Blockchain Technology in Disaster Risk Management: Transforming the Delivery of Emergency Relief
(2019) VBRM15 20191Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- Persisting challenges such as corruption and a lack of coordination among humanitarian organisations continuously lead to almost a third of all development assistance not reaching those in need. As various attempts of solving this dilemma have not been successful, an innovative approach is required. Organisations such as the World Food Programme have started to trial the use of blockchain technology as a payment system and alternative tool for distributing cash-based transfers. This study seeks to establish whether blockchain technology is an effective tool for the delivery of emergency relief through a scoping study and interviews with twelve informants from within and outside of the humanitarian field. Consistently, both study formats... (More)
- Persisting challenges such as corruption and a lack of coordination among humanitarian organisations continuously lead to almost a third of all development assistance not reaching those in need. As various attempts of solving this dilemma have not been successful, an innovative approach is required. Organisations such as the World Food Programme have started to trial the use of blockchain technology as a payment system and alternative tool for distributing cash-based transfers. This study seeks to establish whether blockchain technology is an effective tool for the delivery of emergency relief through a scoping study and interviews with twelve informants from within and outside of the humanitarian field. Consistently, both study formats find that the benefits of blockchain technology can contribute to creating a more effective and efficient humanitarian system. Among these are the decentralisation, traceability and openness of the technology. By simplifying cooperation, increasing transparency and drastically reducing costs, the technology can tackle persisting challenges in the field. Still, drawbacks of blockchain technology necessitate a number of requirements, including internet connectivity, political will and an initial investment, to be in place for a successful implementation. Disasters with small-scale destruction, a connected environment and a long-term presence of aid agencies fulfil these requirements and can therefore potentially benefit from blockchain technology in the future. Blockchain technology will not prove to be a useful tool in every disaster scenario. In humanitarian contexts that meet the criteria the technology promises to help those in need in an efficient and dignified manner. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Disasters leave a picture of destruction behind – infrastructure destroyed, financial and other essential services disrupted and people homeless, wounded or deceased. It is in this environment that humanitarian aid organisations operate, aiming to relieve those in distress by providing emergency relief. The complexity of the circumstances, however, gives rise to persisting challenges such as corruption and a lack of coordination among humanitarian aid organisations. As a result, almost a third of assistance is not reaching its intended target. An innovative approach to delivering emergency relief should therefore be considered.
With the invention of blockchain technology in 2008 such a new tool for delivering emergency relief could be... (More) - Disasters leave a picture of destruction behind – infrastructure destroyed, financial and other essential services disrupted and people homeless, wounded or deceased. It is in this environment that humanitarian aid organisations operate, aiming to relieve those in distress by providing emergency relief. The complexity of the circumstances, however, gives rise to persisting challenges such as corruption and a lack of coordination among humanitarian aid organisations. As a result, almost a third of assistance is not reaching its intended target. An innovative approach to delivering emergency relief should therefore be considered.
With the invention of blockchain technology in 2008 such a new tool for delivering emergency relief could be created. Blockchain technology’s most prominent application to date is the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. In simple terms, blockchain technology is a digital database that can store and transfer information. It differentiates itself from traditional databases through its decentralised structured and immutability. Decentralised means that no central authority controls the technology. Immutable means that once information has been stored or transferred on a blockchain, it can always be traced back. It thereby combines several characteristics such as accountability and transparency that seem uniquely suitable for emergency relief.
Organisations such as the World Food Programme have started to trial the use of blockchain technology in humanitarian crises. Yet, the technology is still in its infancy. It is therefore the purpose of this research to critically assess under which circumstances blockchain technology could be used to distribute emergency relief. To do so the knowledge existing around the inherent opportunities of blockchain technology and the challenges it poses is consolidated through a literature study and twelve interviews. The results suggest that using blockchain technology as a tool for emergency relief has four main advantages. Firstly, its decentralised character means reduced transaction costs, easier cooperation among humanitarian actors and giving beneficiaries ownership of their own data. Secondly, the traceability of information on a blockchain lowers the risk of corruption and fraud, ensures accountability for donors and enables the monitoring and evaluation of processed by aid organisations. Thirdly, blockchain technology automates several processes thereby increasing the speed of transactions and reducing the set-up time of the system. Fourthly, the technology is openly available which permits organisations to use it in a cost-effective manner. Nevertheless, challenges such as data security, scepticism and the lack of experience with the technology will need to be addressed.
The research therefore implies that blockchain technology can an effective tool for the delivery of emergency relief, if it is applied to an adequate context. An adequate context is one that fulfils the following four requirements: internet connectivity, digital identity of actors, political will and an initial investment. These requirements are deemed to be necessary for a successful implementation of the technology. As each disaster is unique, it cannot be generally determined whether these criteria will be met by post-disaster landscape. To account for the singularity of each disaster, characteristics of disaster scenarios are matched against these requirements. According to this, disasters with small-scale destruction, a connected environment and a long-term presence of humanitarian organisations can potentially benefit from blockchain technology in the future.
Thus, blockchain technology can transform the delivery of emergency relief through its ability to enhance coordination and increase transparency in the humanitarian sector. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8986483
- author
- Källner, Carolina LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- VBRM15 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- blockchain technology, cash-based transfers, emergency relief, humanitarian aid
- language
- English
- id
- 8986483
- date added to LUP
- 2019-06-25 11:03:40
- date last changed
- 2019-06-25 11:03:40
@misc{8986483, abstract = {{Persisting challenges such as corruption and a lack of coordination among humanitarian organisations continuously lead to almost a third of all development assistance not reaching those in need. As various attempts of solving this dilemma have not been successful, an innovative approach is required. Organisations such as the World Food Programme have started to trial the use of blockchain technology as a payment system and alternative tool for distributing cash-based transfers. This study seeks to establish whether blockchain technology is an effective tool for the delivery of emergency relief through a scoping study and interviews with twelve informants from within and outside of the humanitarian field. Consistently, both study formats find that the benefits of blockchain technology can contribute to creating a more effective and efficient humanitarian system. Among these are the decentralisation, traceability and openness of the technology. By simplifying cooperation, increasing transparency and drastically reducing costs, the technology can tackle persisting challenges in the field. Still, drawbacks of blockchain technology necessitate a number of requirements, including internet connectivity, political will and an initial investment, to be in place for a successful implementation. Disasters with small-scale destruction, a connected environment and a long-term presence of aid agencies fulfil these requirements and can therefore potentially benefit from blockchain technology in the future. Blockchain technology will not prove to be a useful tool in every disaster scenario. In humanitarian contexts that meet the criteria the technology promises to help those in need in an efficient and dignified manner.}}, author = {{Källner, Carolina}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Blockchain Technology in Disaster Risk Management: Transforming the Delivery of Emergency Relief}}, year = {{2019}}, }