About Crisis Commons

We are an international volunteer network of professionals drawn together by a call to service. We create technological tools and resources for responders to use in mitigating disasters and crises around the world. Our approach is three-fold:

A Network of Professionals

• Crisis Commons facilitates partnerships and maintains a network of technology volunteers to respond to specific needs. We are developers, specialists, communicators, first responders, project managers, and people who just want to help!
• People work on projects based on their skills and interests. We focus on neutrality, transparency, and collaboration. We believe in the power of one person to make a difference.

Development Events – Application Development with a Purpose

• Something is happening right now! When there’s a crisis or a need for us to respond, we come together for action. Volunteers meet at CrisisCamps to brainstorm and develop ideas, with special camps designed to address an individual event or to create tools for a specific problem. CrisisCamps may happen in multiple locations at the same time. The world is connected – we are connected.
• Something is going to happen! We’re not only about response. We believe in being prepared. At our Hack-a-thon events, our networks gather together to innovate the tools of the future.

Resource & Application Creation

• We’re about responding to specific requests and needs. But we’re also about supporting just good ideas. Before a CrisisCamp, organizers reach out to responder organizations – governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and others – seeking requests for technological supports. We organize into teams to support those requests. But we also develop around things that are just good ideas.
• What we create is open-source – meaning that it’s free for anyone to use, the labor has been donated, and the user community is encouraged to take it and build on it … to make it work for them.