A reflection on how qualitative methods surface forms of impact that conventional evaluations overlook. Through firsthand accounts from disaster reporting platforms in Indonesia and the Philippines, I explore how changes in confidence, agency, and collective action unfold over time. It invites readers to rethink what we measure, why it matters, and how different questions can fundamentally change what we understand as impact.
A personal reflection on the process of qualitative assessment – what it reveals and how it could shift the humanitarian aid ecosystem.
This USAID-commissioned independent evaluation examines the impact of PetaBencana.id (Indonesia) and MapaKalamidad.ph (Philippines), two platforms developed, run and maintained by the Disaster Map Foundation since 2017.
Recorded with ‘Dignity in Disasters’, this podcast episode discusses urban resilience in the face of increasing disaster events.
This report maps information flows, fund distribution, and decision-making processes across Assam’s government departments during floods.
A paper submitted for the MISQ commentary on Digital Resilience for the Climate Crisis. Based on our qualitative field research to examine information flow networks during flood events in the state of Assam, India, the paper studies the ways in which a digital-platform-based approach can enable faster and more accurate flood response.
What happens when a disaster strikes? How does the government know how many people are affected, and in which areas? How does aid reach people? We explored these questions in the disaster-prone state of Assam, and documented the existing flood response and management practices, including existing practices of data collection and analysis, capacities of the stakeholders, and gaps in information.
What does it mean for a citizen disaster reporting platform to run for a decade? How do you measure impact — not just in numbers, but in the small and big ways it transforms disaster response? With these questions, we embarked on a qualitative assessment of two citizen disaster reporting platforms — PetaBencana in Indonesia and MapaKalamidad in the Philippines. Little did we know about the stories of transformation we would uncover: from panic to agency, from helplessness to empowerment. It was a double-thank-you moment — for me, it was deeply moving; for the team, it was reassurance to believe in what they were doing.