General
10. WHO OSL is committed to ensuring that OSL capacity building of personnel involved in Operation Support and Logistics is complementary, integrated, and impactful.
20. Investment in capacity building through coordinated learning and training activities ensures that all personnel are prepared for and respond effectively to health emergencies.
30. OSL utilized opportunities within the Organization's "transformation phase" and recent integrated training to develop a specific OSL Learning and Development Strategy and associated learning tools to support the learning and effectiveness of OSL personnel in emergencies.
OSL Values
40. While OSL adheres to the WHO core values, the Learning and capacity building of OSL personnel are anchored on a set of values and principals specifically relevant to OSL competencies and expected behaviours in operations.
50. Accountability: OSL is accountable to people in need, the WHO team and our partners. While results-driven, OSL personnel ensure the highest levels of accountability and transparency for WHO resources.
60. Diversity: OSL personnel respect and promote a diverse range of opinions, backgrounds, experiences, education, culture, gender and skills. OSL is committed to promoting complementarity between local and international actors in the best interest of the effectiveness of the response.
70. Quality: OSL ensures fast, quality, impactful and sustainable operation support and logistics resources that are efficient, effective and fit for purpose.
OSL Principles
80. OSL seeks to build internal WHO and external capacities by sharing learning and transferring knowledge to empower local and national teams and making Regional Offices and HQ OSL interventions as quickly unnecessary as possible. To achieve these objectives, OSL operations respect the following principles:
90. Flexibility & Adaptability: OSL is adaptable to match operational requirements.
100. Professionalism: OSL personnel are professional in all aspects of their work. This includes acting humbly with fortitude, persistence, diligence and applying a service mindset to support others while working as effectively and efficiently as possible.
110. Coordination: OSL actively participates in and promotes relevant internal and external coordination with partners and local actors.
120. Quality, Good Practices & Standards: OSL sets, meets, and exceeds emergency health logistics and supply chain standards.
130. Continuous Learning: OSL identifies risks, challenges, areas of improvement, and non-compliance; OSL proposes and implements corrective actions; OSL disseminates lessons learned, preventative actions and good practices.
140. Cheerfulness and positivity: Even in difficult times, OSL personnel maintain a positive attitude and environment, always being respectful of one another.
OSL Learning Approach & Pathways
150. A comprehensive system of OSL training resources, guided by the OSL Learning and Development Strategy and training development tools, exists and keeps developing to create a ready, willing, able and diversified workforce of excellence for OSL work in emergencies.
160. OSL Learning resources are available to all personnel preparing for and/or supporting emergency response operations under the OSL pillar and the other response teams working closely with OSL during emergencies.
170. Specifically, OSL Learning seeks to promote the effective integration of key operation support functions, including Security, Staff well-being, Human Resource Management, Planning, Administration and Finance, Procurement, and Health Logistics.
180. WHO OSL takes a pragmatic approach to learning and development at headquarters, regional and country office levels, and in working with its partners to prioritize capacity building of in-country personnel that can be repurposed and deployed simply to emergencies.
190. To promote OSL personnel development and motivation at all levels of the Organization, OSL Learning requirements and pathways follow the high-level learning framework below:
200. WHO OSL training and learning modalities and formats are adapted for effective delivery to target audiences and learning objectives depending on the context and nature of the emergencies. Learning modalities include multilingual OSL resource packs, interactive eLearning, blended learning, large simulation and desktop exercises, face-to-face experiential learning workshops, technical seminars, case studies and mentoring according to established adult learning principles.
OSL Competencies
210. The OSL Learning and Development Strategy provides a clear statement of OSL's environment in which learning initiatives take place and encourages a culture of nurture and exchange.
220. Nurturing implies investing in the human resources OSL relies upon centrally and locally to develop capacities and competencies by following known learning pathways and achieving requirements for each OSL position.
230. OSL-specific competencies are described in detail in the OSL Learning and Development Strategy competency framework.
240. OSL Managers and Team Leads actively embody OSL competencies and expected behaviours and encourage learning opportunities by giving responsibilities to OSL personnel to practice their learning. This approach also evaluates how the learning, including formal training, knowledge sharing, and mentoring, is impactful.
Training
250. OSL proactively ensures that OSL personnel and their Partners are trained adequately to fulfil their objectives and to understand OSL's approach and culture of the Organization in all potential emergency contexts.
260. OSL's Learning and development strategy establishes training development plans and resources to provide personnel access to quality and relevant learning.
270. Training pathways create opportunities for experienced personnel to enhance and develop their skills and to evolve their careers.
280. Training plans propose sufficient training for a prepared, competent and motivated Operation Support and Logistics workforce.
290. OSL Training is aligned with the OSL learning framework to offer foundational, technical, functional and leadership training related to OSL functions and terms of references.
300. OSL support deployment briefing process for OSL personnel, including pre-deployment, on arrival, throughout, and post-deployment briefing points on topics relevant to the mission preparation and end of the mission feedback and improvement.
310. Given the nature of responding to emergencies with other IMT pillars, the scope of OSL training is considerable and is in constant flux to address priorities and technical updates.
320. To the extent possible, experiential learning influences how OSL personnel prepare for and operate in future responses and leads to operational adjustments in real time.
330. Training priorities and plans are drafted in concertation with OSL network members annually.
