Overview of the Standby Partner mechanism
10. Standby agreements between WHO and external entities allow experts to be deployed rapidly to WHO country offices (WCOs) faced with sudden emergencies. Each Standby Partner (SBP) organization (governmental, non-governmental and academic institutions) maintains its own roster or network of pre-vetted experts to fill short-term staffing needs and gaps in UN operations. The Standby Partners cover the costs of the deployment (travel, salary, per diem and insurance) and manage most of the formalities for the deployment; WHO benefits from having cost-effective and flexible temporarily enhanced emergency capacity.
20. On behalf of WHO, the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) Executive Director signs bilateral global agreements with standby partner organizations. The agreements are valid for five years (with possible extension).
30. The corporate policy on the use of the SBP mechanism was approved by the WHO Director-General through the memorandum dated 6 April 2012.
Engaging new Standby Partners
40. Partner organizations are selected based on their proven capacity in the following areas:
- source standby personnel with skills that match WHO and Health Cluster needs in emergency work;
- quickly deploy standby personnel to the field;
- provide standby personnel with appropriate financial compensation and insurance coverage; and
- work within the terms of WHO's Standby Partnership Agreement template.
50. Prior to entering a Standby Partnership agreement with WHO, non-State actors complete the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) clearance process. The clearance is comprised of a due diligence review (to assess the nature of the non-State actor) and a risk assessment (to be conducted in relation to the specific engagement with that non-State actor), in line with paragraph 7 of FENSA without prejudice to the type of non-State actor. In addition, non-State actors are required to disclose information on their governance and source of funding, including relationships they may have with the tobacco and/or arms industry through completion of the WHO Tobacco / Arms Disclosure Statement.
60. More information on FENSA is available at WHO's engagement with non-State actors webpage.
70. The signing of new Standby Partnership agreements as well as the renewal and amendments of these agreements is coordinated by the Technical Officer for Standby Partners (HQ) in collaboration with the relevant technical units (HQ).
Current Standby Partners
80. WHO currently has SBP agreements with CANADEM, Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), Government of Iceland, Information Management and Mine Action Programs (iMMAP), MapAction, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Dutch SURGE Support), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), RedR Australia, UK-MED and ZIF – Berlin Center for International Peace Operations. More information on these Standby Partners can be found at WHO's Standby Partners webpage.
Criteria for activating the Standby Partner mechanism
90. The Standby Partner deployees are meant to fill in short-term capacity needs for WHO's emergency response. WCOs apply the following criteria to activate a SBP agreement:
- a WCO is confronted with an urgent, unforeseen need for additional human resource capacity following an emergency;
- WHO is unable to meet all its additional staffing requirements with its own resources within the timeline requirements;
- WHO requires the services of the standby personnel for only a moderate period of time (3 to 6 months); and
- standby personnel will not act in a supervisory capacity; their role would be limited to advisory and/or technical operational work.
Contractual relationship between WHO and the SBP deployees
100. When deployed, the Standby deployees have a direct, formal contract with their deploying organization, not with WHO. They are however required to sign an Undertaking form outlining their responsibilities towards WHO and binding them to comply with all security policies and guidelines, regulations, rules, instructions, procedures or directives issued by WHO. The SBP deployee shall be fully integrated into the WHO offices operations.
110. In addition, SBP deployees are required prior to deployment to complete all WHO's mandatory trainings and submit the mandatory documents (passport, Declaration of Interest form, Undertaking form, PSEAH deployment checklist, Certificate of Good Health and supplier form).
Submitting a request and deployment through Standby Partners
120. The Technical Officer, Standby Partners coordinates between WCOs and the partners to facilitate support and rapid deployments. These deployments are subject to Standby Partner funding confirmation, as well as roster capacity and availability of candidates.
130. To formally request a SBP deployment, WCOs must submit Terms of Reference (ToR) and a signed SBP Request Form, which needs to include a description of the emergency context and a clear justification why the respective deployment is critical for the response. Standby Partners can fill any of the technical/advisory roles of the incident management system (IMS). The initial request should be for a period of 3 to 6 months.
140. The SBP request is submitted by the Technical Officer to all current Standby Partner organizations for their consideration. Once the partners confirm funding, they will identify suitable and available candidates on their roster.
150. CVs nominated by Standby Partners are shared by the Technical Officer with the requesting WCO for review and final selection (no formal interview or selection report is necessary).
160. Once the WCO selects the most suitable candidate, the Technical Officer notifies the Standby Partner and the pre-deployment processes are initiated. The deploying SBP organization ensures that all required documentation is submitted to WHO, in line with the terms of the SBP agreement.
170. WCOs may request extensions of SBP deployments at latest one month prior to the end of the assignment. To formally request an extension of a SBP deployment, WCO submits to the Technical Officer the SBP extension request form and the Performance Evaluation Report (PER) for the deployee.
180. At the end of each SBP assignment, a final Performance Evaluation Report (PER) and End of Mission Report needs to be submitted to the technical officer.
190. More details on the responsibility of each party as per the SBP agreement is available at the WHO SBP website.
WCOs should reach out to the Technical Officer, Standby Partners for all updated templates for deployments through Standby Partners (SBP request form, extension request, Performance Evaluation Report, End of Mission report, etc.).
Entitlements of SBP deployees
200. WHO shall provide deployees with support facilities in the country or region of operation similar to those provided to WHO staff: including office space, desk, computer equipment and telephone, ad hoc administrative, secretarial and IT support, and, where necessary, access to a WHO driver and vehicle for all work-related activities. WHO shall also, at the written request and at the cost of the deploying SBP organization, make initial accommodation arrangements by booking hotel or guest house rooms for deployees on their arrival at the duty station.
210. The deploying Standby Partner organization is responsible for
- all costs associated with the deployees, including paying their salary, allowances and benefits; and
- making all necessary travel arrangements for the deployees on their start and completion of deployment (including visas and insurance) and to cover the cost thereof.
However, in accordance and within the limits set out in its rules and policies, WHO shall (without prejudice to any other provisions of the signed Agreement) arrange and pay for duty travels to/from the designated duty station during their deployment and as required for operational requirements.
220. Deployees are entitled to Rest and Recuperation (R&R) according to the frequency and length of R&R in force under WHO's policy at the place of service. WHO shall make and pay for all travel arrangements related to this R&R but shall not cover any daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for the R&R in accordance with its rules and policies.
230. Except for payment of travel related to R&R or official travel required by WHO in writing during the assignment, WHO shall not be held to make any payments of any nature to the Standby Partner organization and/or the deployees.
240. WHO shall apply to the deployees the same security arrangements including Security Risk Management Measures (SRMM) compliance as those in place for WHO staff. Where WHO arranges for the implementation of SRMM specifically attributed to the deployees, such as residential security measures, evacuation or relocation, the Standby Partner organization shall pay or reimburse to WHO all reasonable costs arising therefrom. WHO will, as and to the extent possible, inform the partner of any SRMM specifically implemented for the deployees, such as residential security measures, evacuation or relocation. The deploying SBP organization reserves the right, in consultation with WHO, to withdraw deployees if the risk to deployees is deemed unacceptable by the SBP organization.
250. Deployees shall be considered by WHO as "Experts on Mission". Should WHO be informed that the Expert on Mission status is not recognized by a country which has acceded to Annex VII to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies, WHO shall inform the Standby Partner organization without undue delay, assert such status, and seek the assistance of the country's government in resolving any issue of the 10 privileges and immunities pertaining to that status. The Standby Partner organization shall have the right to withdraw deployees if the Expert on Mission status is not recognized. Deployees will perform their assignment as part of a WHO team and, being employed by the Standby Partner organization, shall not be considered in any respect as being staff members or officials of WHO or the United Nations. More details on the specific responsibilities of WHO as well as deploying SBP organizations and respective deployees are available in the agreements signed by WHO with the Standby Partners.
