The Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) offers a framework for systemic assessment of existing regulatory, institutional and physical capacities.
It starts a dialogue and joint work among stakeholders of emergency management to design a practical and detailed strategy for policy action, capacity building and investment needed for improved response to emergencies due to natural hazard, impacts of climate change and compound risks including disease outbreaks, population movements and crises that require coordinated action.
This dialogue starts a paradigm shift from ex-post to ex-ante, from post-disaster reconstruction to preparedness. Building a culture of preparedness saves lives, assets, and resources as well as improves development outcomes for those who are at risk. This opportunity, coupled with the apparent and increasing need for an effective and efficient response in the first hours following a disaster, helps build resilient communities and institutions that are ready to respond.
Highlights
GFDRR’s Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) Program responds to demand for building government capacities to prepare for and respond to emergencies, through (i) the implementing global products such as the Lessons Learned Exercise (LLE) and the Ready to Respond (R2R) Diagnostics that are based on the conceptual framework developed by the program.
The Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) Program begins with conversations that scope the opportunity based on the EP&R conceptual framework. Then, based on the government’s interest, country context and the current system’s level of development, a Lessons Learned Exercise (LLE) may be undertaken, or a more in-depth Ready to Respond (R2R) assessment could be completed to identify investment opportunities to improve the national, regional and/or local emergency preparedness and response systems. Both the LLE and the R2R are scalable and can be adapted to the country context or operational stage of the project. As World Bank teams and government counterparts designate projects or planning actions to pursue, the EP&R Program provides focused support, namely the technical experts, knowledge products and technical assistance. Finally, the Program is modular in nature, meaning that the two products can be executed in full, or a specific focus could be on individual modules when governments have already identified specific gaps or areas for improvement.
Pillar 1. Demand-driven technical, operational, and analytical support to task teams for enhancing government capacity in emergency preparedness and response globally
The Program supports World Bank task teams to establish well-functioning emergency preparedness and response system through offering its two products as well as providing on-demand technical assistance and operational support to regional operational teams. The Program’s key offering includes the application of a proven framework to assess and design comprehensive emergency preparedness and response system improvements. The EP&R conceptual framework is grounded in the importance of multi-agency coordination to ensure that governments fulfill their most crucial obligation to protect the lives of their citizens. The two main products deriving from this EP&R conceptual framework are the Lessons Learned Exercise (LLE) as an entry point and the Ready2Respond (R2R) diagnostic as an investment planning tool.
a) Lessons Learned Exercise (LLE)
The Lessons Learned Exercise (LLE) is an entry point to advocate for EP&R systems enhancement and gather initial data before a broader assessment. The LLE analyzes a recent emergency in the country and provides key government, private sector, and emergency relief entities an opportunity to discuss the systems, procedures, and experiences related to emergency preparedness and response, and develop collaborative recommendations for EP&R capacity improvements.
b) Ready2Respond (R2R) Diagnostic
The diagnostic identifies both strengths and gaps of current EP&R systems using the Program’s robust and proven methodology. The assessment includes a thorough analysis of existing capacities to inform investment plans and provides clear and actionable recommendations tailored to the country context.
c) On-demand Technical Assistance & Operational Support
In addition to the two main products, the Program is developing and disseminating analytical products enhancing knowledge in EP&R and support task teams to mainstream EP&R in the World Bank operations. As a part of ongoing technical support to operational teams, a roster of EP&R experts and firms is developed to provide just-in-time (JIT) support to the tasks teams by efficiently deploying the required expertise for various projects across the regions. Finally, the Program will organize knowledge events or webinars to educate task teams and counterparts on EP&R practices, products, and projects.
Pillar 2. Development and dissemination of knowledge products for mainstreaming EP&R in Bank operations
a) Knowledge Products
This pillar is designed to address technical and operational knowledge gaps related to emergency preparedness and response. The Program provides technical papers and guidance notes on relevant topics, prepare template TORs and specifications to assist TTLs in project design and implementation, develop knowledge notes and briefs on lessons learned and good practices. In addition, the Program is developing various training materials for capacity building, such as training materials for Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and other departments that have functional or supporting roles for overall emergency management and response.
b) Partnerships & Experts
During consultations with regional operational teams it became clear that there is high demand for a comprehensive roster of experts and firms working on emergency preparedness and response to support regional teams. Ongoing market assessment is being conducted to identify high-quality firms and experts by skill, experience and regional expertise and provide a platform to connect the Bank’s teams with experts based on demand. The Program is developing an operational tool-database of experts and firms which will allow to quickly identify relevant experts and firms based on skills, experience and regional expertise. This tool will be available for regional operational teams on demand.