Project Alyssa: A New Response to Natural Disaster

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More frequent and new types of disaster, often compounded by political instability or conflict, are affecting larger and larger numbers of people. International humanitarian response systems strain to assist; however, they are increasingly inadequate to the task. The Humanitarian Futures Programme (HFP) believes humanitarian agencies must rise to this challenge by quickly embracing new humanitarian actors, technological innovations and new thinking on how to structure disaster responses.

The 2011 Humanitarian Innovation Award (codenamed Project Alyssa) will recognize the team of experts that has devised, in the opinion of a panel of international judges, the most effective innovative solution to a crisis that unfolds during a simulation exercise staged by HFP and Linksbridge based on its research into developments in human vulnerability.

The 2011 Humanitarian Innovation Award contest will take place in early summer 2011 at King’s College London.

Four contesting teams of five experts drawn from academia, business, government agencies, the military and non-governmental organizations will take part. Humanitarian professionals will make up one team, military planners a second and business strategists a third. The fourth team will be multi-disciplinary.

On day one, each team will have eight hours to analyze the brief, devise its solution and prepare to present. Each team will have access to its own resources and information publically available on the Internet. HFP will host a private dinner that evening for all contestants.

On day two, the teams will have 40 minutes each to present their solution to the judging panel. The judges will have 15 minutes to ask clarifying questions. After a one-hour lunch break, the winner will be announced.

HFP will invite media agencies to the contest, provide a press room and give free access to the proceedings, contestants, judges and organizing staff.

HFP will publish the contest crisis brief on its website at 9am (London) on day one. An online space will allow remote participants to collaborate on their own solutions. HFP will publish the best “crowdsourced” ideas as a supplement to the contest.

The next Humanitarian Innovation Award will take place in 2012 in Asia (codenamed Project Anisa) and rotate to Latin America (codenamed Project Anita) in 2013.

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For more information, please contact:

Garry Selfridge

Humanitarian Futures Programme

King’s College London

garry.selfridge@kcl.ac.uk

+44 20 7848 2869

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