Comments on: How Bangladesh might be the start of something http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/ because information can save lives Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:37:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Paul Currion http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/comment-page-1/#comment-123981 Paul Currion Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:15:03 +0000 http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/#comment-123981 My optimism is always cautious! I should point out that I don't think the clusters are a particularly good idea <i>in themselves</i> - they suffer from many of the same issues as the old arrangement - but that in the context of the clusters, an agreement to share data is a good idea. Will the cluster leads be able to deliver the goods? No. But if they have information management staff working for them with the least bit of experience, those people will be able to use that data quite effectively. So one of our recommendations is that all the clusters need to assign information management officers as well as co-ordinators. Finally - there might be information overload, but there definitely isn't data overload. Anything I could have laid my hands on in Bangladesh would have been useful... My optimism is always cautious! I should point out that I don’t think the clusters are a particularly good idea in themselves – they suffer from many of the same issues as the old arrangement – but that in the context of the clusters, an agreement to share data is a good idea.

Will the cluster leads be able to deliver the goods? No. But if they have information management staff working for them with the least bit of experience, those people will be able to use that data quite effectively. So one of our recommendations is that all the clusters need to assign information management officers as well as co-ordinators.

Finally – there might be information overload, but there definitely isn’t data overload. Anything I could have laid my hands on in Bangladesh would have been useful…

]]> By: Jeremy http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/comment-page-1/#comment-123838 Jeremy Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:24:47 +0000 http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/#comment-123838 I would caution you a bit on your optimism. In Uganda, cluster leads have done a very....let's be charitable and say "mixed"...job of information management and dissemination. Not so much because of reluctance to share data as simply time constraints, management skills, etc. The idea of sharing all of the raw data sounds nice in principle, but will the cluster leads actually be able to deliver the goods in practice? Also...if there's no system for organizing/tabulating/indexing all of this data within or amongst the clusters, mightn't this just lead to the very old problem of info overload? I would caution you a bit on your optimism. In Uganda, cluster leads have done a very….let’s be charitable and say “mixed”…job of information management and dissemination. Not so much because of reluctance to share data as simply time constraints, management skills, etc. The idea of sharing all of the raw data sounds nice in principle, but will the cluster leads actually be able to deliver the goods in practice?

Also…if there’s no system for organizing/tabulating/indexing all of this data within or amongst the clusters, mightn’t this just lead to the very old problem of info overload?

]]> By: Mikel Maron http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/comment-page-1/#comment-122048 Mikel Maron Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:16:47 +0000 http://www.humanitarian.info/2007/12/29/how-bangladesh-might-be-the-start-of-something/#comment-122048 Great to hear good news like this -- congrats Great to hear good news like this — congrats

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