Frequently Asked Questions

What have you got planned for Global Pulse for the year ahead?

We will be drawing on the analytical expertise of our Member States, UN Agencies and Partners to develop an analytical framework, core indicators, and methodology for Global Pulse.
We will be conducting a UN-wide survey of existing vulnerability and impact monitoring systems and beginning to integrate these diverse systems.
We will be engaging with experts and volunteer software developers around the world to help us build the technology for Global Pulse from the ground up.
We will be developing a network of regional “Innovation Laboratories” to identify information gaps and experiment with new kinds of data and emerging technologies that could help leaders understand the impacts of global crises on vulnerable populations.

Why did you change the name from GIVAS to Global Pulse?

We decided to change the name because “GIVAS” was too hard to pronounce, and “Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System” was too hard to remember. Also, it implied that we were creating a top-down system, when in fact we are bringing together innovative ideas from around the world to create a system that will allow leaders to hear the voices of the vulnerable and build resilience from the bottom up.

We chose “Global Pulse” because we wanted to convey the vision of global real-time monitoring in crisis, and the pulse is the most basic indicator of human wellbeing. It is a universal metaphor that people everywhere will understand in whatever language they speak.

What progress has been made to date with Global Pulse since the first Voices of the Vulnerable Report last September?

We have begun building a core team with expertise in global development, data analysis, and emerging technologies, including staff seconded from WFP, UNDP, UNICEF, and UNDPI.
We have launched our new website, http://unglobalpulse.org, and have renamed GIVAS, the “Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System,” to GLOBAL PULSE.
We have released the Secretary-General’s second report on the impact of the economic crisis, Voices of the Vulnerable: Recovery from the Ground Up.
We have begun work on nine RIVAF (Rapid Impact and Vulnerability Analysis Fund) projects, which are multi-agency partnerships to drive innovation in cross-sectoral rapid analysis. These studies examine the impact of the crisis on sectors such as crime, health, gender, migration, children, and food security.
We have partnered with NGO MobileActive on the creation of a global inventory of mobile data collection initiatives that has already identified more than 100 cases where mobile phones are being used to gather information in ways that might be useful to Global Pulse.
We have partnered with NGO QuestionBox on a project to explore the potential of community information services as human sensor networks for detecting early impacts and emerging vulnerabilities.
We have created a tagged and full-text searchable library of more than 100 reports from UN agencies UN country teams, and partners.

What will Global Pulse do, and for whom?

Vision

Close the information gap between the onset of a global crisis and the availability of actionable information for decision makers

Mission

Harness innovation to protect the vulnerable

Stakeholders

Global Pulse will provide world leaders and the Secretary-General with:

The evidence for advocacy needed to bring global attention to bear on the plight of the world’s most vulnerable – and make sure that the focus remains there.

Tools to bring together critical information from dozens of UN databases that are not currently integrated.

Global Pulse will build national and regional capacity within and between Member States to:

Detect when vulnerable populations are being impacted by global shocks,
Understand the coping strategies – both positive and negative – that affected communities are adopting,
Share hypotheses, alerts, and key information with regional partners, and
Respond with better policy interventions sooner than possible today.

Global pulse will empower local communities by:

Integrating with community-level networks for information sharing, such as mobile phone data collection programs, local media organizations, community bulletin boards, market information networks, and commercial networks
Opening new channels to allow local and national government to communicate alerts and guidance directly to the population to mitigate the effects of a crisis and accelerate recovery.

How is Global Pulse funded?

Global Pulse is entirely funded through voluntary contributions from individual UN Member States and private philanthropic organizations. In particular, we would like to thank the UK and Swedish Governments for their generous financial support and the Rockefeller Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund for hosting Global Pulse events at their thought-inspiring conference venues in Bellagio (Italy) and Pocantico Hills (USA). Global Pulse has also benefited from many hours of expertise generously invested in the project by its UN system partners. UNDP, WFP and the UN's Department for Public Information have seconded full-time staff members to the Global Pulse Team. Given that Global Pulse is a multi-year project, we will continue to raise voluntary funding from a broad range of stakeholders over the coming months and years. We would welcome any expression of interest from donors who would like to support the Global Pulse initiative.