Project Design

RAPIDA

Close the gap between satellite data and ground truth in the first 48 hours of a crisis.

Partner

UNDP

Sector

Nonprofits

SDG alignment

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
RAPIDA

The Story

When I read the challenge brief, one sentence stopped me: "ordinary folk who have access to smartphones." That changed everything.

I did not start with code. I started with the problem. UNDP's RAPIDA methodology uses satellites to assess crisis damage within 72 hours. But satellites cannot tell you if a hospital is still open. They cannot see if debris is blocking the only road out of a neighbourhood. Communities can. The gap between what satellites see and what people on the ground know is where lives are lost.

Share