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

The Global Surge Team crafted a five-day course to prepare and equip our surge roster members to cope with the many challenges they will face in the field during their assignments.


During the second week of May (May 8-12, 2023), the Global Surge Team gathered in Istanbul, Türkiye with 15 members of its surge roster for iMMAP’s first Standby Partnership (SBP) Induction Course with the long-standing support of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). Driven by the desire to support humanitarian actors by harnessing the power of information, iMMAP effectively maintains an active surge roster ready to be deployed to eleven UN agencies and one iNGO under the Standby Partnership Program.  

Committed to providing our roster members with all the tools, skills, processes and policies necessary to conduct successful SBP deployments in the field, the Global Surge Team crafted a five-day course tailored for technical experts, and in particular Information Management officers (IMOs). In addition to preparing IMOs for the intricate and unique challenges they will face during their missions in arduous environments, participants were also introduced to the values, principles, mission and operational structure of iMMAP globally. 





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 deploymentsuch 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 productssuch as dashboards and mapsand 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 



Learn more about our Global Surge Program at immap.org/global-surge-program and apply to join our Surge Roster at careers.immap.org