TIDES Charter[edit | edit source]
-CHARTER-
27 November 2007
Transportable Infrastructures for Development and Emergency Support (TIDES)
Background: Many events, such as disasters, wars, and development shortfalls, place populations in stressed environments. Such situations may be domestic or foreign, short term or long, with military involvement, or not. Each has different needs. These populations may need infrastructures such as shelter, water, power, cooking, lighting/heating/cooling, sanitation, information & communication technologies (ICT) and medical support. Effective approaches exist, but “how to” information is not widely available, and information sharing can be greatly improved. This includes “knowledge on demand” through “reachback” support.
Vision TIDES will be an effective research effort providing useful support to populations in stressed environments through information sharing, social networks, and the identification of effective solution sets.
Goals: TIDES will operate as a collaborative, broadly inclusive community of interest. It will conduct research using information sharing, social networks, demonstrations, field activities, and workshops to (1) identify, or develop, effective solutions to problems of populations in stressed environments, (2) help organizations and individuals apply these solution sets effectively in real-world situations, (3) develop tools such as web sites, field manuals, and training materials, (4) draft policy proposals where appropriate, and (5) encourage educational activities. TIDES does not seek to supplant existing organizations but supports those with line responsibilities and those doing work in the field.
Objectives:
- Build an effective, collaborating, broadly inclusive community of interest, with domestic and foreign representatives from government, non-governmental and international organizations, corporations, academia and individuals.
- Work out procedures to identify, or develop, “whole systems” solutions to the problems of populations in stressed environments, and share them with those who can benefit.
- Articulate best practices for moving information about field performance rapidly back to design teams and forward again as improved solutions.
- Propose an integrated set of best practices for such communities (refined through continuous process improvement, technology insertion, etc.).
- Develop guiding principles and strategies to support stressed populations and compare them with existing guidance from established entities.
- Produce targeted training resources in various formats.
- Encourage development of a supporting logistic infrastructure (such as pre-packaged building supplies, shipping and storage guidance, etc.).
- Place all information developed through TIDES in the public domain and share information though collaborative, web-based tools.
- Link TIDES activities to other STAR (Sustainable Technologies, Accelerated Research) initiatives as they become available.
