GIS activities in the Core Unit as well as in the field include the following:

1.    Operational Preparedness and Support

The ultimate goal of the UNJLC's GIS Unit is to provide decision-support information to logistical planners and operators during the course of an emergency. In order to achieve this goal, the GIS Unit focuses on two operational objectives:

-Data collection training and coordination: UNJLC GIS Officers were heavily involved in transport infrastructure assessment coordination during its operations in Liberia, DRC, Indonesia, Pakistan and most recently in South Sudan for example.

-Product publication and dissemination: the products delivered by the GIS unit vary from simple printed maps to interactive mapping tools covering general logistics overviews, transport infrastructure condition status as well as route optimisation and accessibility analyses. Visit our current and archived operational pages for complete product catalogues.

2.    Technical Development

GIS is a growing scientific field that benefits from continuous and rapid technological progress. The UNJLC GIS Unit strives to keep abreast of these developments through the publication of innovative information and analytical products as well as through the development of more efficient tools and procedures for a more rapid production process.

The primary application of geographic information systems in the field of humanitarian work is as a framework for the storage of geographic data and the production of static maps, distributed either in printed form or as downloadable pdf files. These require very little technological specialisation from the user and their distribution is rarely restricted. However GIS also offers the potential for more advanced information display and data analysis at the price of a narrowing user-base. The UNJLC GIS Unit is involved in the development of a number of new applications such as:

• On-line interactive maps: allowing the user to access multiple dimensions of interlinked data through a map interface. Several solutions are currently being evaluated and piloted which take advantage of the growing popularity of tools such as GoogleEarth.
• Route Optimisation Modelling, developed in collaboration with corporate partner TNT, which allows the user to calculate Returns On Investment of different road rehabilitation options, based on which choice maximises either transport cost reductions, time reductions or a combination of both. This model also allows the calculation of optimal transport routes and modes for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

3.    Normative Guidance

Despite the success of recent initiatives to encourage and facilitate information sharing among different agencies involved in GI during emergencies, important gaps still exist in the standardisation of this information, essential for a streamlined information flow from data collection, through processing to output. Yet, such standards would allow for vast gains in GI efficiency, in turn providing the community with better quality, more reliable and more timely geographic information on which to base decisions. UNJLC's status as a Common Service specialised in logistics Information Management places the GIS Unit in a strong position to lead the development of standard protocols on the use of transport-related geographic information layers.

During the 6th Plenary session of the UN Geographic Information Working Group (www.ungiwg.org) held in October 2005, UNJLC was mandated to develop a standardised geographic data model for all transport-related data themes. UNJLC was pleased to place its skills and experience in logistics at the disposal of the humanitarian GI/IM community and contribute meaningfully to the establishment of standards for one of the most commonly used geographic datasets. The aim of the project is to implement a standardised global data repository for transport layers by the end of 2007. The database will be implemented on Oracle with an ESRI ArcSDE interface for GIS client applications. A first draft of a standardised transport data model has now been published and can be found at www.unjlc.org/unsdit.

An additional aspect of Normative Guidance is the transfer of lessons-learned from operation to operation through the inclusion of acquired standards in UNJLC training workshops. The UNJLC GIS Unit is currently involved in developing and delivering training modules in the use of GPS for effective logistics assessment and reporting.

Finally, the GIS unit has been invited by a number of academic institutions to deliver lecture series in the application of GIS and IM within humanitarian emergencies.

Ultimately, through the development of  these standards and their dissemination via training workshops and lectures, the UNJLC GIS Unit aims to build a strong and coherent community of practice in the field of logistics Information Management and GIS.

4.    Outreach

By nature of UNJLC's inter-agency mandate, and in order to contribute efficiently to the humanitarian community, the GIS Unit is required to maintain strong collaborative links with other humanitarian GI/IM units. This ensures that roles and responsibilities are properly defined, that duplicated effort is minimised and that optimal use is made of the GI/IM resource combination offered by all agencies. This has proved particularly effective in Sudan through the Sudan Inter-agency Mapping group (SIM), which has allowed for a standardisation of the datasets in use and greater visibility of one another's activities. UNJLC succeeded in its mandate to set up a similar working group in DRC. In Pakistan, UNJLC and the Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) forged strong collaborative links and agreed on an effective share of responsibilities resulting in reduced duplication of effort and quicker turn-around times in information delivery.