Print Email Facebook Twitter Humanitarian Innovation at the Netherlands Red Cross Title Humanitarian Innovation at the Netherlands Red Cross: A case study on disaster preparedness on Sint Maarten Author van der Veen, Paul (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering; TU Delft Industrial Design) Contributor van Erp, Jeroen (mentor) Kleinsmann, Maaike (mentor) Price, Rebecca (mentor) Becks, Michel (mentor) Degree granting institution Delft University of Technology Programme Strategic Product Design Date 2018-10-01 Abstract This report shows the process and result of a graduation project at the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC). In their search to improve the humanitarian system, innovation is necessary. However, the Netherlands Red Cross faces challenges associated with time, resources, culture and methodologies to execute a research regarding the integration of innovation into the organisation. Based on this problem the following research question was formulated:“How can humanitarian innovation at the Netherlands Red Cross be improved?”To answer this research question, two ethnographic studies were conducted in the context of the headquarters of the Netherlands Red Cross and Red Cross operation on Sint Maarten. Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method in which you observe, interact and empathise with the topic that is being researched. It is mainly used to gain a deep understanding of the context when dealing with highly complex problems.Ethnographic Study 1The first ethnographic study took place at the headquarters of the Netherlands Red Cross, involving methods such as observations and interviews. The research resulted in a general understanding of the way of working at the NLRC. Furthermore, multiple bottlenecks of innovation were identified: Donor structure, organisational silos and project proposals.Ethnographic Study 2The second ethnographic study was conducted on Sint Maarten. The island, located in the hurricane prone Caribbean, was hit by hurricane Irma in September 2017. The Red Cross responded and provided relief aid to the inhabitants of Sint Maarten. The field visit, which had a focus on disaster preparedness, allowed research into the programming of the Red Cross on Sint Maarten. The following insights were found: Design principlesThe Red Cross should follow the the following five design principles; (1) embrace a holistic approach; (2) pivot the existing situation; (3) ensure knowledge is transferred; (4) use a context specific approach and; (5) use a phase specific approach.Organisational insightsThrough collaboration, the missing identified qualities: creativity, ideation, speed, hands-on approach and decisiveness, can be implemented into (future) projects.ConceptThe concept, ‘Community Based Data Collection’, that was developed for this thesis consists of three different phases: preparation, quick response and long-term benefits. Each neighbourhood will have a local ‘data collector’ with knowledge of the community, which will gather relevant data for the three different phases. Preparation• Identify the most vulnerable people in the communities by mapping the neighbourhoods;• Use data to estimate the quantity of relief good necessary per community, and;• Identify and map valuable capacities on the island for a ‘sharing economy (relief operation)’.Response• Use data from the preparation phase to deliver appropriate and focussed aid;• Use a communication system (e.g. pop-up wifi) to provide communication possibilities for both beneficiaries and the Red Cross, and;• Use real time data to optimize relief aid.Long-term benefits• Identify and map structural problems on Sint Maarten;• Provide information to specialized organisations in order to solve these problems, and;• Create a financial independent project by having a ‘data based business model’. Subject Humanitarian aidInnovationRed CrossDisaster preparedness To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ae357594-d3c6-4f8d-bddb-283e1cc3583e Part of collection Student theses Document type master thesis Rights © 2018 Paul van der Veen Files PDF GraduationReport_Paulvand ... 207238.pdf 8.71 MB MP4 Movie_Paulvanderveen_4207238.mp4 4.35 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:ae357594-d3c6-4f8d-bddb-283e1cc3583e/datastream/OBJ1/view