The Centre of Excellence
ITHACA - Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action - is a non-profit association, founded in November 2006 by the Politecnico of Torino and the Higher Institute on Innovation Territorial Systems (Si.T.I.). It is located in the Politecnico of Torino campus.
Through its partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) - the world's largest operational humanitarian agency - ITHACA is envisioned as a centre of applied research developing IT products and services in support of humanitarian activities. ITHACA is dedicated to scientific research, delivering methodologies, analytical services and technical tools which improve the capacity of WFP and the wider International community in humanitarian early warning, early impact assessment and other related areas. The initiative was realized thanks to the support of the Politecnico di Torino, specifically with DITAG - the Land, Environment and Geo-Engineering Department - and other partners such as public and private research centers, societies operating in the aerospace and telecommunications fields and other companies supplying territorial data.
ITHACA’s operational team is composed of experts from the academic, industrial and scientific environments.
ITHACA is governed by a Board of Directors composed of four members, two selected by SiTI and two by Politecnico di Torino. The Board of Directors is assisted by:
- a Scientific Committee of international experts, which formulates policies and guidelines on ITHACA's research activities and reviews and evaluates ITHACA projects.
- a Steering Committee, composed of representatives from WFP, the Politecnico di Torino and SiTI, which plays an advisory role, monitoring ITHACA's activities and promoting the association at the national and international levels.