Call for Particants for the 4th ISCRAM Summer School on Humanitarian Information Management and Logistics, Tilburg University, the Netherlands, August 16-27 2011.

1. 4th ISCRAM Summer School
for emergency management improvement
on Humanitarian Information Management and
Logistics
THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE
August 17 - 26 2011
Tilburg, the Netherlands
http://iscram.org/live/summerschool2011
Application Deadline: June 1st 2011
Objective
The objective of the ISCRAM Summer School on Humanitarian Information Management and
Logistics is to provide participants with an intense interactive learning experience on the use
of information management to logistics decisions, logistics collaboration and coordination in
humanitarian crisis response. The program of the Summer School consists of a week of in-
depth lectures, case workshops, dinner talks, as well as a great social program. All lectures are
taught by experienced international experts in the areas of humanitarian crisis management,
information systems and logistics. The participants work in small groups and interact with
the experts throughout the Summer School. The language of the Summer School is English.

2. Over the years, close to 100 students from over 20 different countries and 40 lecturers from
international universities and organisations have participated in previous editions of the Summer
School. Previous editions of the ISCRAM Summer School were rated very highly by the
participants.
Organizers and Foundational Partners
The 2011 ISCRAM Summer School is an initiative of the ISCRAM Association, an international
non-profit organization, formally established in Belgium in 2009, which aims to:
● Promote research and development, exchange of knowledge and deployment of
information systems for crisis management. Both the social, technical and practical
aspects of all information- and communication systems used or to be used in all phases
of management (mitigating) of emergencies, disasters and crises are treated.
● Promote and facilitate cooperation between all parties involved in this domain, including
researchers, practitioners and professionals, technical experts and other experts, policy
makers, involved in the management or evaluation of emergency conditions, disasters
and crises.
For this 4th edition of the Summer School, the ISCRAM Association has partnered with
two academic institutions and selected international organisations to further develop the
international reach and impact of the summer school.
The two academic partners are Tilburg University (the Netherlands) and University of Lugano
(Switzerland), respectively in charge of the humanitarian information management and the
humanitarian logistics research aspects of the program.
The international partners of the ISCRAM Summer School are UN OCHA (Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), the European Joint Research Center in Ispra (Italy),
the Institute of Disaster Prevention in Beijing (China), the ICT4Peace Foundation, the Global
Risk Forum (GRF) in Davos, the SAHANA Software Foundation, and the Belgian First Aid and
Support Team B-FAST.
The 2011 edition of the Summer School is hosted by Tilburg University on its campus in Tilburg.
Summer School Program
Summer School theme : the Haiti Earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake, with an epicentre
near Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC)

3. on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake;
the Haitian government reported that an estimated 316,000 people had died, 300,000 had been
injured and 1,000,000 made homeless.The government of Haiti also estimated that 250,000
residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.
The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the
region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the
Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main
jail. The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located
in the capital, collapsed, killing many, including the Mission's Chief.
Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching
rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. Communication systems, air,
land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by
the earthquake, which hampered rescue and aid efforts; confusion over who was in charge,
air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritisation of flights further complicated early relief
work. As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities. Delays in
aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and survivors, and looting and sporadic
violence were observed.
A few days before the first anniversary of the quake, Oxfam published a report on the status
of the recovery. According to the report, relief and recovery are at a standstill due to inaction
from the government and indecision on the part of the donor countries. The report states, "One

4. year on, only five percent of the rubble has been cleared and only 15 percent of the required
basic and temporary houses have been built. House building on a large scale cannot be started
before the enormous amount of rubble is cleared. The government and donors must prioritize
this most basic step toward helping people return home".
According to a January 2011 UNICEF report, "Still today more than one million people remain
displaced, living in crowded camps where livelihoods, shelter and services are still hardly
sufficient for children to stay healthy". The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission was set up
in April 2010 and led by former US President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-
Max Bellerive to facilitate the flow of funds toward reconstruction projects and to help Haitian
ministries with implementation. As of January 2011, no major reconstruction has started.
On the 12 January 2011 anniversary of the earthquake, Haitian-born Michaëlle Jean, who
served as the Governor General of Canada at the time of the disaster and who was installed as
Special Envoy for Haiti for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) on 8 November 2010, voiced her anger at the slow rate of aid delivery, placing much
of the blame on the international community for abandonning its commitments. In a public letter
co-authored with Irina Bokova, the head of UNESCO, Jean said, "As time passes, what began
as a natural disaster is becoming a disgraceful reflection on the international community."
At the Summer School, we will reflect on the international humanitarian response and on the
current (lack of) recovery. In particular, we will focus on the role of information management and
logistics during these phases.
Lecturers at the Summer School
Lecturers at the summer school represent a diverse range of expertise from academia, research
organisations, governments, and NGOs.
We can already confirm lectures from Tom de Groeve (JRC Ispra), Paulo Goncalves (University
of Lugano), Simon French (Manchester University, UK), Jaap van de Herik (Tilburg Univeristy,
the Netherlands), Geert Gijs (B-Fast, Belgium, Peter L.J. Bos (Chief USAR the Netherlands),
and Jules Pieters (WHO). Other speakers are being confirmed, and all biographies, lecture
topics and other updates will be posted on the iscram.org website.
The 2011 ISCRAM Summer School Program Directors are Dr. Paulo Goncalves (University of
Lugano, Switzerland) and Dr. Bartel Van de Walle (Tilburg University, the Netherlands).

5. Dr. Paulo Goncalves Dr. Bartel Van de Walle
Who should attend?
The target audience for the Summer School is both PhD students and experienced
Practitioners to attend the 2011 ISCRAM Summer School.
● Students in PhD programs in Information Systems, Computer Science, Organization
Research, Management Science, Supply Chain Management and Operations Research
or in other fields with research interests related to crisis management are eligible for
nomination. The nominee should have completed course work, developed a dissertation
proposal and preferably have completed one year of dissertation work with one year
remaining (at the time of the summer school) before completion.
● Practitioners and full-time professionals active in the humanitarian sector. The
Summer School is particularly interested in humanitarian practitioners with significant
field experience looking for possible ways to improve their day-to-day practices through
the use of frameworks that formalize and extend the practical competence they already
possess.
All participants will gain insights from information systems and logistics for crisis response
and management with excellent opportunities to discuss their work with other researchers and
practitioners. Ample opportunity will be provided for social activities during the Summer School.
The Summer School is intended to be an intellectually and socially stimulating environment, and
expected to result in active networking long after the summer school is over.
Benefits from attending
Participants will gain insights in the use of information systems and logistics for crisis
management. All participants will be stimulated to interact and discuss their work with the
lecturers, as well as among themselves. Interactions between PhD students and practitioners

6. will be explicitly encouraged. At the Summer School, participants are expected to work in
groups whose tasks include:
● analysis and discussion of relevant humanitarian crisis situations;
● study the role of information management, information systems and logistics in these
situations;
● exercising, gaming and role playing;
● use of dedicated crisis management and logistics software.
Ample opportunity will be provided for social activities during the summer school.
Some impressions from the previous summer school in 2009 are given below:
How to apply
Participation is by invitation only, following evaluation of applicants’ credentials. Applications
are invited by June 1st 2011 according to the instructions described below. Admission will be
limited to 30 participants in total.
PhD students (in one of the relevant PhD programs described above) should have completed
course work and developed a dissertation proposal. Ideally, they should have completed one
year of dissertation work with at least one year remaining (at the time of the summer school)

7. before completion.
Humanitarian practitioners should have at least one year work experience in humanitarian
response and should possess a university degree. Applications based on significant
professional experience will be considered.
Important Dates:
● June 1 2011: Application deadline
● June 15 2011: Notification of nomination acceptance/rejection
● June 30 2011: Registration deadline
● August 17-26 2011: 2011 Summer School
Instructions for application:
Please send to the Summer School Program Committee (email address:
summerschool2011@iscram.org) the following three documents before Sunday June 1, 2011:
1. A two page document in which you should describe your research or work experience, as
well as why you are interested in the theme of the Summer School and indicate the relevance of
the theme to your research or work,
2. A Curriculum Vitae,
3. For PhD Students: a formal nomination letter: PhD students must be formally nominated
by the chair of the student's department, or any other faculty member who is familiar with
the student's research (e.g. Ph.D. program director or thesis advisor). Practitioners must be
nominated by their organisation. A letter of nomination (with your institution’s or employer’s
official letterhead) should include the following:
● The title of your PhD dissertation or current position in your organisation;;
● Information on the nominating faculty member or superior: name, address,
department/institution, email address, phone and fax numbers.
All applicants will be evaluated by the Program Directors and applicants will be informed of
acceptance by Wednesday June 15 2011. Upon acceptance of your application, you will be
asked to complete your registration by Thursday June 30, 2011.
Location
The Summer School is organized on the campus of Tilburg University. With a population of
nearly 200,000 inhabitants, Tilburg is the Netherlands' sixth largest city and is located in the
South of the country, close to the Belgian border, in the Province of ‘North Brabant’. Tilburg
University is nicely situated in a forested area on the outskirts of the city. Tilburg University is a

8. relatively small and internationally oriented university with around 12,000 students in total and
750 international students from 65 countries. The university is internationally renowned for its
research, especially in economics through the international research institute CentER.
Tilburg University campus Tilburg in the Netherlands
Schedule, costs and accommodation
All participants are expected to attend the entire duration of the Summer School, although per
day registrations are allowed for local practitioners. A Certificate of Attendance will be delivered
at the end of the Summer School. The cost of participation for the 2011 Summer School is 600
EURO (750 EURO after the registration deadline). This registration fee will cover all lunches,
dinners and coffee breaks and materials provided for the lectures or cases. Wireless internet
access will be provided for the duration of the summer school for free. Please note that travel
expenses are not covered by the registration fee, and neither are accommodation costs. A
special hotel rate has been negotiated with Hotel De Postelse Hoeve in Tilburg, which is the
dedicated hotel for the Summer School. The rate per night in a standard single room is 83 Euro
and for a double room 105 Euro, breakfast included. Rooms have to be paid upon checkout.
Local Organizing Committee
The local organizing committee for the 2011 ISCRAM Summer School consists of Jan
Otten, Janneke Liebregts - van Maarle, and Paul Pattynama. Please contact the Organizing

9. Committee via email at summerschool2011@iscram.org.
Jan Otten (Chair) Janneke Liebregts - van Paul Pattynama
Maarle