Paper details

Paper authors	Shirin Madon
In panel on	Technology, Innovation and Experimentation in the Refugee Sector
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

The digitalisation and datafication of the humanitarian sector have made interoperability an urgent issue for research and policy. Interoperability can increase efficiencies, targeting and inclusion yet simultaneously increases personal information-based risk. In this paper, we adopt a socio-technical framing to study the main factors that are implicated in the design of interoperable identification systems through a study of IFRC and its process of digital transformation. The case of IFRC is helpful because its federated nature creates challenges to interoperability that provide insight for the wider humanitarian sector. We adopt an interdisciplinary approach in order to build a conceptual framework synthesising the current discourse around interoperability in information systems and in humanitarian research. We will draw on existing IFRC documentation, particularly those that describe the organisational approach to data management for identification and for targeted services such as cash transfer programming in order outline the organisational policies and principles that shape data use and management for the sector. Stakeholder interviews with IFRC headquarter and National Society staff will provide insight into the practical and socio-technical realities of digital transformation and the implications for increased data interoperability.

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