As we wrapped up our latest Speed Dating event in Bogotá, the room was still abuzz with conversation. Attendees lingered in small groups, exchanging numbers, sketching next steps, and taking selfies with both long-time collaborators and brand-new partners.

We’d gathered as part of the NASA Lifelines & Twilio Crisis Readiness Accelerator, a program designed to connect crisis response & preparedness experts with technical teams to spark new ideas.

In this inaugural round of Speed Dating, we selected twelve teams from a pool of applicants across nonprofit organizations, companies, and government entities. 

Roughly half were anchor partners – organizations with deep expertise in crisis anticipation and response. The other half were technical partners, bringing experience in Earth observation, data science, communications technology, and design. Representatives from Twilio, Procalculo, and Mercy Corps also joined the day.

This cohort’s Speed Dating participants: 3iS, Alianza de Mujeres Tejedoras de Vida, Asociación de Cartografía Colaborativa de Colombia, GeoCorp, Cáritas Colombiana, Cruz Roja, DataSketch, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, OIM Colombia, IDIGER, UNGRD, Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, and Unidad de Busqueda.

Each participating team is receiving a flexible grant to test a new idea in partnership with another organization. The structure is intentionally light touch, with two reports over the course of the year, and autonomy in how funds are used. The aim is to incentivize thoughtful risk-taking and exploration, without rigid program/reporting requirements.

What We’re Seeing So Far

Several themes emerged throughout the day that feel relevant not only for Colombia, but for the broader crisis and Earth observation ecosystem.

1. There is huge appetite for cross-disciplinary collaboration. With 64 participants in the room, nearly everyone had the chance to connect across sectors and many left with concrete follow-ups already scheduled. We saw organizations arrive with a strong, pre-existing desire to learn from other professionals across sectors. Partners were actively looking for others with whom to test ideas, pilot tools, and solve defined challenges.

2. The foundation is strong and expanding. Colombia’s crisis readiness ecosystem is evolving. Many anchor organizations are already integrating Earth observation and communications tools into their workflows, and technical teams are increasingly fluent in humanitarian realities.  However, funding over the past year+ has been dramatically cut, leading to incomplete projects and changing teams. In this context, one role of Speed Dating is to help reduce friction, accelerate connections that build on existing expertise, and connect teams with flexible funding.

3. Teams inherently value hands-on experimentation. Participants responded eagerly to the open-ended call to collaboration and experimentation. The ability to test a hypothesis, try a new partnership, and learn quickly resonated across the board. There is clear interest in models that allow organizations to explore responsibly and iterate, especially in a space where technology and context are both evolving rapidly.

4. Structured spaces for exchange create tangible value. Several participants noted that while informal networks exist, structured cross-sector convenings remain limited. As funding pressures increase and crises grow more complex, these types of convenings can help reduce duplication, align investments, and strengthen collective outcomes.

“Muy buenas conexiones y nuevos panoramas; contactos y planes concretos de colaboración con varias de las instituciones presentes.”

“Muchos contactos, muchas ideas, y posibilidades de hacer cosas nuevas y con enfoques diferentes.”

What’s Next

This week, we received eleven new project partnership plans that emerged from these Speed Dating conversations. The projects span topics like riverine search operations, climate early warning systems, institutional data governance, and community-led environmental defense – from Putumayo and Ayapel to Córdoba and Bogotá. They combine satellite data (Sentinel, Landsat, IMERG, CHIRPS), communications technologies (WhatsApp, SMS, AI chatbots), and participatory methodologies to strengthen monitoring, response, and decision-making. Over the coming months, Speed Dating teams will test their hypotheses and report back on what worked, what didn’t, and what can scale.

We are also kicking off the Colombia edition of the Ready for Impact program, where selected organizations will refine and pitch scalable solutions leveraging satellite data and communications technologies for humanitarian impact. The program culminates with an in-person pitch competition held in Bogotá in June – stay tuned for an invite!

If gatherings like this would be useful in your region or network, let’s talk. We’re happy to share what we’ve learned and to keep strengthening links between satellite data, communications tools, and crisis readiness in practical ways.