Signpost offers support for information services in the Ukraine displacement crisis
Using a Signpost service map on a phone.
The Signpost Project was launched by the International Rescue Committee (CDAC member) and Mercy Corps in 2015 in response to the European refugee crisis. It has since grown to reach millions of people in crisis all over the world. Signpost is a community-led service that delivers critical information through digital channels and social media, equipping communities with timely and actionable information that empowers people to make decisions on the issues that matter most to them.
How can the Support Hub help organisations responding to the Ukraine crisis?
The Signpost Support Hub is a public good, available to help organisations responding to the information needs of people affected by the war in Ukraine. Those information needs may include accessing critical services, understanding rights, legal processes, administrative support to navigate state-sponsored and other systems, and updates related to policies and programmes available to help people.
The Support Hub is available to many different types of information service providers, including local NGOs, municipalities, civil society groups, international NGOs and even UN agencies. The three main areas of support are: technology; best practices, guidance and training; and financial resources.
Technology
The Support Hub offers a technology suite that is optimised for digital communications with crisis-affected communities and is totally free of charge for licensing, development and hosting for a standard buildout. It is managed by a team of Signpost personnel who help configure technology tools to meet the needs of project teams.
The technology suite allows organisations to:
Create an accessible website that can be updated by personnel with basic tech literacy.
Provide a back-end ticketing system that manages communication from multiple channels (such as Telegram, email, Facebook messenger and WhatsApp) and houses them in one central location to streamline communication and ensure that all messages are responded to.
Use an analytic suite to understand user engagement and trends in information requests.
Create a call centre integrated with the ticketing system to manage a hotline.
Best practices, guidance and training
Signpost draws on years of experience implementing responsive information services in crises to offer guidance documents, practical tools, training and ongoing coaching related to:
Advice and support on building teams to support information services, including staffing required, recommended profiles, sample job descriptions and other recruitment materials.
Best practices in developing information products that are accessible, accurate and continuously responsive to people’s needs.
Best practices for ‘frontline’ staff providing information, including via text or messenger. This includes user-centred communication, managing expectations, responding to people in trauma, and how to deal with emergency situations.
Financial resources
Some financial resources may be available to organisations implementing information services. This could be up to $200,000, depending on the partner and availability of other funding sources, and could include one-shot donations as well as primer funds for partnership, or sub-awards. Allocation of funding will be jointly decided between country management teams, RAI-Europe and Signpost team and managed in a way best suited for the context.
For more information, please contact: Brianna.Orr@rescue.org and Andre.Heller@rescue.org