March 2022 Newsletter: Support in response to the Ukrainian crisis, new project on promoting responsible data & launch of the Learning Corner

As an H2H organization specialized in Information Management, CartONG has been adapting its response and the support it provides to its partners thanks to the dedication of its staff and of its network of volunteers. As needs evolve, we will continue to adapt the assistance we provide over the weeks and months to come. Here is a snapshot of a few key endeavors.

Most of our support is currently centered on Médecins Sans Frontières via their GIS Centre. In the last few weeks, we have tirelessly been working on harvesting basic data on Ukraine and its surrounding countries as well as data about security events in Ukraine. Additional work is also being conducted on harvesting existing maps and GIS products to make available to MSF staff in the field. Our GIS team has also produced a significant amount of static maps on cross borders, conflict areas and several affected cities – 120 so far, most of which are for MSF internal use. We have also developed 6 geoapps on Portal for ArcGIS which help with a better follow-up of MSF activities and their support to health facilities, as well as of security events. In the coming weeks, CartONG will centralize all existing geoapps in a custom-designed dashboard, with the support of MapAction.

Our team has also been supporting UNHCR on data management, by providing them with information on the temporary sites set up at the Ukrainian borders. Once again, our volunteer community has been of great support helping with data collection and key translation endeavors. As such, a group of around 15 volunteers is currently helping with mapping points of interest for ICRC. Additionally, several volunteers helped translate the names of cities and health facilities from local languages to English, before HOT published the information on HDX for the whole sector to use.

In the last few weeks, CartONG has also been meeting with the members of the GIS sub-group of the Information Management Working Group of OCHA to exchange with its pairs. In addition, we have been taking part in several exchanges with the H2H Network and the CHD - Coordination Humanitaire & Développement.

In October 2021, CartONG engaged in its first ever partnership with the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) through its Crisis and Support Center (CDCS) regarding an initiative focused on the promotion of responsible data and data protection applied to humanitarian actors and settings over the November 2021 to October 2023 period.  Through this project, CartONG hopes to directly support a dozen French humanitarian actors in applying and implementing responsible data practices in their program data management and, consequently, improve the quality of their programs. More specifically, the provided support aims at encompassing the entire chain of the data life cycle from data collection to the sharing of data, through the processing stages, analysis and destruction of such data. Learn more in this short article.

In December 2019, CartONG launched a 3-year project dedicated to strengthening the way Information Management is handled by francophone Civil Society Organizations with the support of the French Development Agency. More than 2 years in, where do we stand? What is the latest news? And what is planned for the last 8 months of the project? Using the more casual format of an interview, here is a quick update which highlights in particular the launch of the Learning Corner in January 2022 with, among others, its Data Analysis and Data Visualization toolboxes, and the very recent release of some guidance on improving program data management training practices within the sector (in French only).

From February 2021 to February 2022, CartONG implemented a project entitled “Addressing climate change through participatory mapping: using technology and community-based approaches to support climate change adaptation in rural Tajikistan” with the support of its local partner, Little Earth. The project was part of a larger initiative carried out by GIZ in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and financed by BMZ. Learn more about it here. In the final weeks of the project, CartONG and Little Earth worked together on compiling the key learnings from this unique initiative. On the plus side, what stands out is that the Agile project management methodology appears to be a particularly relevant approach for this kind of project. Additionally, the train-the-trainer approach with Little Earth was a success and something to replicate. The team however stressed out that some time was lost on designing the project methodology which would have been better used spent in the field conducting community activities. It was also clear to both partners that, in future projects, more time would need to be spent on clarifying concrete outcomes of how the collected data should be used in the long-run – including by other field actors. CartONG will make sure to build on those lessons learned for future projects whose contexts are similar to this one.

NEW PROJECT - CartONG launched a new project named “MapInclusive” in January 2022, which is funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme. The project aims to accompany migrant people in France and Greece towards learning new digital skills through digital mapping activities. To carry out this European project, CartONG is working hand in hand with Social Hackers Academy (SHA), an Athenian NGO. For 18 months, digital mapping activities will be offered to migrants in France and Greece, including mapathons adapted to their needs and skillsets, as well as a series of workshops to discover a variety of digital mapping tools.
 

NEW PROJECT - CartONG is one of the 7 associations participating in the “ACTIV’ECSI” project, led by the NGO Pays de Savoie Solidaires and co-financed by the French Development Agency. Started in January 2022, this 3-year initiative aims to strengthen the commitment of Savoie-based inhabitants in favor of a more united and sustainable world. CartONG and the associative members of “La Fabrique du vivre ensemble” network will develop innovative ECSI (Education for Citizenship and International Solidarity) actions and tools, as well as launch new partnerships.
 

TRAINING - In February 2020, just before the pandemic sent us into lockdown, CartONG had the chance to facilitate a 2-day in-person training on Data Protection in Humanitarian Assistance for a dozen of actors - an initiative part of the training catalog proposed by VENRO, the umbrella organization of development and humanitarian NGOs in Germany. Two years later, we renewed this experience, this time using an online format. A group of 16 participants coming from 14 organizations and a variety of backgrounds and positions met 6 times over 2 weeks to learn, reflect and discuss about Data Protection. The objectives of this training were to obtain a good overview and understanding of the concept of data protection applied to the aid sector, evaluate the maturity of each participant’s organization on the topic, learn how to protect data and get an overview of the tools and methods that can be used to improve data security. In the end, we sought to engage everyone in their responsible data journey and demonstrate how each and everyone can be an active actor on the subject. In the coming weeks, CartONG will continue to support the participants via individual coaching sessions organized at their request.

A quick panorama of some of the other training activities we conducted this quarter...

• 3 days of “Online GIS Basic” training as an introduction to GIS conducted in support of MSF, with 14 people attending. 
• 2 days of reminder training on data collection given to each country involved in the Chad Lake Basin project (Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon) implemented by Plan International Germany.
• An online training on how to use QGIS has been organized for 10 field staff of the RESILAC consortium. 
• 2 in-person introductory sessions on Information Management were organized at Bioforce for  future Programme Coordinators and future Logistics Managers.
• One remote training on M&E tools and practices was delivered to 12 field staff of Expertise France based in Mali, the Comoros, Greece, Mauritania, Tunisia, and Morocco.
• In the framework of the Maps from here & abroad project co-financed by Fondation de France, CartONG facilitated, in January and February, 6 workshops with 18 migrants hosted by CADA Grand Chambéry - FOL 73. The participants created subjective maps telling their stories. These workshops have been built in close cooperation with a psychiatric nurse from EMPP, as well as social workers from FOL 73.

Learning Corner: discover the new section of the IM Resource Portal!

CartONG invites you to discover the new Learning Corner of the IM Resource Portal. This subsection of the portal complements its resource library and blog section by providing practical tools in French and English for humanitarian and development field practitioners. Acting as a constant companion, its main objective is to support them on their path to mastering Information Management. Check out the first few publications in English: the First Steps with Program Data Management Toolkit as well as the Covid-19 Focus Toolkit, the Data Analysis Toolkit as well as the Data Visualisation Toolkit.

Curious about the association’s volunteering activities? Join us every second Wednesday of the month from 6 to 8pm to learn more during our francophone “Volunteer happy hour”. The next meeting will be on April 13th. More info here.