This document discusses applying a business resilience framework to coordinate a multi-agency crisis response effort to a large earthquake in Turkey and Syria. It provides templates for prioritizing relief initiatives, developing a business case, assessing readiness, and evaluating energy levels to ensure the response is focused, sustainable, and delivers rescue, recovery, and future resilience. Applying this complementary approach can enhance project management and achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and impact across the relief agencies.

1. Delivering Crisis Projects with Business Resilience
Serhiy Kovela, Sheila Roberts, David Roberts
14:45 – 15:15

2. Resilience Professionals Ltd
In today’s world… VUCA rules the day
VUCA world… – a string of crises and disruptions leading to organisational confusion…

3. WHAT DOES THIS CRISIS MEAN?
Priorities (short to long-term)
• Multi-agency, multi-national response
• Rescue  immediate medical assistance, shelter, and food
• Recovery  rehabilitation, re-building and future-resilience
Context
• South central Turkey & Northwest Syria
• 6 February 2023, early morning
• Largest earthquake in 80 years
(area the size of Germany affected)
• Over 57,000 lives lost
• 1.5 million left homeless

4. MULTI-AGENCY NETWORK PARTNERS
• International Rescue Committee: integrated response in Turkey and
Syria, essential health care plus emergency recovery and support (e.g.
household kits, immediate cash and hygiene supplies)
• The International Red Cross and Red Crescent: American Red Cross /
Turkish Red Crescent mobilized catering, mobile kitchens + tents, blood +
plasma + psychosocial support for survivors
• Doctors Without Borders: teams reinforcing and supporting local medical
teams, as well as donating emergency medical and essential life kits
• United Nations World Food Programme: accepted donations to deliver
food within hours to those affected by the disaster
• UNICEF: medical supplies, water and sanitation services, nutrition, as well
as reuniting children separated from families
• Oxfam: developing short and long-term response plans

5. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CRISIS RESPONDERS?
Challenges
• Ensuring crisis response planning really works
• Embracing the right partners, tools and technologies
• Ensuring sufficient business resilience going forwards, to sustain delivery
in increasingly VUCA environments
What is required?
• Short and Medium term resilient approaches with strong focus on:
• Sustainability of the process (coordination, pace, and energy levels)
• Sustainability of outcomes (revised building standards and policies)
• Responding to crises requires speed, flexibility, and energy

6. BUSINESS RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK – RESILIENCE IN CRISIS
PRINCIPLES
1. Purposeful Mindset
2. Application of Tools
3. Capability & Skills
4. Elevated Energy
1. Progress Definition
8. Success & Learning
4. Good Alignment
5. Rapids & Lagoons
6. Enabling Teams
7. Selecting & Testing
3. Opportunity Assessment
2. Recognise Challenge
7
RESILIENCE Foundations
PROGRESS Cycle
ROLES
3
1. Regulatory & Governance
8. Evolutionary Portfolio
4. Innovation & Risk
5. Leading & Influencing
6. Enterprising Investment
7. Network Collaboration
3. Sustainable Operations
2. Evolving Vision
PACE Culture

7. RESILIENT FOUNDATIONS – ADAPTING FOR THE CRISIS
1. Regulatory &
Governance
Compliance with relevant
defined standards (e.g.
financial, sustainability, visas)
5. Leading & Influencing
Ensuring teams understand the
vision, ways of working and
facilitating others to enable the
team to deliver
6. Enterprising Investment
Rapid release of State and aid
funding. Rapid local response to
enable proceeding to reduce
immediate risks. Skills, including
partners, secured to deliver without
gaps which would cause critical
delays
7. Network Collaboration
All parties involved work to
accelerate delivery but stay in
compliance with local and aid
requirements.
3. Sustainable Operations
Modular design which allows
rapid mobilisation to crisis with
appropriate teams and
resources.
2. Evolving Vision
Short-/medium-term Vision of a
modular response system to
meet unpredictable needs. E.g.
Earthquake, war, drought.
8. Evolutionary Portfolio
Modular organisational designs
to enable response to different
types of crisis with appropriate
sustainable support.
4. Innovation & Risk
Risks are mitigated where
possible with fallback plans
developed as appropriate.
Use innovative solutions.
PESTLE areas covered.

8. HOW IT WORKS IN THE CRISIS SCENARIO
1. Progress Definition
Vision of immediate life saving,
then stabilisation and
rebuilding. Multiple
PROGRESS Cycles and clear
Progress Definitions to deliver
final Vision. E.g. completion of
re-building to new standards.
8. Success & Learning
Learning from this earthquake to
be implemented in future crisis
projects both co-ordinated for
early benefits where possible.
4. Good Alignment
Alignment of objectives for all
partners. Agreement on
immediate Value Initiatives, with
funding and project delivery.
Decision to proceed. 5. Rapids & Lagoons
Prioritisation of Rapids for
immediate response
projects and Lagoons to
sustain relief for longer term
needs and to build
Resilience Foundations.
6. Enabling Teams
Enable decisions taken at
appropriate levels to continue to
deliver at pace. Depends on
organisation and phase –
recovery and rebuilding.
7. Selecting & Testing
Identify criteria to test against
for each aspect. Check
effectiveness and select which
to use. Criteria depends on
phase and aspect – recovery,
rebuilding.
3. Opportunity Assessment
Immediate benefits of life-saving
and minimising impact of injuries.
Delivery confidence through use of
experienced partners to reassure
population. Medium and longer term
in future PROGRESS Cycles.
2. Recognise Challenge
Challenge level very high
because lives lost if delayed.
VUCA level assessed to be
very high, adaptability high,
very urgent requirement and
capacity, through partners
limited initially.

9. PACE CULTURE – TO GET AND KEEP GOING
1. Purposeful Mindset
All minds focussed on
delivering immediate relief with
local and national governments
and organizations prioritizing
activities. E.g. funding and
access
2. Application Of Tools
Source all appropriate tools and
utilise to optimise delivery.
Access to affected areas difficult
and need skills to operate.
3. Capability & Skills
Capability and skills assessed
in resource mobilisation
including from partner
organizations. Transferrable
and local skills important.
4. Elevated Energy
Teams, charities,
commercial, political and
population energised by
rescues of survivors.
Protect teams to maintain
energy.

10. LEVELS OF APPLICATION
1. BRF Practice applies at
multiple levels – from
individuals to network
organisations
2. It also scales to larger
communities, e.g. the multi-
agency international effort in
Turkey and Syria
3. We need to implement the
PACE Culture across the
Partner Network
International
Response Partner Network
Agency
Organisation
Department
or Function
Team
Individual
Governments

11. PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 1 – PRIORITISED INITIATIVE LIST
Need
Prioritise initiatives rapidly
Implications
• Prioritisation may impact lives
• Immediate and next responses to be considered
• Can use MoSCoW or any other prioritisation method
• Can apply to individual projects or the program of response projects

12. PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 1 – PRIORITISED INITIATIVE LIST
Prioritised requirements for the creation of Crisis Response Collaboration Portal
No.
Requirements
Prioritisation
(E.g. MSCW)
Estimated
Cost/Effort
(E.g. days)
Customer
Benefit/Value
(to Partner)
(Resilience
Benefit/Value
(Lead Agency)
Progress
Definition
(Req. Priority )
FORMAT: As a <role> I want <something> so that <outcome>
1 As a Partner I want to identify the type of relief items required so that I can
specify which resources I should mobilise immediately
M 2
Prioritised
Requirements
Sustainable
Operations
1
2 As a Partner I want to confirm the support which is being mobilised so that I
can ensure my resources are expected and match requirements
M 3
Schedule
Resources
Capability &
Skills
3
3 As a Partner I want to see how to access the area so that I can plan how my
resources and supplies can be delivered
S 4 Efficient Planning
Partner
Engagement
4
4 As a Volunteer I want to see where I can add most value so that I can make a
difference to the outcome
S 2
Feeling
Valued
Mindset and
Vision
6
5 As an International Aid organisation I want to see what other organisations are
mobilising so I can avoid duplications.
M 5
Network
Partnering
Network
Collaboration
2
6 As a Government I want to see a complete picture of the resources and
Partner commitments so I know what my total support is currently
S 2
Tracking
Benefits
Relationship
Management
8
7 As an I.T. manager I want to ensure that the transactions over the web are
secure so that donors have confidence in using our website
M 3
Cyber
Security
Application of
Tools
7
8 As a Supplies Manager I want to search and filter by size, price and type of
item so I can quickly search for the exact item I need
S 4
Logistics Innovation &
Risk
9
9
As a Press Officer I want to publish more information in order to encourage
further charitable donations to be signed up on the portal
C 2
Operational
Effectiveness
Enterprising
Investment
10
10 As a Coordination Manager I want to have a feedback facility so that we can
act on issues quickly
C 1
Communication
Responsiveness
Leading &
Influencing
5

13. PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 2 – BUSINESS CASE
Need
Decide on what is important and how it gets financed
Implications
• Decisions must be done quickly
• Money potentially not such an issue for a government, but may be for
small charities
• Help may be coming from other places – needs coordination
• Risks, timelines and benefits are vital

14. PRINCE2 Heading
Business Resilience Framework
Element
Resilience incorporated into the Business Case
Summary Summary
Include the important benefits, return on investment,
and how it strengthens organisational resilience
Reason
Emerging Vision
Adding how the future should look when the project
is completed
Options Progress Definition Identify the work which is proposed to be included
to deliver the progress required this cycle
Expected Benefits Opportunity Assessment In addition to benefits assess the delivery
confidence
Risks
Realise Challenge / Innovation and
Risk
Identify the external and internal environment
challenges and balance against innovation required
Costs Enterprising Investment
As well as funding need investment in talent
Timescales Rapids and Lagoons Identify if the initiative needs to be urgent or can be
done more slowly
PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 2 – BUSINESS CASE

15. PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 3 – RESILIENCE READINESS CHECKER
Need
Ensure the relief effort is focused and sustainable
Implications
• Get the right mindset and organising principles in place
• Must be done quickly
• Politically charged/influenced?

16. PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 3 – RESILIENCE READINESS CHECKER

17. Need
To sustain the delivery throughout the project, physically and mentally.
Implications
• Energy (set and maintain the right atmosphere to make sure you can
complete the work, however long it takes, sustainability)
• Critical to get going AND to keep going!
• Repeat this regularly
• Indicator for other elements (connected to the foundations and process,
tools, skills, mindset)
PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 4 – RESILIENT ENERGY ASSESSMENT

18. PRACTICAL TEMPLATE 4 – RESILIENT ENERGY ASSESSMENT

19. Major Benefit Earthquake Response Benefit
Stronger linkage between
strategy and execution
Secure re-building standards are implemented to be more
resistant to earthquakes
Reduced cost and rework Modular response delivery to ensure prioritisation of life-saving
Operational effectiveness Rapid optimisation for life-saving now, rebuilding later
Increased productivity
First rescue response immediate and then re-building to agreed
program
Talent nurtured Growing new talent and sustaining talent through opportunity
Predictable delivery
performance
Expectations met and exceeded by rescues beyond the probable
timescales
Resilience value flow
Planning beyond immediate needs to anticipate future re-building
and resilience needs
Improved satisfaction and
retention
Household needs to be met by increased optimism about the
future standards of re-building with international support
THE CRISIS – MAPPING THE BENEFITS

20. SUMMARY
• This crisis response is a multi-agency, multi-national effort
• A resilient approach to co-ordinating, prioritising and delivering the
Rescue, Recovery and Future Resilience is needed
• Business Resilience Framework can enhance the existing project and
program management
• The templates presented implement this complimentary approach
• Agencies engaged in the relief effort can achieve a greater level of
efficiency, effectiveness and impact.

21. • A work building on over 150 years of collective
experience and relevant expertise of a group of
seasoned practitioners and academics
• Introducing a holistic approach to creating and
sustaining a successful business in the times of
uncertainty, volatility, complexity, and ambiguity
• Bringing together existing best practice and
theory and unique new tools to build one’s
business resilience in an orderly fashion
• Providing a way of application that is tailored to
the specific needs of one’s enterprise
https://www.koganpage.com/product/business-resilience-9781398604643
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Business-Resilience-Practical-Sustained-Delivered/dp/139860464X
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MAKING PROGRESS IN THE VUCA WORLD

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