Dreamcatcher by Naveen Srivatsav

THE DREAMCATCHER PROJECT Concept Deck

What is Dreamcatcher? A concept for an app that connects people in need to humanitarian organizations directly and securely, allowing for self-reporting of needs, which works even in the absence of network connections.

Outline

CHALLENGES

THE SOLUTION

The challenges of connecting people in need and ICRC

Using the availability of smartphones to address these challenges

The development of a minimal viable product, testing and launch

CHALLENGES The challenges of connecting people in need and UNHCR

Several conflict zones exist all across the world, and the afflicted persons in every zone have different needs Syria Mali

2012 – present About 150k persons of concern Need assistance with: • Emergency Shelters and NFI • Health and nutrition • Water, sanitation and hygiene

2011 – present More than 5 mio persons of concern Need assistance with: • Core relief items (CRIs) • Cash assistance • Community services and child protection

Somalia South Sudan

2014 – present Close to 1.6 mio persons of concern Need assistance with: • Emergency Shelters • Gender-based violence • Health, nutrition and sanitation

2013 – present Close to 1 mio persons of concern Need assistance with: • Core relief items (CRIs) • Gender-based violence • Food and nutrition

Natural disasters happen with high frequency, even in de last weeks, causing great destruction Irma Jose

US East Coast About 150K persons of concern Need assistance with: • Emergency Shelters and NFI • Health and nutrition • Water, sanitation and hygiene

Harvey • • •

Tropical depression 50 counties in Texas are affected by the flooding More than 30,000 people placed in temporary shelters

• • •

A Category 5 storm when it hit Irma killed at least 24 people across the region devastated housing, power supplies and communications, leaving some small islands almost cut off from the world.

Maria

Caribbean impacts from Delaware northward to New England

Lack of direct & private communication between ICRC and people in need is one of the biggest challenges

The ICRC needs to reach people in need to 1. Know where to direct aid; 2. Know how to prioritize aid; 3. Inform people of aid.

People in need to reach the ICRC, but: 1. Do not know of a direct channel; 2. Lack the means to use existing channels; 3. Do not trust existing channels;

CHALLENGES

THE SOLUTION

The challenges of connecting people in need and ICRC

Using the availability of smartphones to address these challenges

video: https://vimeo.com/229391814

Number of people (in Mn.)

14 12 10

20 (Total population) 5

8 6 4 2

...and

One in three Syrians have a smart phone

0 Cellular Internet No Internet connections subscriptions

Syria has about 14M cellular subscriptions, out of which 5M also have internet subscriptions

...but

Syria has seen major disruptions to the network, with outages throughout the country.

Sources: Global mobile trends, GSMA Intelligence (2016) and CIA Factbook (July 2015)

Cellular network All phones are connected through the cell tower

Mesh network Phones connect to each other, passing messages via one another

The app can encrypt the message but only the ICRC server can decrypt it.

Public app key

I need shelter

Encryption

[?dsa<D! @#%$56

[?dsa<D!@#% $56

Private ICRC key

Decryption

I need shelter

Smartphone app

Encryption

Mesh network

Listen & Act

A person in need fills in a structured form on the app using their smartphone.

The answers to the form are encrypted using asymmetric encryption.

The message is passed from smartphone to smartphone through the mesh network.

The ICRC receives and decrypts the message, and uses the insights to direct aid.

I need shelter

[?dsa<D!@ #%$56

[?dsa<D!@#% $56

[?dsa<D! @#%$56

I need shelter

[?dsa<D! @#%$56

Additional information from external 3rd party data sources

Existing ICRC data dashboard

Use cases from data captured by dreamcatcher App

Weather and conflict related information

Additional information from external 3rd party data sources ICRC partners in providing aid within the region

ICRC aid budget and ground staff status

Existing ICRC data dashboard

Usage of app and ICRCs response rate

Use cases from data captured by dreamcatcher App

Important ‘status’ and ‘need’ based information Demographics related Urgency related info and available labour/skills among refugee population

Data Security

Data Veracity

Platform Acceptance

The platform allows for sharing of information by vulnerable people – its security is of paramount importance. The risk of security breaches can be mitigated in three ways: • Use a portfolio of keys, each with a limited intended life span, to mitigate the impact of a breach; • Use keys of sufficient size to mitigate the risk of it being breached; • Collect only minimal, nonidentifiable information to mitigate the consequences of a breach.

The current state-of-the-art is performing in-person surveys. When receiving a massive amount of survey answers from unknown senders, the veracity of answers can be estimated on a population level by performing data analyses such as a: • Cross-check with other sources; • Benchmark against historical data; • Benchmark against other geographical regions.

The introduction of a secure & direct communication channel to people in need might be perceived differently by other parties active or stakeholder in the crisis. Mitigating this is outside our scope of expertise. Suggestions for mitigation • Making sure the platform cannot be used for peer-to-peer communication by parties to the conflict • Open communication about the type of data that is collected • Initial deployment in a natural disaster

Challenges

Dreamcatcher ?

To know where to direct aid Challenges faced by ICRC

To know how to prioritize aid

To inform people of aid.

To know a communication channel Challenges faced by people in need

To have access to a communication channel To trust a the communication channels

Solutions Messages carry location info and can be analysed Individual data can tell points apart Informed and data based reporting

Encrypted mesh network through app Messages are carried across the network free of charge Secure and private sharing of messages 18

CHALLENGES

THE SOLUTION

The challenges of connecting people in need and UNHCR

Using the availability of smartphones to address these challenges

The development of a minimal viable product, testing and launch

Ownership

Development

We ask you to take ownership of this project. This platform can only work when it is owned by a trusted party like the ICRC.

To make this app a reality, we see two major stages of development: 1. Create a working prototype and test it within a controlled environment 2. Refine the prototype to a MVP, and release it in Syria.

Commitment Once you release this app, you need to commit to listening to the messages it brings and acting upon them for a welldefined amount of time. Also, you must endure data protection and privacy irrespective of the branding decision of Dreamcatcher app.

Ownership

Development

We ask you to take ownership of this project. This platform can only work when it is owned by a trusted party like the UNHCR.

Other options ยง ICRC carves out/supports the creation of a separate NGO/Social Enterprise that owns and runs the App ยง Ownership remains with the open source community

Other options ยง Outside contractor builds the App supervised by Dreamcatcher team ยง Project will be open source and will rely on the open source community to reach completion

ICRC needs to decide who owns the data irrespective of who owns the App, and what this entity can do with the data

Summary ICRC needs to take ownership of the dreamcatcher solution and support key decisions that will drive the entire development and launch process

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

Secure information transfer

Encrypted, mesh network based Mobile App

The ICRC works in several conflict situations, trying to address the issues faced by people there. But, there is no secure way of listening to/communicating with the people in need. There are inherent trust and connectivity issues in all these areas.

OUR ASK TO ICRC

Take ownership of the concept and answer the key questions needed for its development § § § § §

Scoping Financing Development Ownership Data responsibility

Connecting the already available smart phones to the ICRC through an encrypted mesh network provides a direct & private communication channel to people in need.

REQUIREMENTS

Technical support with mesh networking, cryptography and web development are key §

Technical support needed: Mesh networking expertise, Cryptography expertise, Web development for Android and iOS Ground level expertise needed: Input from field workers and refugees on functional requirements specification and feedback

Inception

Functional design

This phase covers the development of use cases and definition of hypotheses we can test with users

This phase involves performing user tests on hypotheses and creating functional requirements of App

Proof of Concept Mockup

Development In this phase, the backend and frontend of dreamcatcher App should be developed

Low fidelity prototype

AB testing and iteration

Deployment

The developed hi-fidelity prototype should be tested in a safe environment and necessary iterations should be made

The minimum viable product (incorporating all basic functionalities) should be launched and constantly maintained

High fidelity prototype

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

CONCEPTING (2-3 Months)

Field experts/aid workers will be needed for inputs

Inception

Functional design

This phase covers the development of use cases and definition of hypotheses we can test with users

This phase involves performing user tests on hypotheses and creating functional requirements of App

Proof of Concept Mockup

Development In this phase, the backend and frontend of dreamcatcher App should be developed

Low fidelity prototype

AB testing and iteration

Deployment

The developed hi-fidelity prototype should be tested in a safe environment and necessary iterations should be made

The minimum viable product (incorporating all basic functionalities) should be launched and constantly maintained

High fidelity prototype

PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT (3-6 Months)

Approximately 50K Euros

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) DEPLOYMENT

Additional cost may be incurred