Information Sharing Protocol: Somalia Humanitarian Response (11 August 2024)

OVERVIEW

This Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) is designed to support data responsibility for the humanitarian response in Somalia. Data responsibility in humanitarian action is the safe, ethical and effective management of personal and non-personal data for operational response, in accordance with established frameworks for personal data protection. The ISP supports data sharing in ways that maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks of humanitarian data management.

Responsible and proactive data sharing directly benefits the effectiveness and efficiency of the humanitarian response in Somalia, improves targeting of populations at heightened risk of exclusion, helps address collective planning and transparency challenges, supports the identification of data gaps, and promotes collective accountability. Insufficient data sharing between humanitarian organizations can lead to missed early warnings, delayed actions, and avoidable overlaps in program coverage.

The Somalia Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) and the Somalia Information Management and Assessment Working Group (IMAWG) developed this ISP through a collective exercise in line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Operational Guidance on Data Responsibility. The ISP was endorsed by the Somalia Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) on 11 August.

This ISP serves as the primary document governing data and information sharing in the Somalia humanitarian response. It establishes a common framework and clear approach, standards, roles and responsibilities for responsible data and information sharing in relation to operational data management activities in the Somalia humanitarian response. It also presents a set of shared principles to serve as a normative guide for responsible data management. The ISP applies to all actors engaged in the delivery of the humanitarian response in Somalia, including United Nations entities, other international organizations, international and national Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders.

This ISP and specifically Annex C should be used as a reference in the exchange of data and information with third parties, including the Government of Somalia. It is designed to complement existing policies and guidelines and does not in any way affect or replace obligations contained in applicable legal and regulatory frameworks, cluster- and AOR-specific protocols, the civilmilitary coordination guidelines for Somalia, or organizational policies.

The IMAWG and ICCG will promote coordination and collaboration on the safe, ethical and effective management of personal and non-personal data, in line with organizational policies, to support the implementation of this ISP and strengthen data responsibility and data sharing across the Somalia humanitarian response. The ISP will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis through a collaborative process overseen by the Somalia IMAWG and subject to review and endorsement by the ICCG and the HCT. Participation of Cluster-level counterparts in responsewide mechanisms is key to consistent and harmonized decision-making at the response level.

This includes monitoring and reporting on progress, challenges, lessons learned and opportunities for responsible data management.