A stable foundation
Participants · Projects · Activities · Activity Implementations · Locations · Relationships · Identifiers
Product guardrails help preserve the model across programmes, staff changes and technical capacity.CORE / The approach
Start with a model designed for
humanitarian operations.
CORE starts from a simple idea: useful organisational data begins with tools that make sense to frontline programme teams. A stable, generic humanitarian data model structures that information at source — while leaving programmes room to adapt to their context.
A short version of the vision
Better tools for frontline teams.
Better data for everyone else.
When frontline teams get tools that help them do the job, they produce cleaner and more useful information. Standard formats, input controls and deduplication improve quality at source; less manual entry and rework save time and reduce administrative costs. Reporting and MEAL benefit from that operational foundation.
Frontline usabilityStructured data at sourceBetter reportingAI readiness
CORE therefore addresses the full chain: cleaner data in, more reliable outputs out.
01
The problem
Humanitarian data often starts fragmented.
Projects and decentralised offices need flexibility to deliver. But when each one defines its own datasets, structures and terminology, Country Offices later have to reconcile different files and models to build a coherent picture.
The challenge is different:
How do you maintain a common information model across a large, decentralised organisation — while still giving programmes the flexibility they need?
Different contextsDecentralised decisionsStaff turnoverUneven technical capacityOne organisation
Start with structure, not a blank page.
CORE provides a generic operational model that can support different organisations, sectors and humanitarian activities without rebuilding the fundamental relationships for every project.
02
The CORE answer
A common operational data model.
CORE connects reusable records and relationships in one centralised system. Authorised colleagues share the same information and can assign cases or Activity Implementations between team members and managers, preserving context across handovers.
WHO / WHAT WE WORK WITHIndividual · Household · Collective · Facility
→
FRAMEWORK / WHAT WE PLANProject → Activity
→Donor · Sector · Team · Coverage Area · Indicators · Targets
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENSActivity Implementation
Participants · Location · Date(s) · Narratives · Forms · Items · Referrals · Attachments
Structure once.Reuse throughout programme delivery.Create relationships at source.
1Better tools for frontline teams
→
2Structured data at source
→
3Better programme delivery
→
4Reliable information downstream
03
One foundation. Local flexibility.
Protect what should be common. Adapt what needs to be local.
Standardisation only works if the standard survives. CORE puts the common architecture into the product itself, while providing governed ways to adapt programme-specific information.
Flexibility where it belongs
Country setup · Option lists · Additional fields · Ad-hoc information · Forms & Assessments
Programmes adapt their operational layer without redesigning the underlying architecture.
01Standard CORE fieldsShared entities, fields and relationships
02Configurable entity fieldsRecurring contextual information
03Ad-hoc informationRecord-specific local details
04Forms & AssessmentsXLSForm via Kobo / ODK or online
Freedom within a stable structure.
The programme may change. The context may change. The forms may change. The underlying logic remains familiar.
04
Why this matters at organisational scale
One model. Different benefits across the organisation.
A shared structure reduces repetitive work locally and makes information easier to understand and reuse as it moves through the organisation.
Work with connected information
Register once, share authorised records and hand over assigned work with its context. Less repetitive entry leaves more time for delivery.
See across programmes
Connected participant and implementation histories support cross-programming, analysis and coordination across sectors and offices.
Aggregate on a common foundation
Area Office → Country Office → Region → Global becomes a data relationship, not a repeated reconciliation exercise.
Spend less time rebuilding data
Standard formats, validation and deduplication reduce cleaning. Reuse referenced operational data for automated reporting with fewer manual transfers and errors.
Support locally led delivery
Localisation strengthens local organisations’ role in humanitarian action. Shared records, agreed responsibilities and access rights can support collaboration without parallel information silos.
Keep the evidence connected
Timestamped action logs and referenced Activity Implementations, participants and distributed items support audit work years later, subject to retention rules.
Learn the model once.
Participant, Project, Activity, Activity Implementation, Location and Team remain familiar across contexts.
Build organisational resilience into the system.
The fundamental architecture belongs to the product, not to the person who built the last spreadsheet or dashboard.
05
Built for today. Ready for what comes next.
A stable data model is an AI-readiness strategy.
AI is only as useful as the data it can work with. CORE creates consistent entities, stable identifiers, explicit relationships and operational context across projects and locations — making information easier for people, systems and future AI applications to understand and reuse.
01Frontline operationsUseful, structured workflows
↓
02Quality data at sourceKnown entities and relationships
↓
03Organisational knowledgeReusable across programmes and levels
↓
04Automation & AI readinessContext that machines can work with
WHAT MAKES DATA AI-READY?
- Stable identifiers
- Consistent entity definitions
- Explicit relationships
- Structured programme context
- Reference data and locations
- Traceable operational history
CORE is not presented as an AI product. Its value is more fundamental: creating the structured operational data backbone that meaningful automation and AI depend on.
Collect for operations. Reuse for many purposes.
Better programme delivery comes first. Shared information, accountable handovers and quality controls reduce manual work today; connected audit trails, automated reporting and reusable data extend that value over time.
Explore how CORE works