SURGE CAPACITY SECTION

The mission of the Surge Capacity Section is to help strengthen OCHA’s rapid response by addressing emergency – induced sudden and critical gaps in human resources through the rapid and effective mobilization of and enhanced coordination among internal and external surge capacity resources.

Established within the Emergency Services Branch (OCHA–Geneva) on 1 January 2007, the core functions of the Surge Capacity Section are as follows: a central coordination and advisory role on surge capacity and rapid response within OCHA at large; and management of internal  and external surge mechanisms–Emergency Response Roster (ERR) and Stand-By Partnerships Programme (SBPP).

In 2008 and beyond, the SCS will seek: to improve cultural, linguistic (increasing the number of French, Arabic and Spanish speaking experts) and professional diversity  in its existing mechanisms;  to explore the viability of creating new surge capacity resources and mechanisms related to, inter alia, ex-OCHA staff, consultants, the corporate sector; to exercise quality control and increase the amount of training for SBPP experts and ERR members in order to deploy well equipped and prepared experts/officers; to actively raise awareness among all clients and partners on available surge capacity resources and related procedures.

Last update: 9 February 2008