ReliefWeb held a strategic business planning workshop in December 2009 to develop a new vision and implementation plan to address changes in the internet environment. The workshop resulted in a plan to evolve ReliefWeb from a content repository to an integrated platform where the humanitarian community can meet, exchange information and conduct work. The plan involved developing new applications, outsourcing some functions, restructuring ReliefWeb's IT framework, and implementing changes in three phases by mid-2011 to realize the new vision.

1. ReliefWeb Strategic Business Plan Outputs of Planning Workshop, December 2009 December 11th, 2009 New York, v1.2 0

2. All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 Table of Contents Background to Business Planning Workshop and Drivers for Change A Vision for ReliefWeb Services to the Humanitarian Community Delivery Strategy and Implementation Plan Appendix 1

3. ReliefWeb launched in October 1996 with a bold and untested idea All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 2 However, Success is Far from Assured ReliefWeb Launches Less that 1% of the world’s population enjoys Internet access A basic laptop computer costs an average of over $4,000 in today’s money “Walled gardens” from commercial providers such as CompuServe and AOL provided most of the meaningful content on the Internet Few humanitarian agency staff members show interest in investing in web technologies Internet access in developing and conflict-affected countries is non-existent – or at least difficult, slow and expensive Source: ReliefWeb, February 1997; Linksbridge research, December 2009

5. May 2009 saw over 3.84M page views alone

6. Currently, over 3,400 organizations provide information to ReliefWeb (45% NGOs, 10% UN and international organizations)

7. In 2008, ReliefWeb published over 58,500 documents

8. Three duty stations provide 24-hour news coverageSource: http://www.internetworldstats.com, December 2009; ReliefWeb, December 2009

10. Costs of accessing the Internet have dropped to the extent that the government of Uruguay has been able to equip every primary school child in 2009 with a wireless-enabled laptop for $260

11. This year, the East African Marine Cable System is now offering broadband speed to the last region without a fiber optic connection

12. People meet, exchange ideas and transact using web functionality, rather than just read information

13. The Economist estimates over half of the world’s 7B mobile phones will have Internet access by 2015

14. Blogs, FaceBook, FlickR and Twitter mean ordinary people are routinely posting their own content and challenging the previous monopoly of news providersGlobal Coverage Higher Affordability of Costs Availability of Content Lower Access Speeds Mobility Web Functionality Source: Linksbridge research, December 2009; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8309583.stm, October 2009

15. This rapid change risks ReliefWeb’s continued relevance unless ReliefWeb also innovates Current Opportunities and Threats to ReliefWeb Model Opportunities Threats to Current Model Address a much larger audience – and increasingly communities affected by natural disaster and conflict Deliver content to mobile phones and handheld devices Enable ReliefWeb users to submit their own content to the site Include new sources of content on ReliefWeb, e.g. blogs, wikis and tweets Because almost every humanitarian organization now has its own web channel, ReliefWeb’s repository of humanitarian information becomes increasingly redundant Users create their own real time humanitarian news streams in search engines and content aggregators, e.g. Google, Bing, news sites FaceBook, LinkedIn or similar services catch on as the humanitarian community’s platform of choice Increasing volumes of humanitarian information overwhelm ReliefWeb’s editorial capacity to collect, process and post More frequent changes in editorial policy undermine the consistency of ReliefWeb’s archive All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 5 Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

16. All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 Table of Contents Background to Business Planning Workshop and Drivers for Change A Vision for ReliefWeb Services to the Humanitarian Community Delivery Strategy and Implementation Plan Appendix 6

20. Disadvantages: This option requires bold change that brings with it risks, and requires investment by OCHA in executive support, management and staff time, and financial resourcesOption: Evolve New Value-added Services Preferred Option Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

22. Actively engage with user-generated content

23. Extend concept of constituency to members of community affected by natural disaster and conflict

24. Seek greater localization, i.e. the ability for users to work in any language they choose

25. The common platform

26. Where the humanitarian community:

27. Meets other donors, UN agencies, international NGOs, members of communities affected by natural disaster and conflict

28. Exchanges information

29. Does its business, i.e. identifies needs, finds resources and posts progress

30. That generates tangible improvements in humanitarian actionSource: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

31. The ability to complete real work makes ReliefWeb compelling as a business platform All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 9 How Different Users Work on ReliefWeb as a Platform Receive disaster and conflict alerts Track crisis Register profile Mine data archives Follow progress Receive disaster and conflict alerts Track crisis Register profile Utilize suppliers mart Mine data archives Follow progress Register professional details Receive disaster and conflict alerts Look up in-country network Offer expert services Track crisis Utilize skills mart Bid for emergency funding Receive, vet and accept applications Report progress Mine data archives Post vacancies; find matches Utilize map center Comment on needs Comment on progress Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

32. Content Professional Networking Market place ReliefWeb Applications Distinct autonomous interoperable services enable the end-to-end platform All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 10 Draft ReliefWeb Services Architecture In Inbox Job Finder App 1 Own Content User Content Post and Match Apply Screen and Accept People You May Know App 2 Search App 3 Processing Skills Mart Network Updates Higher Touch Lower Touch Post Needs Bid Screen and Accept App 4 Groups App 5 Distribution Introductions App 6 Web Mobile Social Media Contacts App n Profile Individual Organizational File Handling Note: Feasibility of reporting tools services requires validation Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

33. All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 Table of Contents Background to Business Planning Workshop and Drivers for Change A Vision for ReliefWeb Services to the Humanitarian Community Delivery Strategy and Implementation Plan Appendix 11

35. An operations bridge takes overall control of expanded scope

37. Page curation, other routine content services and integration potentially co-sourced

41. Major functionality changes (as Phase 2) by end-December 2010

42. Longer term initiatives, such as reporting, (as Phase 3) by mid 2011Phase implementation of the new user experience and specific system changes Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009 These elements explained in detail on next pages

44. ReliefWeb creates an Operations Bridge to take overall control of the expanded inventory of services including Professional Networks Monitoring, Market Place Services and Other Services, e.g. a request from a third party to add a ReliefWeb App

45. ReliefWeb implements an Integration layer to enable its Information Systems to present a rich and consistent experience to users, and adds to its suite Professional Networks social media, more Market Place Services (e.g. the skills mart) and ReliefWeb AppsLine Management Donor and Partner Relations Strategy and Planning Operations Center Operations Bridge Content Management Professional Networks Monitoring Market Place Services Monitoring Other Services Management Information Systems Integration Key In Place New Element Partially in Place Content Management System Professional Networks System Market Place Services System ReliefWeb Apps Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

46. Focus internal resources on highest value activities and aggressively outsource commodity services All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 14 Draft ReliefWeb Sourcing Approach 2 Outsourced In-house Donor and Partner Relations Content Management Content Management System Strategy and Planning Professional Networks Monitoring Professional Networks System Integration Line Management Market Place Services Monitoring Market Place Services System Operations Bridge Other Services Management ReliefWeb Apps Key In Place New Element Partially in Place Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

47. Reduce IT complexity by integrating information flowing between systems, rather than systems themselves ReliefWeb’s current IT platform has significantly slowed development of the service However, ReliefWeb should not exchange one all-embracing system for another with equal potential for lock-in over the longer term. ReliefWeb should also avoid a large IT effort to integrate more open systems at the IT level itself Instead, ReliefWeb will base its IT approach on integrating the information flowing between systems only, i.e. lay out a robust user authentication and profile management architecture, invest in strong presentation logic and a well designed presentation layer; however, take a heterogeneous approach to the underlying IT assets that serve up data or process transactions Validating this approach and establishing this IT framework is an early step in Phase 1 of implementation (see page 17) All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 15 Proposed ReliefWeb IT Framework 3 Presentation Layer Presentation Logic Content Management System Further Application 1 Social Networking Functionality Further Application 2 Marketplace System Further Application 3 Authentication and Profile Management Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

48. Carefully identify dependencies between changes and prioritize work All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 16 H Q C F O G A B D D J M I L P R E N Analysis of Task Dependencies and Priorities 4 L K Survey ReliefWeb Apps Marginal Main Effort K O H B E A M F J Sourcing Strategy Mobile Channel Customized RSS Auto Gathering Content Management Service Feedback IS Architecture Profile Management Higher N Social Networking Higher Content Process K P Skills Mart Effort Required Q Stringer Network G Lower Priority Quick Wins Job Finder Lower I Ops Centre R User Comments Lower C Document Migration Impact on Service Key to Priority Note: Effort involved in Document Migration requires validation Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009 Higher Medium Lower A A A

49. Phase implementation of the new user experience and specific system changes All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 17 Proposed Phased Implementation Plan 5 Jun 30 2010 Dec 31 2010 Jun 302011 Jan 12010 O D E A M F J Sourcing Strategy Content Management Service Feedback IS Architecture Profile Management Content Process Auto Gathering K ReliefWeb Apps+ Phase 3 L N Survey Social Networking Phase 1 P Skills Mart Q Stringer Network G Job Finder I Ops Centre K ReliefWeb Apps Phase 2 C Document Migration Source: ReliefWeb Business Plan Workshop discussions, December 2009

50. About the ReliefWeb Business Planning Workshop The ReliefWeb Business Planning Workshop took place between Tuesday December 8th and Friday December 11th at OCHA headquarters in New York Primary participants were Mark Dalton (ReliefWeb, New York), Shuichi Odaka (ReliefWeb, New York), Mark McCarthy (ReliefWeb, Geneva) and Robin Schofield (Linksbridge, Seattle) The workshop team gratefully acknowledges the additional contributions of the ReliefWeb New York team of Veronique Durroux, Akiko Harayama, Viola Voss, Anna Maria Mandorf, Eva Gulla, Angelo Diakantonis, Anca DiGiacomo, Helen Ho and Dragana Kaurin during the workshop process, and ReliefWeb Geneva’s earlier contributions to strategic planning Pat Banks, Chief CISB, sponsored and funded the workshop Sunni Kim, Karen Komlani and Justine Jacques provided invaluable administrative support All rights reserved © ReliefWeb 2009 18