Pilot project

In the web based prototype the user has at their disposal five general relief workers.

The ReliefSim pilot phase has been in progress since January 2002, and was carried out initially with the Center for New Media Teaching and Learning at Columbia University (CCNMTL), New York. We have also worked closely with practitioners in humanitarian assistance and with those in academic institutions.

During the pilot, research has been undertaken on the current provision of courses and courseware for humanitarian emergencies; the state of the art in simulations; and the complex issues involved in modeling the interconnected range of activities in emergencies. A number of very fruitful workshops and meetings have been held with academics, practitioners, educationalists and technologists to help refine our ideas, and we are also developing some proof-of-concept simulations (in partnership with Oxford ArchDigital and others) which will be available soon for testing. As well, there has been a great deal of work on the potential for connecting the ReliefSim simulation tool with content from Forced Migration Online, which will allow users of ReliefSim to have access to constantly updated information. Rich content is a key component of the proposed product.

CCNMTL developed the first of the proof-of-concept prototypes. This was designed with detailed input from Dr Ron Waldman of the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, and then successfully tested in the classroom in November 2002 with students taking the Masters of Public Health course.

The assignment required the students to install software on their computers and complete in advance a series of activities prescribed via an instruction document provided by the ReliefSim team at Columbia Evidence of the student's experience of the ReliefSim prototype was collected via a questionnaire. The class was then an opportunity for the students to discuss the variety of approaches they had taken towards the rationale for their decision as they completed their ReliefSim assignment. One key outcome reported by the questionnaires was that the majority of students felt they that the exercises they had performed using the prototype helped them to understand more about decision making in the field.

Prototype

The ReliefSim team have developed some proof-of-concept simulations (with Oxford ArchDigital and CCNMTL at Columbia University).

Web based prototype

The team have recently completed a web based prototype of the software (in partnership with Oxford ArchDigital), we have prepared a short demonstration of how the system works.

Launch demo