Standardising humanitarian data for a better response: The Humanitarian eXchange Language

HXL (pronounced ‘hek-sil’) is a product and process innovation that aims to improve coordination across agencies responding in a humanitarian crisis, through a more efficient and effective system of collecting and sharing data. Led by the UN Office for the Coordination and Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) with the support of a number of partners, HXL is a data standard and bundle of software tools branded as ‘a simple standard for messy data’. It aims to facilitate the exchange and merging of data across agencies to create a more complete and accurate operational picture of a crisis.

This case study is one of 15 undertaken by ALNAP in partnership with Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), exploring the dynamics of successful innovation processes in humanitarian action. The case studies examine what good practice in humanitarian innovation looks like, what approaches and tools organisations have used to innovate in the humanitarian system, what the barriers to innovation are for individual organisations, and how they can be overcome. The case studies are synthesised in the summary report, ‘More than just luck: Innovations in humanitarian action‘.