Stand-by/Surge Arrangements (incl. personnel and assets/ equipment)
Print this page- Stand-by arrangements - general
- ProCap, an Inter- Agency Protection Resource, managed by the ProCap Support Unit, hosted by OCHA
- GenCap, an Inter-Agency Gender Standby Capacity, managed by OCHA's Gender Advisory Team
- UN Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (UN-CMCoord) Officers
- Military and Civil Defence Assets (MCDA)
- OCHA's Emergency Response Roster, managed by OCHA Surge Capacity Section
- OCHA's Stand-by Partnerships Programme (SBPP), managed by OCHA Surge Capacity Section
Stand-by arrangements - general
Information summarized from the Guidance and Indicator Package for Implementing Priority 5 of the HFA, draft 2008, UN/ISDR & OCHA, 2008
Effective emergency stand-by capacity is a critical component of a preparedness system. Standby capacity should include monitoring systems as well as human, physical and logistics resources. The preparedness / contingency planning process should clearly summarise existing stand-by arrangements, and these should be regularly tested and updated based on lessons learned in responses or through simulation exercises.
A core group of staff from each sector or area with responsibilities in the contingency plan should also form the basis of stand-by roster for rapidly deployment in case of an emergency. This core group should be centrally involved in the preparedness/ contingency planning process itself, and should also participate in simulation exercises. Teams should exist not only at the national (and international), but also at the regional and local levels. They should have immediate access to basic communications materials (satellite phones, vehicles, support services) that may be necessary in a response. They should also be very clear on their roles and responsibilities and their reporting relationships to other service providers.
At the national level, representatives from key services and utilities such as hospitals and providers of electricity, water and other essential services, as well as political and administrative leaders, the media, public information officers and communications specialists should be involved in the design of stand-by arrangements.
The contingency planning process should lead to the development of systems to track both the likely needs and actual availability of essential goods, services and human resources that could be immediately deployed in an emergency, (for example, medical resources, food, water, emergency shelter, body bags and other materials; and human resources including search and rescue, communication, engineering etc. that are immediately deployable for a given scenario). These systems should track not only Government resources, but also those of other organisations, such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent, UN organisations or others that may be in the country and earmarked for response. This information should be immediately available to those coordinating responses, and staff must be trained and able to update them regularly during a response.
Depending on scenarios developed, pre-positioning of stocks in safe locations in high-risk areas should be considered. Plans should also include information on how and where additional supplies could be sourced in case of a larger than expected disaster.
ProCap, an Inter- Agency Protection Resource - ProCap Online
ProCap Project Description: ProCap seeks to enhance the UN protection response and contribute to global protection capacity through the predictable and effective deployment of personnel with proven protection expertise. It reinforces the strategic and operational protection response for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other vulernable groups in emergencies and protracted complex crises. It is a critical part of the inter-agency global capacity building effort central to Humanitarian Reform and supports the goals of the Global Protection Cluster.
Scope: ProcCap is an inter-agency project that responds to gaps and needs in emergency protection response through the (gratis) deployment of a members of a core team of Senior Protection Officers on short-term missions to UN agencies and by building protection knowledge and skills for the members of emergency standby rosters through the ProCap inter-agency training workshops.
- ProCap's Core Team of comprises senior, experienced Protection Officers (SPOs) providing full-time protection surge capacity and are on permanent rotation in the field on deployments of circa 6 months, primarily, to UNHCR, UNICEF, OCHA, OHCHR. Their role is to strengthen the strategic and operational response of the IASC Country Team and/or the Protection Cluster lead agency at national or provincial levels, chair relevant working groups, guide the development of comprehensive protetection strategies and build protection capacity in-country. The ProCap Support Unit is hosted by OCHA and can provide advice on how to request a gratis SPO deployment.
- Protection Standby Experts are the members of ProCap Standby Partners (Austcare, Canadem, the Danish Refugee Council, the Norwegian Refugee Council, RedR Australia, Save the Children for Sweden, Denmark and Norway). They are deployed for 3-6 months in accordance with existing mechanisms between UN agencies and Standby Partners. ProCap works with these partners to enhance the number, quality and effectiveness of the roster personnel, particularly through the ProCap training.
The ProCap project is managed by an Inter-Agency Steering Committee, which provides project oversight and manages the deployment of the Senior Protection Officers (SPOs). It comprises OHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF, OCHA/DPSS and an NGO representative. It is supported by the ProCap Support Unit (OCHA-Geneva), hosted by OCHA, which acts as the secretariat for the Steering Committee, liaises on and supports deployment of SPOs, works with OCHA on the training programme and tools and manages ProCap Online. More information including on how to request a deployment, become a ProCap Officer, vacancy announcments, resource information, etc. can be found on http://ocha.unog.ch/ProCapOnline/. To contact the ProCap Support Unit, email to procap@un.org.
GenCap, an Inter-Agency Gender Standby Capacity - GenCap Online
GenCap is a product of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Sub-working Group on Gender in Humanitarian Action. The main GenCap activities include:
- Deploying senior gender advisers (UN P4/P5 equivalent) to humanitarian emergencies for up to six months to provide support to information collection and analysis, programme planning, capacity building, coordination, and advocacy on gender equality programming.
- Assisting country actors to use the IASC Gender Handbook: Women, Girls, Boys and Men, Different Needs - Equal Opportunities
The expert pool includes some 25 GenCap Advisers, ready to be deployed on 72 hours notice. All gender advisers are deployed in accordance with existing mechanisms between UN agencies and standby partners.
The GenCap project is managed by an Inter-Agency Steering Committee, which meets on a monthly basis, providing project oversight and managing deployments of the gender advisers. It comprises FAO, OCHA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNMAS, and WHO. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has observer status. The OCHA Gender Advisory Team (OCHA-NY) acts as the secretariat for the Steering Committee, liaises on and supports deployment of gender advisers, works on the training programme and tools and manages GenCap Online. The Norwegian Refugee Council contractually administers GenCap. To contact the OCHA Gender Advisory Team, email to gencap@un.org.
UN Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (CMCoord) Officers
UN Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (UN-CMCoord) Officers are deployed to emergencies having a substantial foreign, international or multinational military presence: especially if the forces are engaged in relief activities or if their military activities are likely to have humanitarian consequences. When such actors are present, there are significant coordination challenges, e.g. ensuring that humanitarians have the access required, but do not at the same time become a target.
UN-CMCoord Officers, deployed in support of the RC/HC, are advisors and facilitators. They advise the leadership of the humanitarian community on civil-military issues and facilitate the establishment, maintenance, and review of appropriate relations between the humanitarian and military forces present. This includes issues relating to the possible use of foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets (MCDA) in support of humanitarian operations. Depending on the situation, they may also serve as liaison between the humanitarian community and the military forces. One of the primary responsibilities of the UN-CMCoord Officer during the initial phase of an operation is to assist the RC/HC and the Country Team in developing guidelines on the civil-military relations based on internationally agreed guidelines on UN-CMCoord in natural disasters and complex emergencies (see also the Normative guidance on specific issues-page). The UN-CMCoord Officer will also recommend to the RC/HC an appropriate coordination strategy and structure that could be applied in the emergency. The initial assessment will help determine if and how many UN-CMCoord Officers are needed in the near and midterm.
UN-CMCoord Officers will be deployed either at the request of the RC/HC or by the Emergency Relief Coordinator after appropriate consultation with the Country Team. The RC/HC request for deployment of a UN-CMCoord Officer is routed via the OCHA Office in country and/or the OCHA Regional Office to the respective desk at OCHA, New York, copied to the Civil-Military Coordination Section of OCHA, Geneva (cmcs@un.org).
Military and Civil Defence Assets (MCDA)
Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets (MCDA) provide timely, sufficient, and cost-effective support to concerned humanitarian agencies and/or disaster-stricken countries. MCDA consists of relief personnel, equipment, supplies, and services provided by foreign military and civil defence organisations for international humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations considers foreign MCDA to be the last resort/complementary to civilian assets in responding to humanitarian emergencies. UN humanitarian agencies should only request these assets when there are no other assets available. Should the RC/HC - after acceptance from the disaster-stricken country - decide it is appropriate to use MCDAs in support of the humanitarian operation and these are not available/already deployed to the country, a request for foreign UN MCDA is channelled via the OCHA Country and/or OCHA Regional Office to the relevant desk at OCHA-New York, copied to the Civil-Military Coordination Section of OCHA, Geneva (cmcs@un.org). UN MCDA are military or civil defence assets solely deployed to support the humanitarian operation - and under UN humanitarian control.
Military and civil defence forces deployed other than through UN MCDA are called: "Other Deployed Forces". The mission of these forces can be divided into four categories: i) peacetime, ii) UN commanded peacekeeping operations, iii) other peace operations/peace support, and iv) combat. The mission of a force is the primary factor that determines a unit's availability and appropriateness to humanitarian tasks, as it impacts on whether or not it will be perceived by others as neutral and impartial. The request for "Other Deployed Forces" to support the humanitarian operation follows country specific procedures.
Advice on whether or not to use UN MCDA and/or "Other Deployed Forces" in support of the UN humanitarian operation can be obtained from either the UN-CMCoord Officer (link to specific text) - if deployed - or OCHA's Civil-Military Coordination Section (cmcs@un.org).
OCHA's Emergency Response Roster (ERR)
The ERR is OCHA’s main internal tool for the rapid deployment of surge capacity personnel. Launched in November 2007, the ERR aims to provide timely support to OCHA field structures and UN/IASC Country Teams in sudden/unforeseen emergencies. There are three four-month ERR rotations per year (Dec-Mar, Apr-Jul, Aug-Nov). The ERR comprises a total of fourteen generalist Humanitarian Affairs Officers (HAOs) and administrative/operational support staff at various levels (P1-P5; GS; and National Officers). All ERR members are current OCHA staff. Its activation is regulated by specific criteria to promote critical and moderate use so as to not unduly strain operations of releasing offices. The deployment duration is 6 weeks. The deployment size varies from one to fourteen members, depending on the scale of the emergency situation.
For more information, please consult the the ERR Policy Instruction and the ERR Procedures, which include amongst others the Official Request Form for an ERR Deployment and the Application Form to Join the OCHA ERR Roster.
OCHA's Stand-By Partnerships Programme (SBPP):
Through the SBPP, the Surge Capacity Section maintains MoUs with external partners on the provision of 'gratis experts' for temporary support to OCHA field and regional offices confronted with sudden emergencies and increases in workload. The prodecures for requesting such support are outlined in the following documents: the "Stand-by Partners Procedures Step-by-Step" and the "Guidelines for OCHA HQ Staff Requesting Stand-by Partner Personnel from Organisations Outside the UN System".
OCHA’s current Stand-By Partner Organizations are:
- Austcare;
- Canadem;
- UK Department for International Development (DFID);
- Danish Refugee Council (DRC);
- Irish Aid;
- Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC);
- RedR Australia; and
- Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA).
The majority of the SBPP secondees were HAOs (P2-P4) and Donor/NGO Liaison Officers. Occasionally, however, the programme has also provided other, more technically specialized, profiles such as IT Specialists, Cimcoord and Information Management Officers. This approach will be strengthened in the future. In the vast majority of cases, SBPP deployments are to Africa, especially Sudan, where 59 of the total 174 experts were seconded.
Specific requirements to the deployment procedures: At the end of their assingment with OCHA, Stand-By Partner (SBP) experts are requested to submit to their respective focal point in the Stand-By Partner organization an evaluation form (e.g. Evaluation form-DFID, Evaluation Form-DRC, Evaluation Form-NRC and Evaluation Form-RedR Australia) completed by their OCHA supervisor. Later, the evaluation form will be shared by the respective Stand-By Partner organization with Surge Capacity Section.