The hardest calls get made when the least is known.
When a disaster strikes, UNDP's RAPIDA methodology produces an early read from satellite imagery and remote analytics within roughly 72 hours. The full picture from field surveys and interviews follows, but organising teams and reaching neighbourhoods takes days or weeks.
In between sits a window where responders must triage, route teams, and request resources on thin information. The people standing in front of the damage already know what happened. GRID turns what they see into structured, located evidence that fills that window.
- 1Hour 0The shock
An earthquake, flood, fire, or conflict hits. Responders need to know where to look first.
- 2Around 72 hoursSatellite estimate
RAPIDA maps likely damage and exposure from above, at the level of areas rather than buildings.
- 3Days to weeksFull field assessment
Detailed surveys confirm the picture, long after the first decisions have been made.
GRID covers the gap between them, adding a fast, building-level signal from the ground in the first hours.
One report, from a phone in someone's hand to a map UNDP can act on.
Capture what you see
A resident opens GRID on any phone, or sends a report through WhatsApp, SMS, or a call centre. They take a photo, pick one of three damage grades, name the type of structure, and answer a short form. It works with no signal and uploads when the connection returns.
Pin it to the right building
A raw GPS dot is rarely enough on its own. GRID shows the building footprints around the reporter and asks them to confirm which one was hit. Where there is no GPS, they can describe a landmark, for example the school beside the central market.
Keep the record current
Damage changes over days. Reports about the same building are versioned, so the latest complete observation leads, weighted by photo evidence and confirmation. Duplicates are flagged, and coordinators watch every report land on a live map.
A frontend communities can actually use, and a backend UNDP can build on.
What communities use
- Three plain damage grades, minimal, partial, and complete, with finer detail when it helps.
- Building footprints on the map to confirm the exact structure, plus landmark text when GPS fails.
- Full use online or offline, with photos queued on the device and sent when the network returns.
- Six UN languages across the interface and the damage descriptions people write.
- Modular questions UNDP can change per crisis, such as electricity, health services, and pressing needs.
- Recognition that rewards new coverage, never repeat posts or duplicate reports.
What UNDP receives
- One normalised report format that every channel writes into.
- A validated, de-duplicated, anonymised record sized for hundreds of thousands of reports per crisis.
- Faces and licence plates blurred automatically before any photo is stored.
- A live dashboard showing every submission by location and damage grade.
- One-click export to CSV, GeoJSON, and a REST API for RAPIDA and partner systems.
- Built entirely on open-source tools, so any agency can run, audit, and extend it.
Many ways to send a report. One format underneath.
A WhatsApp message, a call-centre entry, an offline kit, and a partner system all become the same structured, comparable evidence.
Trusted handling, at the scale a national crisis demands.
The system is structured for hundreds of thousands of reports in a single crisis, and hundreds of crises a year, while keeping the people who report safe.
reports per crisis
damage grades
UN languages
No personal data to report
Community reporting needs no account, name, or phone number. Consent and contact are optional and stored separately.
Privacy held by default
Photos are cleared of faces and licence plates, and exact locations are protected on public maps in conflict settings.
Made for low connectivity
Every step works offline. Reports and images wait on the device and sync the moment a signal appears.
Open and replicable
The whole stack is open source, so UNDP and partners can host, review, and adapt it without licence costs.
Try the prototype the way an evaluator would.
File a community report, then open the coordinator console to watch it land on the map and export as CSV or GeoJSON.