Doug Specht joins OCHA panel of Humanitarian Data experts

Doug Specht has joined the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Centre for Humanitarian Data’s Reviewer team. Following work by carried out by the United Nations since 2018, it has been noted that there is a clear desire for quality assurance of models used and developed by Humanitarian organisations and others who work with humanitarian data. The Centre for Humanitarian Data has being identified as having a unique role to facilitate a peer review process. Doug Specht‘s role will involve supporting the implementation of the Peer Review Framework for Predictive Analytics in Humanitarian Response, which aims to create standards and processes for the use of models across the sector. It is based on research with experts and stakeholders across a range of organizations that design and use predictive models. The Framework also draws on best practices from academia and the private sector. The purpose of applying the Framework is to offer advisory support in the development and implementation of predictive models. Doug will primarily focus on examining ethical implications of such models, drawing upon his expertise in practical and humanitarian ethics.

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Image: United Nations