Project overview

UN AI Smart Mission Planner's goal is to optimize humanitarians' mission planning and travel resources, to cut down on planning time, accelerate emergency response and optimize utilization of travel resources across the entire UN network and humanitarian communities.

The challenge

Securing transportation and accommodation in a city is a straightforward task, but it becomes significantly complex and challenging when attempting to do so in remote, isolated deep field areas. The UN Booking Hub, managed by WFP to serve all UN organizations, brings together important services, but its complicated manual system for assigning resources makes it less efficient and productive.

 

The solution

The UN Booking Hub, run by WFP, is a worldwide resource that acts as a single platform for multiple UN agencies. It streamlines critical travel and lodging services, including guesthouses, UN aircraft, and UN soft and armed vehicles. This tool is dedicated to ensuring the safe movement of international humanitarian groups when they are on emergency missions. Thanks to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the UN AI Smart Planner aims to increase resource sharing and utilization and hence reduce waste, while recommending humanitarians the shortest routes of their missions.

UN AI Mission Planner Screen

Results

By streamlining mission planning through real-time, AI-driven recommendations, the UN AI Smart Mission Planner significantly reduces the time and resources spent by users and facilities managers. This translates into both operational and cost savings across humanitarian missions. Looking ahead, the platform aims to reach an ambitious target of 2,500,000 UN Hub passengers per year, further bolstering efficient and eco-friendly travel solutions that could potentially result in US$9 million in cost savings in support of global humanitarian efforts.

“Thanks to Google's expertise in AI technology, we are able to implement a proof of concept and are ready to scale across countries and UN organizations in just two months' time. We are delighted with the result and collaboration which helps more humanitarian workers to reduce mission planning time, accelerate real-time rapid responses, optimizes flights, accommodation, and transport resources to multiply efficiency and cost savings. It is also scalable to adapt to real-time changes.”
Gail Chan, Senior Innovation Manager, World Food Programme

Meet the team

Davide Picistrelli
Head Products and Services Innovation Unit
Gail Chan
Senior Innovation Manager
Last updated: 09/04/2025