Off-Grid Needs Assessment: Our Mobile App is LIVE!
I heard directly from my brothers in Dallas, Texas last week. Not only were they spending nights with temperature plunging, snow and ice whipping their homes, but they were without access to power. There is a very true and solid fact that all of us know very well; disaster can strike at any time, in any place in the world. We’ve seen in Texas how a collapsed grid and water system led to tens of millions huddled in frigid homes with no heat or connectivity. In these circumstances communicating needs is challenging, even first responders are offline. I know we need better solutions and this is why I’m so excited that our new app, RespondLocal Mobile, is up and being tested in Uganda.
Texas isn’t the first time we’ve seen the need for a way to collect needs offline. Last year, as part of ongoing testing in the field, our team spent two weeks in Uganda. We were conducting workshops and brainstorming with our partners on the ground to better understand how we can come up with a better solution for their work in the field to support their communities. While we started by testing a chatbot — we soon realized that the biggest challenge was a way to communicate from the field, where connectivity was low or nonexistent.
“ Understanding and communicating needs from the bottom to top is the way The African Youth Action Network (AYAN) strives to achieve” Simon Marot Touloung, Director & Team Lead of AYAN in Uganda and South Sudan
We’re thrilled to announce that our partners AYAN, Lira NGO Forum, and Gloford in Uganda are now live with the NeedsList Mobile application which can log and aggregate needs without relying on an internet connection. Field workers can add needs on the ground, even when offline. When they get back to the office or are reconnected, these needs sync to the RespondLocal database. Additionally, needs from multiple organizations on the ground can all be viewed by authenticated users of the platform.
We’re thrilled to see this work launch in Uganda and South Sudan. In the next blog in our series we’ll be highlighting howe this mobile app will be used in our new partnership with Field Ready, to focus on local manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment needs to support refugees and the local host community. Moving forward, we’ll be evaluating the impact and potential of the RespondLocal mobile app in collaboration with the Social Investment Consultancy.
I hope one day we can get this app into the hands of my brothers in Texas, where they will be ready and have a backup in case of any disaster or emergencies.
Learn more at www.needslist.co or email info@needslist.co to request a demo or to help test RespondLocal Mobile.
