HackEbola with Data: On the Hackathon Format for Timely Data Analysis

Many humanitarian organizations have been organizing data relating to the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa. These efforts include not only collecting statistics on Ebola cases and deaths, but also consolidating information about the hardest hit countries—Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone—at a sub-regional level. During HackEbola with Data, participants were tasked to use this data to address the following question: What factors are affecting the regional and temporal evolution of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa? We report on both the specific findings from HackEbola with Data and lessons learned on using such a format to address complex data analysis needs in future crises.