IMPACT
Impact of Standby Deployees
Rapid deployment capacity
Standby deployees are skilled personnel who can be deployed to crisis zones almost immediately. This helps United Nations organisations respond to emergencies faster, reducing initial response time and improving efficiency in urgent situations.
Development of local capacity
Standby deployees work directly with national staff, government counterparts and local NGOs, as well as in some roles directly with affected community members, sharing skills and knowledge that strengthen local response capabilities. This contributes to sustainable development by empowering local responders, enhancing resilience, and leaving a lasting impact within affected communities.
Access to specialised expertise
Standby deployees are specialists with unique, specialised and niche skills and experiences that might not be available in sufficient capacity in United Nations organisations.
Extended deployment duration
Standby deployees are in place for extended periods, allowing them to serve as a "knowledge bridge" across different phases of the response. This continuity ensures that lessons learned and operational insights are carried forward, improving the consistency and effectiveness of humanitarian efforts.
Knowledge and experience transfer
Standby deployees often bring valuable knowledge from previous deployments, in other emergencies and with other United Nations organisations, contributing best practices and innovative solutions. This cumulative experience enriches field operations, allowing teams to apply proven methods and adapt quickly based on real-world insights.
SBP Joint Monitoring Mission 2023 - Türkiye and Syria earthquake
Post earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, many United Nations Country Offices have benefited from significant Standby Partnership assistance. As at the monitoring mission, a total of 85 requests had been made by the UN Agencies, out of which 63 positions were filled by 14 deploying organisations.
United Nations agencies acknowledged specifically that their organisations wouldn’t have been able to deliver and implement their work with the same quality, speed, and scale without the Standby deployees on the ground.
SBP Joint Monitoring Mission 2022 - Ukraine Response
Standby Partnership provided a significant contribution to the Ukraine response - at the time of the monitoring mission, 128 experts had been deployed to 10 United Nations Agencies in Ukraine (70), Moldova (26), Poland (15) and to other countries (17) by a total of 16 Standby Partners.
United Nations offices specifically mentioned the added value of standby deployees in bringing fresh ideas, a different perspective and experience, and a new approach to resolving problems. They noted deployee's positive and proactive attitude in hardship contexts, strengthening capacity building of national staff or newly recruited staff and in bringing their technical and interpersonal experience gained in different contexts.
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SBP Joint Monitoring Mission 2019 - Mozambique Tropical Cyclone Idai
The review of Standby Partnerships support in Mozambique after Cyclones Idai and Kenneth found support was timely, extensive in its reach and critical in nature. Review participants routinely commented on “the particular mix of skills, experience and mindset” that deployees brought to the response.
Standby Partnerships provided the right people at the right time – people with a critical mix of technical skills, emergency experience, relevant language skills, and interpersonal and cultural competencies – who were also available to rapidly deploy.
