Simulation exercises are a means to practice for disaster response. Having a good plan, and backup plan, are required, but so is periodically practicing the execution of the plan.
The following Simulation Exercise (SimEx) was a "tabletop" exercise run by Save the Children at the NetHope Summit in October 2017 in Vancouver. The following is an excerpt, to give you a flavor of the exercise. The totoal time for the exercise is 60 minutes.
Instructions:
For this exercise, your group will need to develop a procurement plan to fulfil the IT, energy and communications infrastructure for the emergency programme as it scales up. The procurement plan will need to be accompanied by a budget which you will create using the pricing which is built into an Excel budget template. Your budget must include set-up costs and then a 6 month run costs for equipment and staff.
Situation update:
A major earthquake has affected Ionistan (Located in central Asia). Multiple aftershocks have caused significant damage to the infrastructure in the capital city Latentville. Landslips have affected Ipville and Pongtown.
The Government and key department heads have relocated to DIngputta where they have a business continuity center. There are no ISPs or mobile networks operating in Dingputa.
Deployment:
Your team has arrived in Lantentville City where there is already a small office. Currently there is no internet, communications or electricity. The office is still standing, but all equipment is damaged due to flooding.
Your team arrived with a supply of the equipment (listed in the exercise). The equipment is now set up where the operations team is working from a tent in the compound while the office is being made safe and cleaned. As the programme scales up, it is expected that the deployed equipment is returned back to base for the next emergency (or charged to budget if retained as part of the response).
Scale up requirements:
Following the field assessments, the leadership team has met and have agreed with the regional office that there is an urgent need to scale up the operation. This means that new sites are required and that a new fleet of vehicles will be set up.
Security Update from the security manager:
In all cities, there are frequent protests, theft and muggings. On the road between cities, there is a risk of carjacking.
There is a specific area locally known as “bandit Country” which is classed as severe risk. Vehicles will only pass this area as part of a large and protected convoy.
What's your plan to deploy communications equipment to the offices in need?
What would the SimEx look like for your department? |