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Background

Khyber Pukhtunkhwa vulnerable to disaster risks from range of hazards including floods, cyclone, drought, earthquake, epidemics, avalanches, glacial lake, landslides, pest attacks, river erosion and Tsunami. The hazards such as floods, cyclone, drought, and transport accidents have caused wide spread damages and losses in the past. The man made hazards including industrial, radiological accidents, forest and urban fire, etc. also threatens the country. The inability of KPK emergency response system to deal with the large scale catastrophes was first exposed during earthquake October 2005. After the earthquake it was felt that establishment of institutional arrangement and development of appropriate system was essential to reduce losses for disasters in future. In the recent past, the floods occurred in the last two consecutive years in 2010 & 2011, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) established the Control room for emergency response, coordination and information dissemination for effective response. The main purpose of the control room was to disseminate information and coordination with public, humanitarian organizations and governments departments and ministries for effective response. In order to establish efficient and capable emergency response system on regular basis, Advance technology is to be introduced and appropriate equipment need to be provided to PDMA for enabling us to establish state of the art Disaster Management Information System in the Province.

One of the key shortcomings in these disasters was lack of ICT solutions for disaster rescue and recovery. Large scale disasters of this magnitude are typically followed by the need to effectively manage massive amounts of knowledge and information. This includes data on disaster victims, damages to buildings, weather and geographical data, etc. Besides, large scale disasters attract multiple organizations, including aid agencies, NGOs, INGOs and government agencies. This leads to diversity of agencies and the need to coordinate for effective disaster management.

PDMA Objectives

PDMA has the mandate to coordinate disaster management on behalf of the Government of KPK/Pakistan. A general assessment of PDMA indicated that it does not have the capability to effectively carry out its mandate. Not only does PDMA lack appropriately trained staff and resources but it is also too centrally focused and has no capability at the provincial and district levels where disasters mostly occur.

There is an evident need for PDMA’s organization to have strong links with other ministries and partners, as dealing with disasters is a multi-disciplinary endeavor that requires inputs from most sections of government, NGOs and CSOs,.

To effectively handle the coordinating role of disaster management, PDMA requires knowledge aboutnatural hazards, where do they occur, what are their characteristics, frequencies, impacts, whatelements are at risks, how vulnerable are communities, which agencies are involved in disastermanagement and what resources do they have? To provide answers to this range of questions, PDMArequires a sound disaster management information system with the necessary infrastructure andexpertise to manage it.

The Problem

Despite the recognition of good disaster management systems, the few systems which are widely available appear to be non-web-based and use proprietary non-standard database technology. Research suggests that there are disaster information systems which focus on specific applications such as imagery and GIS data, early warning models using sensor data and mobile ad hoc networks and messaging, etc. However, there are no systems which provide information systems or data management support for the basic functionality of disaster management like, registering organizations, locating missing persons or requesting for assistance.6 With an effective ICT solution, it was recognized that tracing of missing people, coordinating emergency aid and response teams would be more efficient and effective.

Rationale

To effectively mitigate against natural hazards, it is essential that a well-defined disaster management information system is in place. Such a system should be capable of addressing the various aspects and phases of disasters. It should meet the requirements of the users at various levels.

The success of disaster management largely depends on availability, dissemination and effective use of information. The information needs will include current information on weather, climate, infrastructure (roads, hospital, markets, administrative boundaries), socio-economic data etc to use in assessing natural hazards. Currently, such data are being generated by multiple users; government departments, NGOs, the UN Agencies, and the private sectors. Data is fragmented, stored in multiple locations, and formats, making it difficult to bring together to support disaster management activities. In addition, there is a need to assess the disaster in terms of location, extend and likely impact so as plan relief and recovery actions.

An integrated disaster management information system, highly structured, developed and installed, adequately equipped with the necessary infrastructure and expertise to constantly monitor the risk profiles of possible disasters is relevant.

One of the crucial elements of disaster management is the availability of timely and reliable information made available to decision makers. Information helps in minimizing damages by warning the affected population, helping in planning of relief and adopting tangible solutions for rehabilitation and recovery. The disaster management information system should have a solid networking between those who provide the data, administrators, and affected population, government ministries, and the humanitarian community. Disaster management calls for synergy of technologies and interaction of different agencies. Networking and multi-agency interface will lead to institutionalization of disaster management.

Objectives of the Project

In the February 2014 PDMA hired the service of a consultant to develop a Disaster Management Information System (DMIS) that can provide accurate and timely information on hazards, risks and incidents and to monitor and coordinate the pre and post disaster activities effectively. DMIS is a GIS based web application to integrate data with Google maps and other free map sources. DMIS encompass; a geo-database on disasters, incidents, data analysis/modeling, networking, collaboration and cooperation amongst key agencies. The built system is installed in PEOC-PDMA in Peshawar linked to all 24 districts and partners through web.

Now the services of a consultant are required to add a new module, of issuing No Objection Certificate to all partners NGOs in KPK, to existing DMIS.

Scope of Module

The module should be based on python and postgresql.The system should be able to provide an effectiveIT based solution in the registration and issuance of NOC to NGOs.

The project is envisioned to address the NOC process through the following steps:

  • Through an interface to register basic data about an organization
  • Identify the office, facilities
  • Record data of the proposed/ongoing projects of the partner NGO for which NOC is required
  • Report generation of registered NGOs, NOC status, projects being executed etc.
  • The DMIS is conceived as a suite of web-based applications that provide solutions to different problems with regards to information and managing coordination issues during post disasters. Besides being a database for information, the new module system provide well-structured and usable interface and the data design, making management of information simple.

Activities of the Consultant

In order to achieve the project objectives, the following specific tasks would need to be undertaken:

  • Train PDMA and IDEA designated staff on the existing DMIS
  • Monitor the data entry by the IDEA staff in the existing system
  • Compile a report on the issues faced by the data entry staff
  • Consult officials who are responsible for the strategic direction of the organization to gauge their clarity of purpose and understanding of NOC process and the capabilities of IT
  • Assess the existing DMIS developed by PDMA
  • Gradually Design, Customize and remove the bugs/issues identified above from the existing DMIS with the consultation of PEOC-PDMA
  • Integrate the new module to DMIS
  • Suggest the deployment model and recommend software/hardware upgrade requirements if any
  • Provide technical training to PDMA IT staff

Duration of the consultancy

The services of the consultant will be required for one month from date of signing of the contract.

Process and Reporting Arrangements

The consultant would report to the AD(IT) in-charge PEOC-PDMA and work in close liaison with the designated staff of the department.

Remuneration

The consultant would be paid a lump sum amount as per the following schedule:

  1. 100% of the contract amount on installation of the NOC module on the online server of PDMA.

Qualification and Experience

The consultant should be M.Sc.in Computer Science with specialization in Management Information Systems with at least 10 years’ experience in the field of IT project management, MIS and software development. Working experience on the Govt. of Pakistan, Govt. of KPK, USAID, UNDP and other donor assisted projects will be preferred.

Please submit Proposals in soft on following email addresses:

  1.   [email protected] and keep [email protected] in CC.

The last date for submission of proposal is 30th  January 2015.