GETTING AID WORKERS
DISASTER READY
Is your organization ready to help communities prepare for and respond to the next disaster? Are your colleagues and partners sufficiently trained to meet emergency needs quickly and in line with international best practices? In recent years, the rapid growth of disaster response standards and guidelines has underscored the critical importance of quality, accountability, and efficiency in assistance efforts. Disaster Ready-a free easy to use online training resource-can help your organization meet these challenges.
Disaster Ready is a powerful professional development tool that enables aid workers to access online training in critical areas such as personal security, staff care, wellness and resiliency, and humanitarian principles. It is a much-needed resource that will truly benefit a variety of organizations, particularly those focused on disaster relief. ”
OUR STATE OF THE ART
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
HELPS AID WORKERS LEARN,
PREPARE, AND COLLABORATE
Through the Disaster Ready Initiative, aid workers can share resources and information and access customized online learning anytime, anywhere in the world. By providing high-quality, accessible training at no cost, the Disaster Ready Portal allows aid workers to do what they do best: save lives, rebuild communities, and restore hope.
WHAT CAN DISASTER READY OFFER YOUR AGENCY?
- A free, web-based portal that provides training and essential information for humanitarian workers
- A means to better engage, prepare, and educate your team and thereby improve the effectiveness of your assistance work
- A way to complement and expand your agency’s existing training efforts
- A library of realistic, interactive, and engaging e-learning courses built by leading experts in the field
- A professional development tool designed to meet the foundational, technical, and advanced training needs of aid workers
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q.
What is the mission of Disaster Ready?The mission of Disaster Ready is to increase the preparedness and effectiveness of humanitarian aid workers by providing accessible, affordable, high-quality training.
Q.
How does Disaster Ready work?Disaster Ready is an easy to use web portal that’s accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Once a user has registered on the site, they can return anytime and as often as they like at no charge. This online resource provides disaster responders with free access to state of the art e-learning courses and other training tools designed by experts in staff development and humanitarian action.
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What type of training courses are available?Disaster Ready offers a wide (and expanding) library of courses in areas essential to disaster preparedness and response. Examples include: safety & security, disaster assessment, how to apply key humanitarian principles and standards, and how to maintain your own health and well-being while on assignment.
Q.
What’s the need or gap that Disaster Ready is trying to address?On the job mentoring and classroom-based learning are still fundamental approaches to professional development in the aid world. But due to the growing complexity of humanitarian action, they are no longer sufficient. With the sector’s increasing emphasis on standards, partnership models, and the ability to rapidly scale up operations, complementary forms of staff development that are easily accessible and affordable are more essential than ever. Disaster Ready has been specifically designed to meet that need.
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Who are the primary beneficiaries of Disaster Ready?From our assessment work and pilot testing, we know there’s a tremendous demand for easily accessible and affordable training within the humanitarian community. This is particularly true for the small to medium sized agencies that don’t have the wherewithal to build and maintain their own learning management systems. And that category includes literally thousands of aid agencies spread around the globe. In that sense, the potential audience is enormous.
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What humanitarian agencies are supporting this initiative?Disaster Ready is a collaborative nonprofit effort informed by an advisory committee of prominent aid agencies including Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, Project HOPE, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Mercy Corps, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), World Vision, Oxfam America, and others. These partners provide essential guidance and support to this initiative.
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Who is overseeing the Disaster Ready Initiative?Disaster Ready is managed by a small team that combines expertise in the areas of staff development, online learning, and humanitarian action. The Director- George Devendorf- brings over 20 years of operational experience in disaster preparedness, response, and advocacy. George’s deep knowledge of and contacts within the aid community allow us to prioritize our content development strategy as well as to establish the partnerships necessary for designing truly effective and accessible forms of online training.