ReliefWeb (UNOCHA)

The Digital Services Section of the Information Management Branch of OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) wanted to study in depth the user experience of one of the most popular public-facing sites of the entire United Nations, ReliefWeb, a site reporting on disasters around the world. Its target audience is humanitarian workers inside and outside of the
United Nations, though many others view ReliefWeb content for general news and awareness. 

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KEY OBJECTIVES: As they approached their thirtieth anniversary, the ReliefWeb team wanted to know specifically:

 

• who ReliefWeb users were, and how they were using the site

• whether ReliefWeb is still on track serving OCHA’s mandate

• which were the more or less popular content and features, current and proposed

• gaps in usability and desirability

• implications for how to serve humanitarian community better and with more efficiency into the future, and thus how RW might evolve to meet future demands and constraints

 

CORE TEAM: Product Manager, Product Management/UX intern. 

 

METHODOLOGY: I led the team in establishing a mixed methods framework for conducting research with their end users that included: 
 

• Stakeholder interviews + immersion

• Web analytics review

• An end user survey (wit 888 respondents)

• Audience identification (refinement of segments) and recruitment for qualitative research

• User Interviews (qualitative research, 22 participants)

• Interviews of aligned humanitarian data organizations (6 participants)

• Questionnaire (qualitative research, with support for non-English speakers)

• Synthesis + analysis

• Report + presentation

 

KEY OUTCOMES:

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We identified specific user segments such as active users, content submitters, and job/training seekers, each with unique usage patterns and needs. Active users rely on ReliefWeb for supplementing their own data, conducting programming research, validating internal policies, safety and security scanning, deployment briefs, and various forms of analysis. They use ReliefWeb to track funding, crisis, and needs analyses, and to monitor trends, benchmarking, and resilience measurement.

We tested several hypotheses during our research. For instance, we explored the need for more local sources and better interlinkage of platforms. While these needs were confirmed, we were surprised to find that lack of connectivity remains a significant issue for some users. Additionally, despite initial assumptions, users did not express a strong need for multilingual content, often relying on browser translation features instead—an assumption the team had made that could have led to costly translation efforts. 

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Users expressed a desire for more donor information, local sources, and development coverage. They also requested better access to raw data, offline versions for security and deployment purposes, and enhanced data transparency. Content submitters highlighted the need for improved versioning systems, regional tags, and more attractive sharing options.

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Moving forward, the team plans to leverage these insights to make strategic improvements to ReliefWeb and consider user suggestions for new features and improvements. By continuously engaging with their users and responding to user needs, the team aims to keep ReliefWeb relevant and effective for the humanitarian community. The team’s commitment to user-centered design and ongoing improvement will ensure that ReliefWeb remains a trusted and valuable resource for years to come.

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