GICHD: Activities January to March 2005
Update on Activities in 2005 (complete report)
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
4. Information management is one of the key elements required for success in mine action programmes. The GICHD has focused its efforts in this area on the development and deployment of the Information Management for Mine Action (IMSMA). These efforts have resulted in the successful deployment of IMSMA in 41 programmes world-wide and its adoption as a de facto data handling standard for mine action.
5. In order to maximise the impact of information management in mine affected countries and take advantage of the synergies available between IMSMA and other systems, the Centre is now redefining its information management support role to include a comprehensive information management training programme. The new programme is no longer foucused on just the specifics of the IMSMA technology, but provides a systems approach to the overall management of information of all kinds in mine action. The goal of the programme is to assure the successful integration of proven information management techniques, systems such as IMSMA and other tools into day-to-day operations in the field.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MINE ACTION (IMSMA)
6. During the reporting period, the IMSMA system was installed in Jordan, the 41st operational installation.
7. As of 31 March 2005, IMSMA was being used in 41 field programmes: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina (for the National Impact Survey), Burundi, Chad, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Congo (DRC), Costa Rica (by OAS), Ecuador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon (National Demining Organisation), Macedonia, Mauritania, with MINURSO in Western Sahara, in Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Russian Federation (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Northern Ossetia), Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, with UNFICYP, UNIFIL, UNMEE, in Yemen and Zambia. Additional versions are running at various training sites at locations in France, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
8. The IMSMA Re-Engineering Project was first conceived in 2003 in response to feed-back on the operation of the system received from the field. The goal of the project is to incorporate the latest technology advancements, improvements in data transfer methods (such as maXML) and most importantly the lessons learned by users in the field into an improved and easier to use information management tool for the field. The re-engineering project is currently operating on schedule and within the established budget. The first prototype delivery is scheduled for the fall of 2005.
9. The upcoming version of the IMSMA software will be provided in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic. The system will incorporate a facility to assist users with translation into other local languages in the field. IMSMA translation support will include training materials in all six of the supported base languages.
10. The IMSMA Re-engineering Project and relevant translation work is funded by Switzerland.
