Computer Simulation as a Means of Dialogue between Local Committees and Relief Agencies: A Case from Southern Sudan

Computer simulations, using modest equipment – a portable computer with a familiar spreadsheet programme – can facilitate dialogue between local committees and relief agencies in the management of disasters. An example is given from the southern Sudan in which the outcomes of different relief strategies, some urged by the donors, were simulated. This helped the local committee to defend difficult choices and the donors to realise that the decision-making autonomy of the affected community should be respected.