Google and GiveDirectly have teamed up to release a new tool, called Delphi, designed to help aid organizations identify areas in the greatest need of assistance after a disaster. Capable of breaking the data down to the zip code level, the tool uses available data about poverty levels and damage to property to assemble a metric for need, which is overlaid on Google Maps.
GiveDirectly started thinking about the need for such a tool in 2017, after Hurricane Harvey, when their aid distribution largely ended up focusing on Houston, rather than in the harder hit area of Port Arthur. Says Alex Nawar, humanitarian director at GiveDirectly, of the response to Hurricane Harvey, “In retrospect, if we had had the tool, we would have been able to make sure that these marginalized communities were not missed.”
Driven by a combination of census data, SNAP data, and data from the NOAA, the tool allows for users to set various thresholds for inclusion, and re-weight metrics accordingly. Outputs from the tool are then used by GiveDirectly to drive direct money transfers to affected residents.
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