MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab
Engineering supply chains to support livelihoods
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About Us
The mission of the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab is to understand and improve the supply chain systems behind public services and private markets to meet human needs. Our lab combines MIT expertise in engineering, management, information technology, social science, economics, urban planning, and other disciplines to drive practical innovation for humanitarian interventions.
The lab’s emerging market efforts support emergency response by strengthening supply chains in vulnerable communities to increase resiliency.
Our Research Areas
To make humanitarian supply chains more effective and efficient, MIT uses a research approach that mixes observation, development, and application:
- Empirical research to develop theory on humanitarian decision-making and to characterize how supply chains operate in resource-constrained contexts.
- Scientific development of evidence and tools to improve supply chains.
- Practical application by shaping policies and upgrading skills via education and training and in various organizations and communities.
Emergency Response
Emerging Market Development
Our Partners & Sponsors
Updates from the Lab
Using a Systems Approach to understand Markets and Resilience in Karamoja, Uganda
As part of its work in Uganda, the USAID/Uganda Feed the Future Market System Monitoring (MSM) Activity applied a systems approach to understanding the Karamoja region, the focus of humanitarian and resilience programming in Uganda. Using the System Pathways...
COVID Rapid System Assessment
Through an engagement with USAID/Uganda, our team (the Feed the Future Market System Monitoring Activity) developed the System Pathways Toolkit, a framework for mapping and measuring complex systems. The approach was adapted from causal loop diagrams and modified to...
Jarrod Goentzel discusses an interdisciplinary approach to sustainable PPE
Jarrod Goentzel is part of an interdisciplinary research team convened by the MIT Office of Sustainability (MITOS) to “shape mindsets” and identify sustainable procurement and sourcing strategies for PPE going forward.
Crisis Response – Rapid Systems Assessments
Results from Uganda and the United States Listen: Systems Mapping and Covid Assessments in Uganda Nearly all development practitioners work in complex systems, such as disaster management, financial systems, or supply chains....
Why is COVID-19 Testing so Difficult?
A Master's student class project can point us in the right direction. Earlier this spring, plans across campus shifted as MIT led physical distancing initiatives to protect campus students, faculty, and staff. As part of this effort, all classes for the remainder of...
Strengthening Post-Hurricane Supply Chain Resilience
Resilient supply chains are crucial to maintaining the consistent delivery of goods and services to the American people. The modern economy has made supply chains more interconnected than ever, while also expanding both their range and fragility.