ECB Project on Twitter

RT @RexBrynen: PAXsims: Simulations and their use in the humanitarian sector http://t.co/SQAYi2vSDK by @davidhockaday @ecbproject 17th May

Download Guide

The Emergency Simulations Guide:

Available in these languages:

Tip 1

When assigning roles, seek guidance from senior managers in the country.

Try to have those familiar with the intricacies of the UN play the UN roles - the same with the person playing the “Big Donor” and with whoever plays the government official The journalist role player must be someone who can write quickly on a laptop.

Tip 2

During the pilot implementation phase, several NGO managers recommended that actual representatives of external stakeholders be invited to participate in the simulations. Others argued against inclusion of external stakeholders, noting that the presence of officials might inhibit mid-level staff from taking actions that could possibly expose existing preparedness & response weaknesses.

There is no simple answer to this; each context is different. Each hosting agency will have to consider how the inclusion of external officials will impact the simulation and whether their inclusion would add value to the exercise or not.

Role-playing External Stakeholders

Several roles have been developed to enrich the simulations in situations where staff or others are available to fill them. The face-to-face interactions between the NGO participants and those who are role-playing donors, government response agencies, UN agencies, and the media add a degree of complexity, dynamism, and, quite simply, fun that the memo traffic alone cannot.

Simulation-1-pilot-addis-ababa-role-play

The following table provides guidance on the current set of roles that have been developed for use in either of the ECB simulations. They are listed in order or priority need: the first role is considered the “most essential” to the conduct of the simulations, and so forth.

Roles	Essential? or Useful?	Comments
Representative, Big Donor	Essential	The role of “Big Donor” has replaced the USAID and EU roles (Roles 15 – 19 below) for reasons explained below.) This role ensures extra pressures will be put on staff to produce requested situation reports and emergency response project proposals and budgets. The role has intentionally been made generic to enable whoever plays the role to draw on his/her own knowledge of donor relations – whether that knowledge comes from experience with EU, USAID, JICA, or other donor bodies.
Media / Reporter	Essential	This role adds additional pressures to NGO participant as they undertake required tasks. It is a vehicle for disseminating information (through the “Simulation Times” newspaper) about the specific decisions and actions that are being taken in the current exercise. The media role also enables a critical debriefing point with regard to media preparedness: i.e., Were participants prepared to use the media as an opportunity, a tool, to push the NGO’s messages, or did they try to avoid interviews? If there are an unusually high number of participants, you can assign two to three as reporters. (CNN and BBC roles are provided below.)
Official, Host Government Agency responsible for emergencies	Essential	This role will have to be revised in each country to reflect the actual agency specific to the host Government agency responsible for emergency preparedness, response, and/or coordination This role is useful as a vehicle for requiring NGO participants to attend meetings or submit information, thereby increasing management and response implementation pressures.
OCHA Senior Emergency Officer	Essential	This role should be assigned if possible, especially in ECB simulation #2. It adds pressures on the NGO leader to coordinate the emergency response. Note: If you are running a refugee emergency simulation, use Role # 5 (the UNHCR officer) instead of the OCHA role: UNHCR coordinates refugee responses.
UNHCR Emergency Preparedness & Response Officer	Essential (refugee emergency scenario)	This role should be only be assigned if you are running a refugee emergency simulation. It adds pressures on the NGO leader coordinate the response with UNHCR. Note: If you are NOT simulating a refugee emergency, use Role # 4 (the OCHA officer) instead of this UNHCR role: OCHA is generally present to assist coordination of UN responses other than refugee responses.
Regional Assessment Officer, UN World Food Programme	Useful	This role can encourage logistics-oriented tasks and activities. It can be used to force the NGO participants to focus on the short-term, logistical needs of an emergency relief response.
Senior Programme Officer, UNICEF	Useful	This role can encourage protection-oriented tasks and activities. It can be used to force NGO participants to focus on the short-term, wat/san needs of an emergency relief response, but also on longer-term needs (child education, livelihoods, etc.)
UNDP Senior Recovery Advisor	Somewhat Useful	This role is assigned only if there is a perceived need to focus on (1) early recovery and/or (2) the long-term needs arising from the emergency.
BBC World Journalist	Assign only if large number of role-players	See comment for Role #2.
CNN Journalist	Assign only if large number of role-players	See comment for Role #2.