It is official! I am picking up a research project that I originally started in early 2023: milestones and stories from the 100-year evolution of humanitarian Information Management (IM). As we navigate rapid technological shifts and organizational changes, I believe there is significant value in looking back to better understand the trajectory of our discipline.

My Scope: From the League of Nations to Today

The initial focus of this research begins with the founding of the International Relief Union (IRU), as part of the League of Nations, and traces the lineage through the various iterations of UN coordinating entities from UNDRO to DHA to the OCHA we know today.

While the core of my research centers on these primary organizations, the timeline will also encompass innovations from other humanitarian entities when those milestones have significantly influenced the broader humanitarian IM discipline. To maintain a clear focus, I am intentionally excluding fields like Peacekeeping, Human Rights, and Mine Action, as well as agency-specific milestones. As with any research endeavor, I expect this scope may change and evolve as more historical context is uncovered.

My Roadmap: From Matrix to Stories

My first planned output will be a matrix of milestones, similar in format to my 200 Years of Technology Milestones. This will provide a high-level view of the major events, tools, and shifts that have defined our field over the last century - from the first thematic maps of the League of Nations in 1927 to the retirement of the Humanitarian Exchange Language (HXL) in 2026.

Over time, I hope to flesh this out by sharing the narratives and "stories" behind specific milestones. History is rarely just a list of dates; it is the story of people solving problems, like UNDRO staff in 1985 using "Le TUBE" pneumatic systems to rush urgent messages around the office, or what many consider the first use of a "Humanitarian Information Center" during the Kosovo response in 1999.

An Innovation Lens

My larger objective is to look at these historical markers through a lens of innovation. I would like to move beyond a simple chronology and collection of stories to ask the deeper questions:

What specific conditions or technologies enabled these milestones to happen?

Why could they not happen earlier?

How did these shifts fundamentally impact disaster relief efforts on the ground?.

Ultimately, I hope this research helps current and future IM professionals retrace the origins of the tools and practices they use every day. By understanding our shared history, we can better appreciate the 100 years of progress that have built our professional community.

Stay tuned as I begin sharing the first versions of the matrix and the stories behind them.