BRR Knowledge Centre

The BRR Knowledge Centre (KNOW) is dedicated to the preservation of data and management of information related to the rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in Aceh and Nias (2005-09). KNOW was established by BRR in June 2008 through support from the Multi Donor Fund and in partnership with UNDP. Its principle activities include the collection, cataloguing and classification of documents and other media formats and to enable this information to be accessed for research and reference purposes. The recovery programme in Aceh and Nias, following the devastation caused by a series of tsunamis in Aceh in December 2004 and an earthquake in Nias in March 2005, is regarded as one of the largest humanitarian programmes in history.

The programme involved up to 20,000 projects implemented by more than 600 organisations, including local and national government institutions, multilateral and bilateral agencies, and national and international NGOs, along with thousands of volunteers and other participants from all around the world.

The initial damage and loss assessment for Aceh was US$4.5 billion, and for Nias US$400 million. These assessments combined with a fluctuating inflation rate and an estimated US$1.5 billion for upgrading neglected facilities within these regions, raised the total funding required for the reconstruction to more than US$7 billion.

The response from the national and international communities was unprecedented, with a total of US$7.2 billion pledged and nearly US$7 billion committed which, based on recent calculations, translates to an approximate 93% realisation of aid funding. A remarkable outcome for what was an unimaginable disaster.

KNOW priorities the preservation and management of information above analysing the content or arbitrarily deciding which information to collect. While there is a degree of filtering in terms of relevancy and usefulness, in the main the Centre aims to safeguard all materials that were developed during the relief and recovery programmes in Aceh and Nias. It is hoped that by preserving and managing all of this information now, at a later stage other agencies, institutions and individuals can use this material to develop analytical studies and assessments of the programmes.

It is in this context that KNOW has deployed the Google-mini search appliance (see Document Search) - an appliance which provides a common and reliable method for searching and accessing large collections of information. With limited time and resources to develop a well-defined catalogue or taxonomy, this approach enables the Centre to manage and monitor the various collections while, at the same time, enabling users to utilise the information as it is being collected.

In this respect, this web-site serves as a secure and centralised "sorting-room” for the vast amount of information being collected. In turn, it is an initial step towards the development of a more dedicated knowledge repository on disaster (risk) management which, in the future, may be undertaken by, or supported through, local, national or international institutions.

It is essential that the information developed and knowledge gained during the recovery programme in Aceh and Nias is available to all local, national and international communities. The magnitude of the humanitarian relief and recovery programme in Aceh and Nias has been an opportunity for all agencies, institutions and individuals to learn about the effectiveness of aid delivery. It is for this reason that BRR, together with it partners, is committed to the development of this Knowledge Centre.