The adoption and adherence to a shared geospatial ethical framework are fundamental for promoting the safety and security of vulnerable populations in crisis. Geospatial analysis often involves the collection and analysis of sensitive data and ethical standards are critical to promoting transparent analysis while avoiding harm.
Documents
Ethics Case Studies
Series of geospatial cases featuring ethical dilemmas, curated by Pennsylvania State University.
Ethical Considerations When Using Geospatial Technologies for Evidence Generation
Working paper developed by UNICEF that defines the benefits and ethical risks of the use of geospatial data by development and humanitarian organizations.
GIS Code of Ethics
URISA GIS Code of Ethics provides guidance on the ethical use of GIS data and analysis by GIS analysts
Humanitarian UAV Code of Conduct
A code of conduct regarding the ethical use of UAVs in humanitarian crises.
How to Lie with Maps
This book explores the conscious and unconscious decisions map makers make and how it impacts map products
Race, Power, and Peacebuilding: Insights and Lessons From a Global Consultation
Building on the report “Time to Decolonize Aid”, this document addresses structural racism and power dynamics in the peacebuilding sector.
The Locus Charter
International geospatial ethical principals developed by EthicalGeo
The Signal Code: A Human Rights Approach to Information During Crisis
Developed by the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the Signal Code presents a rights-based approach to conducting humanitarian information activities.
Time to Decolonize Aid: Insights and Lessons From a Global Consultation
Report documenting findings from a global consultation to document structural racism and power dynamics in the humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding sectors.
Webinars, lectures, and courses
Critical Cartography: Subjectivity, Politics, and Power of Spatial Data
This HHI-hosted webinar discusses critical cartography and the subjectivity and bias that is inherently introduced by the mapmaker and other decision-makers involved in developing a map product
Humanitarian Data Ethics and Digital Decolonization
This HHI-hosted webinar takes a deep dive into data ethics and decolonization as it pertains to humanitarian information technologies