Gregg Swanson, executive director of HumaniNet (right), founded the organization in 2002 after realizing that relief organizations like Medical Teams International (formerly NW Medical Teams), needed a “help desk” that could advise them on field communications and other current technology.
HumaniNet has assisted over 100 humanitarian and mission organizations and over 250 field teams, including relief teams in the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Darfur crisis, and the Kashmir earthquake.
They believes there is a similar need for improved communications preparedness at the local and national level in the United States.
HumaniNet is now entering a new area - geographic information systems, with partners, including Mercy Corps, Aspiration, and others.
This week, they are asking supporters and field partners to help HumaniNet win one of the 20 Technology Innovation Fund Awards by voting at a contest site sponsored by NetSquared. You may wish to look over the 150+ proposals - there are many creative and promising entries.
HumaniNet’s proposal, called Maps 2.0, will launch the first online resource for nonprofit and humanitarian organizations to share best practices in geographic information systems (GIS) and digital mapping tools.
HumaniNet’s Maps 2.0 establishes the first nonprofit online resource for sharing best practices in GIS and digital maps. It uses Aspiration’s Social Source Commons and other Open Source collaborative tools, building on Google Earth and other Web services.
A minimum of $100,000 will be allocated to winning NetSquared Featured Projects, by voting through the NetSquared website. The format for allocation will be determined by vote of Conference participants.
The NetSquared Conference, held May 29th – 30th, in San Jose, will bring together participants. Twenty great projects that utilize the technologies, tools and communities of the social web to create societal impact in a sustainable fashion will be chosen.
So check out the 150+ proposals. Swanson is proud of their work and their mapping proposal.
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