Humanitarian emergency response initiatives and development activities have come to rely heavily on efficient and effective mobile networks that offer access to information. Looking beyond the immediate needs related to an emergency situation and considering the potential post-emergency benefit to local communities, it is becoming apparent that the information and communications infrastructures put in place during an emergency are dramatically under utilized. Building on efforts that have already been made, the benefit of these emergency response infrastructures can continue to serve as instruments for development post disaster.

The project seeks to address the two complementary challenges that humanitarian and relief organizations face: identify the appropriate technology best suited to meet the various situations in which they are called on to intervene and design a strategy to optimize the longer term use for this technology.