“There is no one-size fits all when it comes to an emergency”: Emily’s reflections on our activation exercise

Last week the National Emergencies Trust hosted a session bringing together a couple of the forums integral to ensuring equitable and inclusive practice across the Trust - the Equity Scrutiny Group and Allocations Committee.

Collectively, we explored and exercised the immediate aftermath of an emergency activation.

Emily (part of the Equity Scrutiny Group) summarises the session really articulately below, originally shared on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab). Thank you to Emily for such a succinct write-up of the session, and thank you to all members for taking part.

What a start to the week! This afternoon the National Emergencies Trust ran an exercise, bringing together the Equity Scrutiny Group and Allocations Committee, to practise what we'll do when we activate following a national emergency.

Some of my learnings and reflections:

Information is everything

We are only as good as the data and insights we have, recognising new information will continue to come to light, sometimes years after you think the emergency is over.

Monitoring and accountability

A fascinating insight from John Barradell was the importance of not just monitoring the decisions made but also the data you had when the decision was made. Accountability is crucial for building trust.

Things are going to get complicated

There is no one-size fits all when it comes to an emergency, anyone can be affected and unforeseen complications can quickly arise. There is so much work done behind the scenes to ensure the Trust has the processes, policies and partnerships in place to quickly distribute funds while also being as flexible as possible to support the range of physical and psychological needs of people affected.

“Ensure no one is left behind”

This is one of the guiding statements of the Trust’s work. This exercise reminded me of the importance of centering equity, diversity and inclusion in our work. By bringing together a group of people in the Equity, Scrutiny Group, with different lived and learned experiences we support the Trust to make decisions fairly: ensuring that everyone impacted by a national emergency can access the support they need, when they need it.

Big thank you to Helen Killingley and team for organising and Dalton Leong & Gerald Oppenheim for co-chairing!

Read more about the groups and committees at the National Emergencies Trust.

Find out more about the Equity Scrutiny Group on our latest blog post introducing its members!