UNDP’s Strategic Plan (2018-2021) recognizes the importance of contextual analysis, crisis prevention and recovery, and the management of multidimensional risks as fundamental for development. The Crisis Bureau is responsible for UNDP’s corporate crisis-related strategies, vision and priorities for crisis prevention, response, and recovery. The Bureau supports policy and programme development in keys areas including Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Migration and Displacement, Livelihoods and Economic Recovery, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery.
One of the areas of responsibility of UNDP’s Crisis Bureau is to ensure that UNDP is well positioned to anticipate and to respond in the timeliest and most effective manner to crisis, primarily regarding sudden onset crises and complex protracted crises, triggered by natural disasters or armed conflicts alike. The Crisis and Fragility Policy and Engagement Team provides crisis risk and early warning support to HQ and to Country Offices (COs) to address their needs in contextual risk analysis, programme adaptation and early action
To improve UNDP’s crisis risk analysis capabilities, the Crisis Bureau is exploring the targeted use of data science to harness new and emerging technologies such as machine learning / artificial intelligence and alternative data sources such as social media analytics and satellite imagery analysis, to support forecasting collective risks to human development (including risks of disasters, impact of climate change, risk of violent conflict and social unrest) in order to inform preventive action to mitigate the potential effects of crises on affected populations.
In support of UNDP’s engagement on the use of data science for crisis risk analysis and early warning, the Crisis and Fragility Policy and Engagement Team is seeking an information management and data science intern to support the organization’s early warning capacities, information gathering and management, and the development of machine learning tools and competencies.