OCP receives $400,000 grant to expand disaster risk reduction data model

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation has awarded a US$400,000 grant to the Open Contracting Partnership to scale up the Intelligent Data Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDS-DRR). Developed in partnership with the Indian civic tech organization CivicDataLab, this cutting-edge data model identifies the most critical areas for investment to increase climate resilience and mitigate disaster risk. 

“As climate change continues to affect the frequency and scale of natural disasters, effective planning for floods, heat waves, and other dangerous conditions is critical to protect vulnerable populations. Using advanced data models to target the deployment of government resources, Open Contracting Partnership and CivicDataLab are transforming how post-disaster aid reaches communities in need. This innovative approach not only streamlines access to critical resources, but ensures disaster relief efforts are targeted, precise, and equitable – contributing to a future where communities are better prepared and protected,” says Nick Cain, VP of Strategy & Innovation at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

Piloted in Assam, India, the model successfully assesses each district’s flood proneness, preparedness and losses. The grant will enable expansion to other Indian states – Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with the potential for global adaptation in the future.

“Open contracting strategies for better flood-related procurement are empowering Assam authorities to better protect vulnerable communities from extreme weather. This unique approach to improving public spending and climate finance has the potential to significantly impact people’s lives,” says Bernadine Fernz, Head of Sustainability, Infrastructure and Asia at the Open Contracting Partnership.  

Thanks to the Intelligent Data Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction, Assam authorities are now able to make better, evidence-based decisions around how flood-related funds are spent. For example, in March 2023, 95% of the budget for the latest round of flood-related spending went to districts identified by the data model as highly vulnerable to flooding. Those funds will mostly be used for procurement related to repairing and restoring roads, bridges and embankments, benefiting approximately 6.5 million people.

“Previous disaster risk reduction plans or decision-making approaches could not take into account the multidimensional nature of the problem, as the data informing hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity were scattered and siloed in innumerable reports across various departments. Our data model addresses this challenge by providing decision-makers with a comprehensive understanding to make informed decisions,” says Gaurav Godhwani, CEO at CivicDataLab.

Using the data model promises faster and better future disaster planning. Initial trials show measuring disaster preparedness using the data-driven approach would significantly reduce the number of district representatives needed to assess preparedness and streamline the process across multiple departments.

Learn more about the project and the model.

Media contact

Georg Neumann, gneumann@open-contracting.org, +1-202-7144460
Moyna Manku, moyna@civicdatalab.in, +919971054261

About

About the Open Contracting Partnership

The Open Contracting Partnership is a silo-busting collaboration across governments, businesses, civil society, and technologists to open up and transform government contracting worldwide. We bring open data and open government together to make public contracting fair and effective. Spun out of the World Bank in 2015, we are an independent not-for-profit working in over 50 countries around the world. We help make reforms stick and innovations jump scale, and foster a culture of openness about the policies, teams, tools, data, and results needed to deliver impact.

About CivicDataLab

CivicDataLab (CDL) works at the intersection of data, technology, design and social science to strengthen access to public information, evidence-based decision-making and citizen participation in governance. CDL harnesses the potential of open knowledge movements to strengthen the data-for-public-good ecosystem and enable citizens to engage in matters of public reform. We work closely with governments, non-profits, think tanks, the media and universities to enhance their data and technology capacity to better data-driven decision-making. In the last six years, we have collected, cleaned and published nearly 40,000+ public interest datasets and are catering to an active user base of more than 1.5 million citizens.

Our current areas of expertise include digital public goods & infrastructure, climate change, public finance, urban development, open contracting and law & justice. We co-create digital public goods like open data platforms, data exchanges, data science models and citizen-led apps for improving participatory data-driven governance in India and other countries. 

About the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) is a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence and data science solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. PJMF works in partnership with public, private, and social institutions to drive progress on our most pressing challenges, including digital health, climate change, broad digital access, and data maturity in the social sector.