WELCOME to the
CRS Emergency
Preparedness Workshop
 Please
introduce yourself
◦ Name
◦ Position
◦ One positive or funny
experience related to
emergency response
Objective:

To improve the capacity of CRS to respond
effectively to humanitarian emergencies.
Outputs:

best practices for future emergency response.

action points to ensure best practice in future
emergencies.
Why Emergency Preparedness Planning?
[ Prepare a brief overview of disaster risks in your CP
and recent history of emergencies and emergency
response programs.]
Why Emergency Preparedness Planning?
The CRS Strategy for Emergency Preparedness and
Response aims for CRS to be an innovative and effective
emergency prevention, preparedness and response
organization.
I.R.1 in the Emergency Strategy Results Framework:

CRS demonstrates a more dynamic and accountable
rapid response capacity.
Emergency preparedness planning is one way to achieve this.
EPP will contribute to achieving the planned
Outputs in the 2007-2010 Strategy:
1. CRS has strengthened relationships with identified
emergency response partners.
2. CRS and partner staff have increased capacity in
emergency response and accountability.
3. CRS has an improved human resource system to staff
rapid onset emergencies.
4. CRS has improved finance and resource management
systems to support rapid onset emergencies.
5. The agency has pre-positioned supplies and/or vendor
agreements for rapid deployment in the event of an
emergency.
6. CRS has increased private reserves of flexible
emergency funding.
Workshop Methodology
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Either: Analyze a recent emergency response and
identify best practices and lessons learned.
OR: Develop a scenario and identify best
practices for emergency response based on that
scenario.
Then: Define actions that need to be taken now in
order to be capable of implementing best practice
in future emergency response.
Six workshop sessions correspond to the six
outputs in the CRS Emergency Strategy.
1. Strengthened relationships with identified emergency
response partners.
2. Staff capacity in emergency response and
accountability.
3. An improved human resource system to staff rapid
onset emergencies.
4. Improved finance and resource management systems.
5. Pre-positioned supplies and/or vendor agreements for
rapid deployment.
6. Flexible emergency funding.
Who is involved?
Emergency response involves everyone –
so emergency preparedness planning involves
everyone too.
 Share the results of this workshop with your
colleagues
 Manage your supervisees throughout the
preparedness process
 Work together to ensure everyone in CRS is ready
to respond in the case of emergency.
1. Think back to the most recent disaster:
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What happened?
When?
What were the immediate needs?
What was the humanitarian response?
Draw a timeline and mark on it when the following
decisions were taken:
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Where to work
How to work (partners or operational)
What to do
Discuss how these decisions were made:
 What information was available?
 On what basis were decisions made?
If the disaster actually happens,
describe the scenes you would
expect to see:
On Day 1
On Day 2
On Day 7

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Imagine the response and rehabilitation measures
which need be taken.
Note each idea on a card:
◦ (red) cards for Day 1
◦ (blue) cards for Day 2
◦ (green) cards for Day 7
Participants present the following:
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Which partners were involved in the emergency
response?
How were they identified?
What were their roles and responsibilities?
What support were partners given?
In groups:
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What are the three things that worked best?
What were some of the difficulties encountered
and how were they resolved?
* Read the case study on partnership. Then,
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Based on the scenario of an imagined disaster,
decide what steps should be taken to:
◦ identify partners
◦ establish good working relations
◦ Support them in the emergency response

Write up to ten steps to be taken.
In groups:

Identify three best practices for ensuring strong
relationships with emergency response partners.
In groups:

Imagine you are briefing a TDYer who will be
seconded to a local Caritas where a major
disaster has occurred. The Caritas is weak and
overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster and the
funds they are receiving.

What 5 pieces of advice would you give this TDYer
related to partnership and capacity building?
Looking back at the best practices for partnership in
emergencies:
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What actions do we need to take now to ensure
future best practice?
Write each action on a colored card.
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What is accountability?
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What tools can be used to make emergency
response programs more accountable?
The basic elements of accountability are:
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Providing public information to beneficiaries and
other stakeholders
Ongoing consultation with those assisted,
exchanging information about beneficiary needs
and aspirations and project plans.
A systematic feedback mechanism.
Using feedback to improve program quality.
The basic elements of impact measurement are:
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Identifying desired changes in negotiation with the affected
people.
Track project inputs and outputs against desired changes.
Collect individual and community perspectives.
Explain methodology and limitations to all stakeholders
honestly, transparently and objectively.
Use information to improve program quality.
Tools in the Good Enough Guide:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Checklist on how to introduce your agency.
How accountable are you?
How to involve people throughout the project.
How to assess initial needs.
How to conduct an Individual interview
How to conduct a Focus Group Discussion
How to decide whether to do a survey.
Tools in the Good Enough Guide:
8. How to assess child protection needs.
9. How to observe.
10. How to start using indicators
11. How to hold a lessons learned meeting
12. How to set up a complaints mechanism
13. How to give a verbal report
14. How to say goodbye.

Groups A&B: How were Sphere standards used in each
stage of the project cycle: i) assessment ii) project design
iii) implementation iv) M&E?
◦ What problems were encountered and how were they
overcome?
◦ What could be done better next time?

Groups B&C: What tools or mechanisms were used to
make the emergency response accountable to the people
affected by the disaster?
◦ What problems were encountered and how were they
overcome?
◦ What could be done better next time?
After reading the Pakistan Earthquake Case Study,
and based on your own experience, think about
applying Sphere in the disaster scenario
response.
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What challenges will you face?
How will you overcome them?
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What actions do we need to take now to increase
staff capacity for emergency response and
accountability in future emergencies?
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Write each idea on a colored card.
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Common Standard 7:Aid worker competencies and
responsibilities.
Appropriate qualifications, attitudes and experience:
- technical
- knowledge of local custom and culture
- human rights, humanitarian principles
- potential tensions and sources of conflict
- implications of humanitarian assistance
- attention to vulnerable groups
- able to recognise abusive, discriminatory or illegal
activities).
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Common Standard 8 Supervision, management and
support of personnel.
Managers are accountable and ensure security, code of
conduct compliance.
Staff are provided with necessary training, resources and
logs support
Staff understand the purpose and method of activities and
receive feedback.
All staff have JDs, clear reporting lines and performance
assessments.
Orientation on health and safety issues
Staff receive appropriate security training.
Capacity building systems for staff are set up
Capacity of national and local orgs is built up.
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Vision: HR necessary for ER are identified & available. HR
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systems are in place to expedite action.
Principles: partnership between field & HQ
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Operating Guidelines:
- All appropriate recruiting avenues are accessed.
- All systems are streamlined (paperwork, JD, SOW, salary
scale).
- Staff resources are more fully developed e.g. cross train
staff and develop staff skills so they can cover for emergency
TDYs.
- A database of qualified staff is maintained.
- CRS has a technical track for emergency staff.

Vision: Systems in place to protect the life and dignity (physical &
emotional) of all staff (international & national)
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Principles: principles of equity and parity in treatment of all
staff across regions
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Operating Guidelines:
- standard criteria are used to determine staff care package
- provide avenues to ensure good physical and mental health
(R&R, morale, teaming, leadership)
- national staff are treated without bias and
a common
approach for benefits, evacuation, security ensures equitable
treatment throughout CRS.
- appropriate staffing levels to ensure capacity for TDYs, R&R,
illness and training
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Vision: All people hired by CRS have the professional
knowledge, skills and attitudes to carry out its mission
Principles: orientation, training and debriefing are key
components of EPR
Operating Guidelines:
- all new staff receive an orientation: mission, CST, justice lens,
org structure, principles of ER, situation.
- CRS has a training strategy for EPR
- Commitment to developing staff for ER (TDYs, on the job,
formal)
- Emergency experience is required for promotion
- Security briefing on arrival
- Debrief includes stress management
- Orientation, training and debriefing is monitored
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Keeping in mind the best practices & lessons learned
which we have just reviewed,
Go through the list of tasks. Decide who in your Country
Program is going to do what? Be as specific as you can.
Who do you need from the region and elsewhere?
If you need additional staff, decide what skill set you are
looking for and rough numbers.
Be sure to consider the three different phases of the
response.
You will be asked to present two things in plenary:
 an organizational chart of your emergency response
 a staffing plan showing who will be needed when.
Prepare your presentation on flipchart.
Discuss your experiences of fundraising from
these sources.
 Regional Reserve
 OverOps
 O’Neil
 Caritas Internationalis partners and their back
donors
 OFDA
 ECHO
 UN agencies
Two groups work on fundraising, two groups work on media
& communications.
Answer the following questions:
 Groups A&B work on accessing public and private funding:
◦ What was done well? Identify 3+ best practices.
◦ What problems were encountered? Identify 3+ lessons
learned.

Groups B&C work on media and communications
◦ What problems were encountered and how were they
overcome?
◦ What could be done better next time?

Based on the weaknesses and action points
prioritized, develop an action plan for the coming
year.
◦ What needs to be done
◦ Who will do it
◦ By when.
Propose a framework for checking on progress.
◦ What needs to be done
◦ Who will do it
◦ When.