SAVIT Catalogue

About SAVIT Catalogue

SAVIT Catalogue presents solutions from previous practices and research for the integration of spontaneous help in DRM. Rather than being an exhaustive inventory, the catalogue covers a subset of varied solutions related to the primary challenges of spontaneous help. The catalogue supports practitioners in exploring approaches to address those challenges. It enables them to identify solutions relevant to specific local needs and investigate these solutions as a starting point for developing context-appropriate adaptations. SAVIT Catalogue can be used as a standalone tool by those seeking to understand the concerns related to spontaneous help or by those looking for inspiration. It also serves as an exploration tool that supports SAVIT Tabletop Game.

To facilitate the exploration, the level of support to the main functions needed for the integration of spontaneous help in DRM is described. For example, a solution may be well suited for onboarding spontaneous help. The main functions are defined below.

For a subset of the solutions, use cases that describe situations in which the solutions were implemented and lessons learned are also described.




Functions for the integration of spontaneous help

Select a function to read its description.

Creating the conditions Sharing information Onboarding helpers Coordinating and managing Following up on involvement

Creating the conditions for the development and integration of informal help

The contribution of the population needs to be recognised, and potential challenges need to be known and anticipated.

  • Improving perception and understanding: Formal actors need to recognise the potential positive contribution of spontaneous help from the population.
  • Developing basic skills and knowledge: Basic skills of life-saving actions and knowledge of disaster response organisations should be developed in the population to ensure spontaneous help is effective and informed.
  • Enhancing and addressing rules and regulations: Regulations need to ensure the conditions for the involvement of spontaneous helpers, including liability and insurance issues for their actions.
  • Planning for resources: Resources should be considered in disaster planning such as locations, staff and equipment for the involvement of spontaneous help.
  • Identifying community factors: Characteristics of local communities should be considered to anticipate opportunities (e.g., social network) and challenges (e.g., language) in their involvement.

Communicating and sharing information

The population has critical information about the situation and local context, and accurate information needs to be available to guide actions of the population.

  • Gathering information about situation: Formal actors might encounter members of the population who can inform them on what has happened in the affected area, what actions have already been undertaken, especially when arriving on the scene.
  • Providing information to informal helpers: Individuals and groups willing to help might lack useful information about the situation at hand, for instance what the overall situation is or what the needs are. Such information can guide their actions or help them make informed decisions, especially when formal actors are not yet in the affected area.
  • Gathering local knowledge and needs: Spontaneous helpers often have a lot of information to share about the location, which can facilitate the work of formal actors: what are the needs of the affected communities, where vulnerable people are, who has special competence or equipment, etc.

Onboarding informal help

Informal helpers participating in the operations need to be known and accounted for. For instance, this involves mobilising, identifying capabilities, briefing.

  • Soliciting and mobilising: When the need for extra help arises, established registers of people willing to help and communication through media can help reaching out to the population.
  • Establishing and staffing a reception centre: Specific locations need to be established to receive offers to help, with adequate resources (e.g., personnel) to function.
  • Identifying individuals: It is necessary to register helpers, including to keep track of them during the event and involve them after.
  • Identifying capabilities: Registering capabilities (expertise, equipment) is helpful to decide on tasks.
  • Registering resources offered: Spontaneous helpers may contribute with various resources (e.g., money, housing, food, clothes) that will need to be matched to needs of the situation.
  • Assessing the potential contribution: People volunteering to help need to be assessed regarding their capabilities and the needs of the situation; and notified of their acceptance or not.
  • Briefing: People willing to contribute need to understand the conditions of their involvement and build correct expectations.
  • Developing required knowledge and skills: Prior to being tasked, spontaneous helpers might need basic information about the actions they will perform, potential risks and the organisation of crisis management. Training might be required to develop basic skills.

Coordinating and managing informal help

Once informal helpers are integrated in the operations, their activities need to be coordinated and supported by information or resources.

  • Assigning tasks: Helpers registering or showing up to help expect to be assigned tasks. People want to be useful and, if they have relevant skills, prefer tasks that make use of them.
  • Accounting for individuals: Staff in charge of spontaneous helpers need to keep track of who is involved where, ensuring all are accounted for.
  • Supervising helpers' activity: Managers of spontaneous helpers need to keep track of actions conducted and progress made in order, for instance, to support or reassign when needed.
  • Identifying spontaneous helpers' needs: Individuals and groups from the population might need a variety of things to be able to act.
  • Providing resources to accomplish the tasks: The conduction of tasks might require particular resources, such as tools and equipment. This includes especially protective equipment to conduct tasks safely (e.g., flooded areas require masks, gloves and boots to protect people from being exposed to soiled water and mud).
  • Providing health and psychological care: Managers need to anticipate that some spontaneous helpers might be shocked, hurt, overwhelmed or exhausted by the situations they are facing. They need to be sensitive to signs of distress and have resources to provide help when needed.

Following up on involvement

Informal helpers might have been impacted and need to be able to share their experiences to support learning from events for all actors.

  • Debriefing: The experience of helpers should be captured and used in drawing lessons learned from events.
  • Revising plans for involving spontaneous helpers: Lessons learned from events should lead to reviewing and potentially updating plans for spontaneous helpers' involvement.
  • Checking and addressing health and wellbeing: Longer-term physical and psychological impact of spontaneous helpers should be considered after an event.
  • Recognising volunteer contribution: Spontaneous helpers should be acknowledged for the time and efforts they contributed.
  • Compensating for contribution and expenses: While financial compensation might not be expected, organisations involving spontaneous helpers may offer some form of retribution (e.g., gifts) and reimburse potential costs endured.
Explore the catalogue (opens in a new tab)