Field Notes

Writing from the Field

Reflections, technical deep dives, and opinions from a decade at the intersection of humanitarian data, GIS, climate risk, and cash programming.

Featured

Why I Build Systems, Not Dashboards

Opinion·8 min read

The humanitarian sector is drowning in dashboards but starving for systems. A dashboard is a view; a system is an ecosystem that changes how organizations make decisions.

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Data Analytics7 min read

The 72-Hour Problem

The first 72 hours of a sudden-onset disaster are an information black hole. Good IM isn't about perfect data — it's about being useful under imperfect conditions.

Cross-cutting10 min read

From Maiduguri to Machine Learning

The evolution from manual Excel-based IM in Nigeria's NE crisis to AI-powered analytical platforms wasn't planned — it was driven by repeatedly hitting the limits of existing tools.

Climate & Cash8 min read

The Case for Anticipatory Cash

We can predict most slow-onset disasters weeks in advance but still wait for them to happen before responding. Every dollar spent before a flood is worth five dollars spent after.

Cash Programming10 min read

What 1,559 Households Taught Me About Measuring Cash Impact

The Ethiopia PDM Meta-Analysis was the first attempt to unify post-distribution monitoring data from five organizations into a single analytical framework. Here's what we learned.

GIS8 min read

GeoAI for Humanitarians: Getting Started

GeoAI has enormous potential for humanitarian operations, but most IM officers don't know where to start. This is a practical guide.

Data Analytics7 min read

The IM Coordination Trap

The biggest barriers to good information management in humanitarian response are not technical — they're political. Data sharing agreements and institutional distrust kill more IM initiatives than bad technology.

Data Analytics10 min read

The Future of Humanitarian IM is Agentic

AISA and why the next generation of humanitarian information management will use AI agents, not just AI tools.