New digital technologies provide social and economic opportunities for the logistics of accommodating refugees. The researchers are developing an expert system to optimise the logistics process in a socially responsible manner, taking into account the ethical and social aspects and the interests of all stakeholders.

Optimising the logistics of refugee work is a challenge. Consider, for example, the question of which regions have the capacity to accommodate refugees and the availability of beds. How and where refugees are accommodated has a major social impact.

Complex issues

The problems in the logistics process are related to scalability and planning certainty. It is difficult to predict the influx of refugees, for example. At the same time, asylum applications are expected to be processed quickly and accurately. Refugees also regularly have to move to a different location, which is undesirable for everyone. This raises questions such as:

• How can a system unify these complex issues, provide the necessary information and optimise the process?
• How would the system contribute to effective use of people and resources?

Expert system

The research team will develop an expert system based on agent-based modelling and process mining. With agent-based modelling, the effect of the actions and interactions of the individual agents and situations on the system is studied as a whole. Process mining is a technology-based method to visualise the actual implementation of logistics processes. To optimise the logistics procedure, different scenarios are examined on the basis of simulations in the expert system.

refugees, ICT, humanitarian logistics