Network: International Organizations

United Nation's Childrens Fund (UNICEF)

The organization: Founded in 1946, UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized.

The relationship: We have provided consulting and technology support for UNICEF’s OpsCen (Emergency Operations Center) incident management tools since 2008, and have provided prototypes of mobile education technologies integrating Moodle and GeoChat in collaboration with Grameen Solutions.

In addition, our iLab Latin America worked with UNICEF, MIT and the Brazilian NGO CEDAPS, to develop the Environmental Youth-led Risk Mapping Project in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This cutting-edge mapping platform enables real-time data collection through web and mobile applications. The main goal of this project is to highlight the environmental risk factors that threaten the community in a way that gains visibility in order to encourage the government and local authorities to deal with those threats. The InSTEDD iLab Latin America has contributed to solving technical issues on the platform, simplify the interface of the application as well as increasing the usability of the tool. Learn more about this project here.

The organization: UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. UNICEF has the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. The organization believes that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity.

The relationship: Working alongside UNICEF, MIT and the Brazilian NGO CEDAPS, the iLab Latin America is helping develop the Environmental Youth-led Risk Mapping Project in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This cutting-edge mapping platform enables real-time data collection through web and mobile applications.

The main goal of this project is to highlight the environmental risk factors that threaten the community in a way that gains visibility in order to encourage the government and local authorities to deal with those threats.

InSTEDD iLab Latin America has contributed to solving technical issues on the platform, simplify the interface of the application as well as increasing the usability of the tool.

Learn more about this project here: instedd.org/map/favela-digital-mapping/

Website: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/brazil_62043.html

The organization: The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spread of HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives. Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, The Population Council works with their partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees.

The relationship: With funding from USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, the Government of Norway, and the World Bank, InSTEDD partnered with the Population Council through their Kenya office to develop an innovative method for improved prenatal and postpartum screening for mothers and infants in resource-poor environments. We developed Baby Monitor, an an interactive voice response technology that takes clinical screening directly to women in the critical period before and after birth in order to detect complications and take action. Baby Monitor screening calls are powered by Verboice, one of our open-source tools which specializes in interactive voice response systems. To learn more about this project, please click here.

Website: http://www.popcouncil.org/countries/kenya.asp

The organization: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States. USAID’s mission is to advance broad-based economic growth, democracy and human progress in developing countries. Today, with the strong backing of the Obama Administration, the Agency is building on its legacy as one of the world’s premier development agencies and making new progress toward its ultimate goal: creating the conditions where U.S. assistance is no longer needed.

The relationship: With funding from USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, the Government of Norway, and the World Bank, InSTEDD partnered with the Population Council through their Kenya office to develop an innovative method for improved prenatal and postpartum screening for mothers and infants in resource-poor environments. We developed Baby Monitor, an an interactive voice response technology that takes clinical screening directly to women in the critical period before and after birth in order to detect complications and take action. Baby Monitor screening calls are powered by Verboice, one of our open-source tools which specializes in interactive voice response systems. To learn more about this project, please click here.

Website: http://www.usaid.gov

Open Mobile Consortium

The consortium: The Open Mobile Consortium is an organization formed from MobileActive ‘08 in South Africa. The OMC charter is to foster the work of multiple organizations toward sharing open-source code and participating in standards design around the shared needs of mobile apps for health and humanitarian needs.

The relationship: InSTEDD’s first CTO, Robert Kirkpatrick, was elected the first Chair in 2008 and the OMC was managed from InSTEDD’s offices in California. Additional links/files to more info: http://www.open-mobile.org/