Communications and Information Services Branch

The Communications and Information Services Branch, previously known as the Advocacy and Information Management Branch represents OCHA’s efforts to become, in the words of the Under-Secretary-General, the “intellectual leader and knowledge broker for the humanitarian community.” The remodelling plan was a result of the recommendations from the 2007-2008 Information Management Review, the Information and Communication Technology Review and the Emergency Relief Coordinator’s Five-year perspective.

CISB provides a range of services to the organization to manage its information and to communicate it strategically to influence the policies and practices of key actors, e.g., advocacy. The branch works with OCHA entities at headquarters, as well as with regional and field offices. It maintains alliances with donors and member states; IASC member agencies including cluster leads; NGOs, international media, research, think tanks and academia, humanitarian information source and partnership networks and communities of practice; and geographic/geospatial source and partnership networks.

The new structure for the branch reflects a streamlined approach to communication and information services. Within CISB are the Communications Services Section (the former Advocacy and Public Information Section), which is comprised of the Public Information Unit, the Advocacy Unit and the Visual Media Unit; the Information Technology Section, the Information Services Section (an expanded Field Information Service, which is comprised of the Field Information Services Unit, the Strategic Information Services Unit and the Reporting Unit), the Web Services Section, ReliefWeb and the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

These sections offer a wide range of products and services including communications; public information and media services; online platforms and web-based tools in support of advocacy; coordination and policy; information management; and technology and telecommunications support. CISB emphasizes building partnerships and meeting the information needs of the humanitarian community, donors, affected governments and the public. Quality standards and best practices inform CISB service delivery and are promoted by the branch to strengthen the capacity of partners to deliver information in support of effective and principled humanitarian action.