Our work is about understanding and improving supply chains to meet human needs.
Supply chains are the lifelines of humanitarian action. At the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab (HSCL), we take a systems-based approach to improve the flow of essential goods into communities facing acute crisis or chronic shortage. From global to local, we support public agencies, nonprofits and companies that strive together for social impact.
We build supply chain resilience and scale humanitarian action through field research, scientific study, strategic synthesis, decision support tools and training so that humans are at their best when their skills are needed most.
Research Areas
Supply Chain Resilience
Modeling supply chains as complex adaptive systems, we design for resilience, identify interventions and facilitate private and public sector cooperation.
Housing Innovation
We engage public and private stakeholders in the post-disaster context to remove constraints and modernize the construction supply chain to meet housing needs.
Health Emergencies
We directly support health systems to surge medical supply chains during emergencies and to prepare for future outbreaks and disruptions.
Humanitarian Action
We work alongside public, private, humanitarian, development and community organizations on several continents in direct action and grounded research to improve humanitarian outcomes.
Research Projects
Educational Coursework
MIT SCM.283: Humanitarian Logistics
SCM.283 explores how logistics management principles apply when responding to humanitarian crises. After an overview of humanitarian operations, class sessions dive into the strategies, technologies, and management approaches organizations use for effective logistics performance. Class sessions combine interactive presentations, case discussions, and guest speakers. All students participate in a team project that utilizes data and information directly from sources such as the UN, U.S. government, and NGOs. (Open to students from MIT, Harvard, and Tufts.)
On-line SCM.283 syllabus
MITx Online Course: SCM.283x Humanitarian Logistics
There is growing demand for humanitarian logistics professionals given increasing climate change, conflict, social vulnerability, and supply chain complexity. Learners can earn a professional and academic certification through MIT Open Learning for SCM.283x Humanitarian Logistics, offered exclusively online through edX. Free to enroll from anywhere in the world for online learners who seek focused, accelerated advancement.
MITx Online Course: Supply Chain Design
CTL.SC2x Supply Chain Design covers all aspects involved in the design of supply chains for companies and organizations anywhere in the world. The course is divided into four main topic areas: Physical flow design, Supply chain finance, Information flow design, and Organization/Process design.
MIT Independent Study Credits
Graduate and undergraduate students receive credit for participating in Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab projects. One team of students, for example, worked together to support a U.S. government sponsored needs assessment following the Haiti earthquake.
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
The Humanitarian Response Intensive Course is a two-week seminar for graduate students in essential crisis management skills. The MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab provides the logistics curriculum for the course and facilitates logistics meetings during an immersive, weekend simulation. For more information, please visit the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
