UN Open GIS Initiative: Geopaparazzi Survey Server and SMASH for Mobile Data Collection in a UN Peacekeeping Mission (MONUSCO)
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| License | CC Attribution 3.0 Unported: You are free to use, adapt and copy, distribute and transmit the work or content in adapted or unchanged form for any legal purpose as long as the work is attributed to the author in the manner specified by the author or licensor. | |
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00:00
Open setMoment of inertiaCASE <Informatik>Server (computing)Archaeological field surveyField (computer science)Process (computing)ArchitectureLevel (video gaming)Client (computing)Closed setSoftware testingExplosionLink (knot theory)Phase transitionLocal GroupPerformance appraisalComplete metric spaceInformation securityModule (mathematics)Green's functionAuthenticationSystem administratorFirewall (computing)Group actionStrategy gameDecision theoryMathematical analysisVisualization (computer graphics)Continuous functionInternet service providerData modelConnectivity (graph theory)Computer networkSystem programmingPhysical systemPresentation of a groupOrder (biology)Process (computing)Operator (mathematics)Server (computing)Software testingCentralizer and normalizerOpen sourceInformation securityAnalytic continuationLevel (video gaming)ResultantStability theoryComputer configurationComputer architectureGoodness of fitComputer fileAuthenticationINTEGRALDiagramIntegrated development environmentProjective planeClient (computing)Single sign-onTrailArchaeological field surveySoftwareUniform resource locatorMotion captureConfiguration spaceCASE <Informatik>Physical systemInternet service providerMereologyAreaExecution unitRegulator geneMathematical analysisNatural numberOffice suiteNumberContext awarenessPoint (geometry)SpacetimeSystem administratorDivisorWave packetMappingTerm (mathematics)InformationMultiplication signVisualization (computer graphics)Different (Kate Ryan album)Strategy gameDecision theoryTraffic reportingField (computer science)Condition numberGroup actionOpen setRemote procedure callType theoryOnlinecommunityConnected spacePresentation of a groupPerformance appraisalForm (programming)Sign (mathematics)Latent heatFrequencyState observerMusical ensembleSheaf (mathematics)Link (knot theory)WebsiteEndliche ModelltheorieDigital photographyComputer animation
Transcript: English(auto-generated)
00:01
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Epa Utabajimana, I work for the United Nations peacekeeping or stabilization mission in Democratic Republic of Congo.
00:20
I work as a GIS officer and team lead of the GIS unit there and this afternoon I am happy to share with you our experience on the testing of SMASH as one of the open source GIS tools
00:53
that we've been trying to test and also implement. It is an ongoing process and I am happy to
01:05
be with you in the next few minutes on this subject. A few points that I would like to share with you include the project background,
01:21
operationalization, the targeted benefits and some challenges and lesson learned. Before this project on the testing of SMASH as one of the open source GIS data collection,
01:47
there was a field operational requirement that we were not fulfilling as we wanted because of
02:02
mainly the fact that we were using proprietary software which requires a number of licenses and costs but also the nature of the peacekeeping mission area of operation where we have
02:28
different actors and different stakeholders who go to different locations, different places that we as a GIS professional are due to a number of factors such as security related, we do not reach.
02:48
Therefore, the use of open source tools like this was an opportunity for us to adopt, first to test
03:01
and then to adopt so that we can include a wide user community in data collection to improve our services and the efficiency of the support we provide to the UN peacekeeping missions but also to our partners
03:25
because we also support partners in terms of providing updated maps and also data. So some of these operational requirements included the fact that some of the clients used to come to us
03:46
asking us to have a kind of design the form to collect the data on the point of interest, specific field surveys,
04:02
the patrols, road conditions and here by road conditions there are two aspects. First, there is what we call physical condition, how the road looks like but also another aspect is when,
04:21
for example, the road is blocked by maybe armed groups, there is a way we rank those kind of conditions. And this is very important for peacekeepers and other humanitarian actors to have this kind of information.
04:41
So this was one of the operational requirements that we could not fulfill using only the proprietary software because it involved licenses and so on. So the other type of requirement was a kind of quick capture where, for example, we were asked to collect location photo-only data,
05:10
accident sites, crimes hotspot and also tracks and trades mapping.
05:22
So as a part of the tools that were selected, especially for the MONUSCO, this SMASH was the one that was selected
05:41
and we conducted a pilot project on that. The roadmap we took is like this. Once it was decided that we use this SMASH as a tool for data collection,
06:04
we pilot the project and in this pilot project we selected use cases based on those operational requirements and we ended up with assessing this tool and generating an evaluation report
06:31
in which there were lessons learned and recommendations on how this could be adopted within the UN system
06:44
and what could be required to make this operational. The detailed report on how we proceeded is found on this link. If you would like to read more about it, you can get it there.
07:04
This report, we shared the final results during the UN Open GIS Mobile Solution Working Group Symposium.
07:21
One of the key recommendations was to have a centralized data server in the UN promises and this was accepted and a centralized infrastructure at UN Global Service Centre was established
07:49
and that led us again to testing that centralized infrastructure and see how this mobile data tool is working effectively or not.
08:10
Currently we are at the last two stages. The first one is where we are trying to collect the non-confidential data
08:28
because during the pilot project there were concerns from some of our clients questioning about the confidentiality of the data
08:42
and during the pilot project there was no solution to that but currently our counterparts from UNGC are helping us to set up this infrastructure
09:05
and make sure that even confidential data will be collected and will be consumed with only those data owners and others who will be given access to.
09:23
Also at this stage, special stage 7, there is going to be an integration of Azure ID
09:40
which is part of the UN policy to enable a single signing option. Once that integration is completed, confidential data will also be collected and stored in the central server.
10:08
Now the process for the last two stages that I just mentioned, within the UN context it has each of those stages, 6 and 7, they go through different stages.
10:30
There is testing the environment which is made of the setup environment in a closed environment
10:43
where we test the data. Once that test is done, then we assess the architecture and security related aspect and once that one is completed, the configuration in the production environment takes place.
11:04
From stage 6, where non-confidential data is being collected or can be collected, we go through these three stages and the same will take place in stage 7.
11:24
Currently, clients are collecting data using this tool, I mean SMASH, but without a central server. So it's very important for us to note that in order to have this system fully operational,
11:47
there is a need to complete this stage. So far, in a nutshell, what has been completed is the infrastructure for production environment and architecture review,
12:08
ongoing security assessment and procurement of Azure AD authentication. Each of these two ongoing activities correspond to the last two stages.
12:27
The infrastructure architecture looks like this from this diagram. Basically, the idea is that any new mobile user will collect the data online or offline,
12:49
but he or she must be registered by the system administrator, the GSS administrator. He register the new user and also upload the project files
13:07
and from then, the user can start collecting the data either offline or online and the data is being saved in the central server using the survey server and Postgres DB.
13:27
And it can also be consumed through your server. And the other aspect is the Azure authentication that is being evaluated
13:51
and is going to be integrated to allow single sign-in option.
14:03
The benefits that I share with you is mainly based on the operational area where internally we have about 17,000 users who we can target to be part of the data collection
14:26
but also to benefit from the services that we derive from that huge data collection exercise. And in that, we will be encouraging participatory data collection, analysis and visualization.
14:52
The other benefit is when you look at from the cost associated to the proprietary software,
15:05
we could say that there will be less proprietary licenses and then less money. And also the other advantage is that once fully implemented,
15:23
we believe that in the next one to two years, at least 50% of the data required will be made available to support the decision making.
15:40
Some of the challenges, one somehow you mentioned was the lack of a centralized data server because when we were piloting the project from the beginning, we didn't have a centralized data server and we had to buy space from Microsoft Azure
16:07
and that is where we did the testing. But as I mentioned earlier, some clients were questioning about the data security.
16:22
So that is why we recommended to have a centralized data server within the UN premises. So that one was sorted. The other challenge is related to network connectivity in remote areas.
16:44
Actually, though we are recommending that mission leadership could identify and engage a suitable Internet service provider,
17:01
that is not that easy in the context we are working in. You have these kind of challenges. I don't know the kind of technology that can be proposed to overcome this situation. The other challenge is undefined support model.
17:23
Here I mean the open source GIS initiative is something that was introduced recently in the UN peacekeeping operations or in the UN community
17:42
and our experience was that working with our colleagues from the other offices like UNDC, New York, there were some kind of bumpy ways
18:17
that were related to the fact that it was something new that was being tested.
18:25
So that was being introduced. For example, there were some security regulations where you were not allowed to install these tools in the UN network.
18:42
So that we had to find a way out. The other challenge is what I call discontinuous user assignments, especially the uniformed personnel. These are the military police, military observers, troops.
19:06
These come in the peacekeeping operations for a specified period of time. That does not exceed one year. These create a challenge whereby once they are trained to use these kind of tools,
19:30
they start contributing but after the assignment one year they leave and you find you are obliged to start from zero with the newcomers
19:46
who most of the time there is no overlap. They come when the others have left. So that is the matter of the peacekeeping operations.
20:00
So we thought it would be good to set up strategies for continuous awareness and use of the tool by equipping the sections, giving them the tool and also the devices that could be made available to them
20:23
and also providing continuous training. Whenever there are newcomers, we make sure that they are given proper training to ensure business opportunity in this regard.
20:40
And that's the end. I finally want to thank my colleagues and team members who helped to put up the presentation but mainly who helped to test this SMASH tool
21:02
and collaborating with the UNGC team. I thank them very much and also the New York leadership. Thank you very much and look forward to continue using SMASH
21:22
and UN Open Source tools that are available to improve the support we give to our clients in the mission. Thank you very much.