Operational safety, anywhere, under pressure
UPAS is an open-source, offline-first procedural guidance system built for humanitarian responders. Stewarded by Nuwa Centre of Excellence and Innovation.
Mission
UPAS exists to reduce cognitive load and procedural errors for humanitarian responders operating under pressure. We prioritise offline availability, provenance, and operational safety over feature breadth.
Field responders need to apply the right procedures, standards, and best practices — anywhere, even in disconnected areas, under time pressure and cognitive load.
Stewardship
UPAS is stewarded by Nuwa Centre of Excellence and Innovation, a Dublin-based organisation working with humanitarian and development partners to build responsible technology.
Governance Model
- Open SourceMIT-licensed. Anyone can use, modify, and distribute the software.
- Contributions WelcomeWe review contributions via GitHub. Security and privacy reviews are mandatory.
- Safety and PrivacyMinimised logging, no prompt exfiltration, and explicit governance metadata on all content.
Contribution Pathways
Report Issues
Found a bug or have a feature request? Open a GitHub issue with as much detail as possible.
Discuss Ideas
Have a question or want to explore a direction? Start a GitHub Discussion.
Security Policy
Found a vulnerability? Report it responsibly via our security policy.
Documentation
Help improve the docs, tutorials, and examples for field responders and curators.
Project Principles
Offline-First
Availability under intermittent or absent connectivity.
Provenance
Explicit source attribution for all guidance.
Privacy by Design
Minimised logging, no prompt exfiltration.
Safe Degradation
Graceful behaviour when resources are unavailable.
Browser-Only
No server APIs, keys, or external credentials.
Measurable Objectives
Minimise cognitive overload for responders under pressure.
Clear stepwise guidance, explicit sequencing, and role-specific context reduce decision fatigue in high-stakes situations.