iMMAP held its first Standby Partnership Induction Course in Istanbul, Türkiye

Through a series of practical exercises and hands-on activities led by the Global Surge Team, our roster members were trained on the many necessary steps leading up to an SBP deployment – such as our HR and financial procedures and policies as well as on our reporting requirements and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). All of which are essential prerequisites for sound, safe, healthy and successful missions. 

Willing to jibe with the realities of the field, several simulations were scheduled throughout the week to prepare them for the challenging situations they will face during their deployments. For example, participants were exposed to security constraints and the procedures they will need to follow before, during and after their mission.  

To learn and share IM best practices in an innovative way, a full day was also dedicated to an interactive information management simulation. Immersed in a mock-up humanitarian emergency building on fictive datasets created by our team, participants were tasked to perform a Multi-Sector Initial Needs Assessment (MIRA), feed the findings into key strategic documents, produce several IM products – such as dashboards and maps – and share data on HDX, while ensuring P-Codes and other best practices implemented, prior presenting the findings, tools and products. 

Thanks to the presence of iMMAP’s senior management in Istanbul, participants were also able to meet and interact with iMMAP’s CEO, William Barron, and iMMAP Operations Director, Abdon Trowonou, during the week on a range of topics including procedures, policies, and iMMAP’s history and future. Moreover, iMMAP was honored to welcome Rhonda Stewart, Senior Humanitarian Information Management Advisor for USAID’s BHA, to Istanbul to share her extensive and unique experience with our roster members.  

Finally, participants had the unique opportunity to engage with leading Information Management experts on the rapidly changing humanitarian landscape during a high-level panel discussion. Joining with Ms. Stewart and iMMAP senior management were Zola Dowell (Chief, Needs and Response Analysis Section, Assessments, Planning and Monitoring Branch for OCHA) and Janet O’Callaghan (Chief, Field Information Services, a.i. Information Management Branch for OCHA), who shared their keen insights into the future of humanitarian information management.   

At the end of this intensive one-week course, all participants received a certificate of completion before returning to their duty stations or preparing for their next assignment with all the skills and knowledge necessary for sound and successful SBP deployments.