2008 achievements to date

1. On 3rd July All In Diary was commended in UK Parliament in an Early Day Motion, congratulating the authors 'vision and tenacity in bringing this project to fruition''....and calling on 'those involved inthe humanitarian sector to acknowledge and support this project'
2. We supported the local response to Cyclone Nargis through direct mail shots – resulting in a significant increase in web traffic to this site from Myanmar and Thailand.
3. The information pages have been distributed via 3000 copies of RedR Sri Lanka's 2008 Humanitarian Diary
4. The information pages are now available in Sinhala and Tamil
5. Application for charity registration of the All In Diary has been made and a 3 year strategy developed

The next challenges

We are looking for support to extend our reach through:
     -  field production and distribution in a new emergency
     -  further translation of materials
     -  further development of tools, resources, website and IT services

Background to All In Diary:
The idea for this resource was conceived while we (Linda Richardson and Gill Price) were working together setting in Sri Lanka, following the 2004 Tsunami.  What makes the All In Diary unique is threefold:

       1.  It is relevant and useful to ALL those involved in emergencies - from UN and international NGO workers to national governments, local NGOs and the affected populations.  By enabling access to the same information, we hope to bring everyone onto the same page - and thereby encourage communication and collaboration.

     2.  It is a single, comprehensive, objective source of the most up-to-date information and resources,  presenting cross sectoral information from a wide variety of sources without bias.  Many useful tools and manuals exist, but they can be difficult to access in emergencies. 

     3.  It focuses on distribution at the onset of a disaster, providing people with the information they need, at the time they need it, in a format which is easy to use.  Linking a working diary with key information has the benefits of making this a practical tool, where information is readily to hand and easily shared. 

Initial trial and evalulation
For 18 months we worked to bring our idea to fruition, and in July 2007 we launched a 6 month trial.  With the support and encouragement of a wide range of organisations and individuals (Acknowledgments) we were able to produce and disseminate 400 copies to over 30 countries.  An independent evaluation was then conducted to assess its utility, effectiveness and efficiency.  The trial was deemed to be a significant success. 

'Having spent 10 weeks in the field and many hours travelling or waiting for planes, cars, meetings, etc. I found the All In Diary information useful for easy reference when preparing plans, discussing issues with colleagues or making reports'.  International Humanitarian Worker

Linda Richardson (HR/Learning and Development Consultant - InTuition Consultancy) and Gill Price (Programme Management Consultant - InterFace Development) work freelance and have broad experience from both the humanitarian and development sectors.