• Simulations
• Building Trust in Diverse Teams
• National Staff Development
• Staff Retention and Turnover
• Surge Capacity Research
• Other initiatives
  • Exchange Visits and the Staff Capacity Framework
  • ICT Skills Building
  • ICT4emergencies
  • Information Technology use in Emergency Responses
  • Staff Capacity Metrics Dashboard

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What is it?

A comprehensive assessment of the ways in which technology is used in emergency response, from both the headquarters and the field perspective.

Why is it useful?

Gives an overview of this critical area, identifies good practice and provides the starting point for further work.

The ECB ICT initiative began with a comprehensive assessment of how ICTs are used in emergencies. This assessment, the first of its kind, demonstrated that coherent ICT strategies coupled with the need for investment in ICT skills in the field are vital for effective emergency responses. See the reports at right for details.

Key Findings included:

• A more coherent approach to ICT and information management is essential. ICT management is fragmented within agencies between IT, radio communications and telephony; information flows are hindered by lack of clarity of roles and requirements.
• Information flow between headquarters, country office and field offices must be defined and synchronized. Bottlenecks between offices are more problematic than weaknesses within offices, and a current lack of clarity obstructs the work of all staff.
• The result of the problems identified by the assessment is that agencies are unable to learn from experience and build institutional memory to inform future programming. Agencies must address this, particularly in face of high rates of staff turnover.
• External partnerships are essential: we do not possess the capacity to address every aspect of ICT. Private sector actors are vital, but we must continue to exercise diligence to ensure that the relationship is demand-driven and not supply-led.