Not a MSFT only product, will be open and not owned.

Evert with Haiti Connect

Bringing IT infrastructure to schools hospitals etc. Based in Ireland, all volunteer. Expanding, building a dedicated response team. Using wifi to respond and support, a physical network. Software management. Can be a wide network area, manage access. Geolocation and disaster response inherent in network, anyone connected can use it. Making sure you have the right datasets, using google library etc.

Willow with GWOB 

Accelerator teams working on Drought tracking, monitoring medical devices, educational standards ensuring teachers are spending more time with students and less time on lesson plans.  Working with AT&T with hackathon, and upcoming hackathon in Birmingham H4D2.EU - front loading it with datasets.  Talking to Digital Democracy in Haiti on gender based violence.

Post- intro discussions

• Evert needs to meet up with some people. What sorts of data should be plugged into their network when it deploys?
• What format is the data from FEMA in? That can be part of the request as well. Raw datasets, i.e.: GIS do raw shape files. Along lines of Digital Government Strategy; create APIs. No limit on the format of a delivery mechanism. How do we know what is the most up to date? i.e.: HAZUS hospital layer.

Follow-up / Action Items:

Send dataset requests to Scott at FEMA (ping Willow for contact) - want to collaborate in a meaningful way. Hospitals are requested. Shelters and flood planes are coming out.