CONTINGENCY PLANNING
Felix Omunu
Disaster Risk Reduction
Officer,
Oxfam GB
INTRODUCTION
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What is Contingency Planning?
Why do we do Contingency Planning?
Who participates in CP?
Where to do CP
How do we do CP
Key principles of CP
What is Contingency Planning
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It is an emergency preparedness tool
Looks at potential future event or situation to
increase readiness to deal with potential crisis
identifies possible scenarios of humanitarian
crisis, out lines coordination and managerial
mode of operation, establishes priorities for
action, identifies resources and capacities of
actors
Why Contingency Planning
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Effectiveness & timeliness of response
Coordination- Clarification of Goal, strategies
and roles
Team building among organizations- new
relationships and strengthening old ones
Avoids problems thru anticipation and over
coming difficulties
Pre-positioning resources, staff & partners
Who participates in CP
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Multi agencies- those who operate within the
area
Emphasis is placed on the process- effective
dialogue and engagement
Establishment of common understanding of
potential emergencies and response plan
An agency to provide leadership and
coordination of the process
Where to Plan
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Community Level
District level
Sub-regional level
Country level
Regional (multi countries)
PROCESS FOR CONTINGENCY PLANNING
(HOW)
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Coordination and preparing the contingency planning
process
Context analysis; identification and prioritization of
hazards, risk analysis
Building of scenarios
Overall objectives, specific objectives and strategies
for the response.
Management and Coordination
Process…
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Implementation of contingency plans
Updating the contingency plans
Sample questions
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Actors: What if the Government?..UN
Agencies?…Donors?
Population: What if the refugees?…IDPs?
Population Specifics: What if…Children? Women?
Young? Old? Numbers?
Location: What if…the location is a capital?Remote
area? Village? Region? Near border? Cross
border?
Agency: What if…NGO X can’t?…NGO Y can?
Then…?
Key Principles of Contingency Planning
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Practicability- realistic parameters, flexibility
Process driven
Participatory process
Follow up of CP exercises
Tested- through simulation exercises
Regular updates
Suggested Template for CP
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Executive summary
Context analysis & risk assessment
Scenarios
Overall management &coordination
Strategies and objectives
Sector/cluster response plans
Areas of investment for future preparedness
Annexes- key contacts, map, ppts, resources