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EXERCISES, SIMULATIONS & DRILLS

Disasters are by definition rare events. Thus emergency plans and personnel are unlikely to have been activated or tested. Disaster exercises and simulations can help disaster responders and relief workers test and evaluate their plans and their skills to determine whether they are adequately prepared disaster strikes. These activities can identify potential challenges and training needs related to the coordination system, the equipment and the response personnel. Exercises and simulations can also be used to practice and perfect skills that have been learned. Drills are developed to prepare individuals or groups to do a specific task under certain conditions (e.g. fire drills to evacuate buildings, emergency response drills in hospital emergency rooms, etc.)

InterWorks LLC. has developed such activities for a number of clients. These activities range from table-top exercises for country disaster management teams to simulated conflict-induced massive population displacements for emergency relief workers to field security exercises for humanitarian personnel.

Representative Projects:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):
The Refugee Emergency Management Simulation that InterWorks developed for UNHCR simulates a rapid and massive cross-border influx of refugees necessitating an immediate and coordinated inter-agency humanitarian response, involving government, UN, and NGO agencies.

Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), 2004:
InterWorks designed and ran a mock medical emergency tabletop exercise as part of the GSDMA training of trainers program. The tabletop involved medical personnel and focused on medical policies and procedures needed to respond to a hazardous spills event.

Emergency– Save the Children Nicaragua, 2002:
InterWorks designed and conducted an emergency needs assessment technology field exercise - a simulation focused on conducting an emergency needs assessment and identifying priority response measures for communities affected by hurricanes and landslides.

United States Institute for Peace (USIP):
InterWorks produced conflict management simulation training materials –ten online simulation training packages for use by mediators, educators, and others interested in conflict management and peace-building, based on existing USIP conflict management simulations and case studies. These are available on the USIP website at: http://www.usip.org/class/simulations/.