The SecDev Group, a Canadian digital risk consultancy, is teaming up with Albuquerque data analytics company RS21 to help metropolitan areas prepare for and recover from current and future pandemics.
Together, the two firms are developing the Urban Pandemic Preparedness Dashboard, meant to enable city leaders and emergency responders to understand the neighborhoods most at risk for contagious disease outbreak. By mapping vulnerability and resilience, the tool aims to help governments more effectively deploy resources, the two organizations said this week.
“Our team of data scientists and engineers, software developers and data visualization experts are excited to be working with The SecDev Group and leaders in crisis and digital response to support a global effort to respond to and bounce back from negative public health events,” said Charles Rath, president and CEO of RS21, in a statement. The dashboard combines infection and fatality data with information about the capacity of the health-care system, access to broadband and social and economic conditions, the release says.
The partnership between the companies began with RS21's Urban Health Vulnerability Index, a tool which was released last year to help identify urban populations at high risk for Covid-19. The application garnered recognition for RS21 — the World Economic Forum highlighted the tool — and also "caught the attention" of The SecDev Group, setting the stage for the new platform.
The Urban Pandemic Preparedness Dashboard app will become available in June and is "expected to be adopted" by 15 cities worldwide by the end of the year, including Los Angeles and Chicago. The SecDev Group has entered into partnerships with two organizations to get the platform to municipalities, according to the release.
“During major crises, access to actionable information is critical,” said SecDev Group Principal Robert Muggah in a statement. “Automated data analytics can help leaders make smarter decisions about when, where and how to better support vulnerable people recover and rebuild.”
The announcement comes after RS21 acquired Versatile MED Analytics, an Albuquerque startup which reportedly designed platforms for monitoring the drivers of health-care costs and performance. As a result of the deal, RS21 expected revenue to grow 25%, according to a separate release. As of August, RS21 employed about 60 between its two offices in Albuquerque and Washington, D.C., with plans to grow to 75 by the end of 2020.
The company was one of 17 to receive grants from the state's Job Training Incentive Program last month. It was approved for $120,314 for four trainees.
Health care may become one of RS21's biggest markets, with Rath previously saying that he could see the sector eventually representing more than half of RS21's portfolio, Business First reported.
