Free Publication: Guidance for Collaborating with Volunteer & Technical Communities

[...] it is difficult to find a single definition of V&TCs to fit every

group’s expertise, structure and raison d'être. They can be largely understood

as volunteer-based communities who apply their technical skills to

support humanitarian response. Some see V&TCs as “networks of

experts”2 who contribute highly specialized products and services, while

1 Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Disaster Relief 2.0: The Future of Information Sharing

in Humanitarian Emergencies, (Washington, D.C. and Berkshire, UK: UN Foundation &

Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership, 2011).

2 Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery and the World Bank, Volunteer

Technology Communities: open development, (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank,

2010).

others characterize V&TCs by the way they structure their communities

around ideals from the so-called Semantic Web:3 the belief in open data,

open-source technologies and non-hierarchical structures. [...]

Publication: Professional standards for Protection Work

[...]The Professional Standards for Protection Work are a set of minimum standards for humanitarian and human rights actors who engage in protection work, below which organizations are advised not to implement protection activities. In armed conflict and other situations of violence these standards can be seen as an overarching umbrella for other existing sets of standards developed by humanitarian and human rights organizations for their working procedures or in relation to more specific issues.[...]