The Acceleration of Chaos: Architecture as a strategy in the aftermath of ruinous events.

This master thesis answers the following research question: <br/><br/>How can architecture enable communities to rebuild and thrive in the aftermath of ruinous chaos, by rapidly implement simple, sustainable design solutions, whilst acknowledging the chaotic situation and leveraging the receptiveness to change? <br/><br/>The research assumes the...

Meeting Akila: Creating Local Empowerment Through Organisational Transformation

This master's thesis collaborates with the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) and their Water and Innovation team. The aim of the team is to foster greater engagement with local communities and establish a power balance that empowers the partnering country, rather than being centralized in the NLRC's headquarters in The Hague.<br/><br/>The core of the...

Categorizing recipients of evouchers using best practises from marketing theories: Clustering and targeting vulnerable recipients of evouchers using a novel approach of consumer segmentation and machine learning; a case study of Sint Maarten

Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), a type of humanitarian aid consisting of giving money instead of products, is being used more frequently because of its effectiveness and efficiency in helping people in need (Cash Learning Partnership, 2020b). The debate on using CVA is currently focusing on improving the quality by better incorporating ...

Understanding Population Movement Patterns after a Major Disaster: A case study of the effects of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti in 2016

Call Detail Record (CDR) data enables the analysis of human behaviour on a large scale and the information that it contains can be promising. Not only does it allow us to track the movements of many individuals throughout time, it uncovers patterns in a persons decision making process that potentially tell us a lot about the effects of different...

Designing a product-service ecosystem in humanitarian aid: Utilizing eVTOL vehicles in immunization programs for East Africa

A colossal amount of people around the world do not have access to basic health care. In order to reach the unreachable, humanitarian organizations assemble medical units that provide health service to the most outreach communities. Although, these units experience numerous challenges and drawbacks when it comes to traveling, questioning the...

Design of a support system for 121: A case study on digital aid for undocumented migrants in the Netherlands

This graduation project is about digital product 121. This product is developed by 510, the data and digitalization imitative of the Netherlands Red Cross. Through 121, a person affected (PA) by a humanitarian disaster, can receive Cash Based Aid (CBA) and Information as Aid (IAA). CBA is new form of aid, where the PA receives digital money...

Design of an unmanned aerial vehicle loading system for humanitarian aid operations

In the aftermath of a disaster, Humanitarian Aid Organizations must operate in highly uncertain and complex contexts in order to provide the lifesaving aid to the people in need. However, the systems currently available to them are limiting the aid logistics, leaving victims cut off. Affordable options are not well suited for the devastated...

Humanitarian Innovation at the Netherlands Red Cross: A case study on disaster preparedness on Sint Maarten

This report shows the process and result of a graduation project at the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC). In their search to improve the humanitarian system, innovation is necessary. However, the Netherlands Red Cross faces challenges associated with time, resources, culture and methodologies to execute a research regarding the integration of...

Information-sharing in humanitarian operations in complex disasters: Using Agent-Based modelling to identify policies for improved performance

An agent-based modelling study, which shows the impact of predefined policies on a stylized case study of Syria.

Water efficient sterilization for humanitarian aid: A redesign of the Robustex 90L (autoclave)

This master thesis describes a graduation project that is elaborated for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) innovation project Sweden. MSF is an independent, international, medical humanitarian organization. The organization is specialized in providing humanitarian aid in (developing) countries. The goal of this project is to find a solution for the...