Analytics for a Better World

I, Sophie, attended the Analytics for a Better World (ABW) annual conference at Amsterdam Business School on May 24th.

This event brought together speakers and panelists from different groups: nonprofits, researchers, and companies, who presented several application cases for analytics in nonprofits and how much of an impact analytics can have to make a better world. I found it very interesting. In this blog I will give you a few examples from that day!

1. The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup is using data to efficiently remove plastic debris from the oceans. They presented 3 main use cases:

• Waves and Weather prediction: An essential element for them to be aware of when trying to collect debris in the ocean where conditions often shift abruptly. 
• Steering strategy: Here data is used to determine the optimal pathway for The Ocean Cleanup’s boats so that they surround the patches with the most debris and collect as much plastic as possible.
• Optimization: Lastly, data is used to create a modeling of their system in order to optimize it and ultimately save money.

2. 510

510 is applying AI for automated damage assessment after disasters. They use satellite images and AI to automatically detect buildings and see if there is any damage and how bad the damage is.

The goal is to assess where a disaster had the worst impact. This helps 510 organize and prioritize the support efforts. The main flaw with this strategy is that only damages seen from the sky can be assessed.

3. Amref Health Africa

Amref is using analytics to improve healthcare coverage in Kenya. On that day, Amref presented the case of mobile healthcare units (MHU) where data is used to assess how long MHU need to stay in one area according to several criteria. For example, if a vaccination center is already nearby or not. 

If there is no vaccination center nearby then the MHU needs to stay longer in order to take care of people in the area who didn’t originally have access to a vaccination center.

These few use cases are a great insight on how analytics can have a significant impact on human lives and on the planet. If you want to learn more or see how you can help, visit analytics for a better world.