Sensemaking and implications for information systems design: Findings from the Democratic Republic of Congo's ongoing crisis

Authors:
Willem Muhren;Gerd Van Den Eede;Bartel Van de Walle
Affiliations:
Department of Information Systems and Management, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg;Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Stormstraat 2, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium/ Dept. of Info. Sys. and Mgmt., Tilburg Univ., Tilburg, The Netherlands/ and Leuven Inst. for Res. in Info. Sys.s, Faculty ...;Department of Information Systems and Management, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands
Venue:
Information Technology for Development - Creating Innovative Forms of Cooperation and Partnerships for Development: Role of IT Strategies, Architectures, and Services
Year:
2008

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Abstract

International humanitarian aid and development organizations active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are faced with an ongoing crisis situation. Using any formal or informal information source available, they are constantly acquiring and processing information that may indicate the possible surge of an acute crisis. Information systems (IS) that enable effective and efficient information processing and decision making within and among the organizations are therefore a critically important asset to these organizations. We present a concise set of design premises that have been developed for dynamic emergency response management information systems, and we introduce the theory of Sensemaking as a lens to observe and analyze the information processing and decision making behavior of organizations. Based on interviews conducted among senior management of international aid and development organizations operating in the DRC, our findings illustrate the constant Sensemaking behavior of these organizations and provide a motivation for the proposed IS design premises. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Piet Ribbers and Koen Milis were the accepting Guest Editors for this article.