About MEARCH.org
information for collaboration | research and development | history of mearch | future of mearch
Information for collaboration
MEARCH.org is all about information. Imagine over three hundred aid organisations from all over the world rushing to a sudden emergency to assist. Do you expect all of them to see the relevance of sharing information? Do all of these organisations have proper knowledge and expertise of how to collect and structurize information? Mearch Development Information is an information specialist, an information mediator, an advisor, your self reliant partner for collecting valuable information at the sources, autonomously. Mearch will find the right channels to collect and to distribute information.
Learning environment
Furthermore, MEARCH.org will adapt to the information needs during the changing phases of relief, rehabilitation and development programmes, each of them having their own requirements in terms of coordination. And in the end, staff is trained up to the level that they can join governments and help them organise and present information, independently solve problems, attend or organise meetings and most importantly train other government staff members in doing so.
Research and Development
Our current programme is in a test phase. The necessity for up-to-date and accurate data originated from our experiences in post-tsunami relief coordination. In the first stage our focus was on training staff in data collection and how to use mapping software. The most valid knowledge derived from fieldwork setting: Being operational in the extreme complex setting of a) pre-tsunami development programmes, b) post-tsunami relief and rehabilitation plus c) recent escalation of a two decade old civil war.
History of MEARCH
Originally called "the Mearch Initiative", the programme was the result of a joined brainstorm of ZOA Refugee Care, the International Water Management Institute, the Eastern University, Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Water Foundation. The conclusion was: we need accurate data for coordination and collaboration for relief, rehabilitation and development programmes. IWMI provided the necessary training, ZOA provided the funds, EUSL the initial local staff and SRILWIF the expatriates and field methodology expertise. What started with fortnightly updates of tent-camp overview maps, grew into an organisation operating district wide covering a range of topics and serving humanitarian agencies and government departments in their diverse need for information.
Future of MEARCH
MEARCH.org will continue to focus at field research methodology, analysing of data, and will serve as a helpdesk for information for humanitarian agencies. Additionally, MEARCH.org will provide training for your local and expatriate NGO staff, and also for government agencies, and for students from vocational training centers. All meant to distribute the knowledge behind information. Currently, MEARCH.org is working on a range of courses, training your staff about data collection, data entry, and data presentation / GIS. All our courses will be trained using Open Source (GIS) Software. This approach makes each training 100% legitimate, affordable, and - hopefully - sustainable. All students will receive a certificate and the complete software package including the necessary shapefiles. See here for more detailed information regarding MEARCH.org's data-for-humanity approach.
