Workshop
22–24 June 2026 · London School of Economics, London UK
The event runs across three days, combining a senior policy workshop on Day 1 with a two-day hackathon on Days 2–3.
Day 1 — Policy Workshop is a high-level dialogue with representatives from FCDO, IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, NGOs, and partner organisations. The day centres on presenting the Colombia and Indonesia Digital Traces Situation Reports, gathering structured feedback on their usefulness and adoption potential, and surfacing the wider data landscape for flood response. Attendance on Day 1 is required for all hackathon participants — the morning and early afternoon provide essential framing, methodological context, and direct exposure to the policy stakeholders whose feedback shapes hackathon outputs.
Joining online
Day 1 is open to remote participants via Microsoft Teams.
Click here to join
Meeting ID: 336 479 870 017 958
Passcode: Eh3B4Xb3
For any technical difficulties, contact Dr Martina Pardy at m.l.pardy@liverpool.ac.uk.
Days 2–3 — Hackathon teams work on one of three problem statements using real digital trace mobility, IOM DTM data and contextual data. Selected policy attendees return on Day 3 afternoon for final presentations.
Schedule at a Glance
| Time | Day 1 — Policy Workshop | Day 2 — Hackathon | Day 3 — Hackathon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00–11:00 | Welcome, framing & SitRep presentations | — | — |
| 09:30–11:00 | — | Session 1: Build | Session 3: Refine |
| 11:00–11:30 | Coffee | Coffee | Coffee |
| 11:30–13:00 | Methods clinic + digital traces in practice | Session 2: Build | Session 4: Polish & rehearse |
| 13:00–14:00 | Networking lunch | Working lunch | Working lunch |
| 14:00–15:30 | Structured discussion: feedback & ideas | Build + mid-point check | Final preparations |
| 15:30–16:00 | Coffee | Coffee | Coffee (policy attendees arrive) |
| 16:00–17:30 | IOM briefing + team kickoff sprint | Build + mentor check-ins | Final presentations |
| Evening | Networking dinner (own cost) | — | Closing reception |
Day 1 — Policy Workshop
10:00–11:00 — Welcome & SitRep Presentations
10:00–10:20 — Welcome & Project Framing (20 min)
Elisabetta Pietrostefani
Scene-setting: why floods, why digital trace data, and how Day 1 connects to the hackathon.
10:20–11:00 — Reading Floods: What New Data Can and Cannot Tell Us (40 min)
- Digital trace data as a population signal — what the GPS pipeline produces, what it measures, and how to read it critically (10 min — Andrea Nasuto)
- Indonesia & Colombia SitReps (20 min — Matt Mason)
- Comparative discussion — what differs across contexts, what patterns hold (10 min — Martina Pardy)
11:00–11:30 — Coffee
11:30–13:00 — Digital Traces in Practice
Digital Traces in Practice: Possibilities and Limits (90 min)
A panel of flood and displacement specialists exploring what different data sources can and cannot tell us — and what should give policy audiences pause.
- Francisco Rowe — Tackling biases in digital trace data (15 min)
- Ana Varela Varela — Flood measurement and impact evaluation for a policy audience (15 min)
- Zara Shabrina — Multidimensional datasets and flood trajectories: lessons from sinking Jakarta (15 min)
- Fawad Qureshi — Validating flood policies through a structured lens using natural language processing (15 min)
- Panel Q&A and synthesis (30 min)
13:00–14:00 — Networking Lunch
14:00–16:00 — Structured Feedback & Data Walkthrough
14:00–15:00 — Structured Feedback: Usefulness, Gaps & Adoption Pathways (60 min)
Facilitated session capturing on-the-record input from FCDO, IOM, NGOs, and partner organisations.
15:00–15:30 — Hackathon Data Walkthrough (30 min)
Live tour of the data packs: file structure, variable dictionaries, known limitations, and a notebook demo with working starter code.
15:30–16:00 — Coffee
16:00–17:30 — IOM Briefing & Team Kickoff
16:00–16:45 — IOM Operational Briefing: Pakistan & Colombia (45 min)
What DTM covers on the ground, what it misses, and what a genuinely useful hackathon output looks like from an operational standpoint.
16:45–17:30 — Team Kickoff Sprint
Scoping session. End-of-day deliverable: one-paragraph problem framing and a named team lead.
Evening — Networking Dinner (own cost; open to all attendees)
Day 2 — Hackathon
09:30–11:00 — Session 1: Build
Teams begin focused work. Mentors and any policy stakeholders staying on are available for consultation on operational relevance.
11:00–11:30 — Coffee
11:30–13:00 — Session 2: Build
Continued development with rolling mentor check-ins.
13:00–14:00 — Working Lunch
14:00–17:00 — Build & Mid-Point Check
14:00–15:30 — Build time + mid-point progress check
Each team gives a 5-minute informal stand-up on direction and blockers.
15:30–16:00 — Coffee
16:00–17:00 — Build time + mentor check-ins
Teams iterate ahead of Day 3. End-of-day deliverable: working prototype or analysis draft.
Day 3 — Hackathon
09:30–11:00 — Session 3: Refine
Final development sprint.
11:00–11:30 — Coffee
11:30–13:00 — Session 4: Polish & Rehearse
Teams finalise outputs and rehearse presentations.
13:00–14:00 — Working Lunch
14:00–17:00 — Final Presentations
14:00–15:30 — Final preparations
Slides, demos, and live walkthroughs locked in.
15:30–16:00 — Coffee (policy attendees arrive)
16:00–17:00 — Final presentations to panel of judges
Selected policy stakeholders return. Each team presents (10 min + 5 min Q&A). Closing reflections from FCDO and IOM on which outputs feel most operationally promising.
Judges: Fawad Qureshi, Dr. Ana Varela Varela, IOM representative, fourth judge TBC
Evening — Closing Reception