Annet Nsiimire: Data-driven humanitarian engineering projects

Annet’s experience with Essentials of Humanitarian Data Analysis training means she and her humanitarian engineering colleagues can choose the most effective engineering projects for people affected by disaster.
Annet Nsiimire is a consultant, engineer and trainer. She’s working with RedR as an associate trainer, and with the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology at Makerere University in Uganda. She works to strengthen the capacity of engineers to carry out humanitarian engineering projects.
“In my work, I encounter several challenges that hinder the effectiveness of humanitarian interventions”, she says. “Limited funding restricts the scale and scope of opportunities for training and fieldwork. Local people don’t have the technical capacity to effectively support humanitarian projects. We must coordinate complex stakeholder relationships – with competing priorities and agendas.”
Through the training, Annet sought to enhance the existing training she offers to engineers by including data analysis and visualisation. The engineers she trains can then carry out projects informed by data, not only by anecdotal evidence.
The training has significantly impacted Annet’s work
“The training was informative, engaging, and relevant”, says Annet. Through it, Annet gained hands-on experience with data visualisation tools, learnt statistical analysis and interpretation, understood data quality, ethical considerations, and communicating findings. She has also enhanced her skills for delivering effective training.
I have greater confidence now, both to analyse data, and to deliver training to pass these skills onto others.
Even with the competing priorities, limited funding, and lack of technical experts in local contexts, using data effectively means that Annet can direct activity to the places where humanitarian engineering projects are needed most – and her work can have the greatest impact.
Annet plans to integrate data analysis and interpretation into her humanitarian engineering projects. She’s passing on what she learnt to the humanitarian engineers she works with at Makerere University. Informed by sound data, the engineers she trains can also deliver humanitarian engineering that genuinely reaches the people who need it, in the most effective way.
Essentials of Humanitarian Data Analysis is part of the Data Literacy Project, generously supported by USAID, and delivered in partnership with ACAPS.