Standby Partnership Network Meets in The Hague: Humanitarian Secondments in Times of Multiple Crises
From 6 to 8 October, 44 representatives of the Standby Partnership (SBP) Network gathered in The Hague to discuss current challenges and future perspectives of short-term humanitarian deployments. The network currently comprises 23 seconding partner organisations and 17 receiving UN agencies that benefit from the deployed personnel.
ZIF is an active seconding organisation within the SBP Network and currently maintains secondment agreements with ten UN partners. ZIF is presently supporting eight UN partners (IOM, OCHA, WFP, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP, and UNDSS) by filling 22 positions across country, regional, and headquarters offices. The primary focus of support is currently on the crisis contexts in the Middle East and Sudan.
Network Meeting to Strengthen Rapid Emergency Response
The bi-annual network meetings provide an important framework for ZIF to discuss current developments and challenges in the field of humanitarian secondments alongside other partners. In the first half of 2026, the SBP Network maintained an operational presence of 612 experts worldwide. The network's shared vision is to deploy high-level expertise rapidly to strengthen humanitarian operations and improve the living conditions of people where support is needed most.
The goal of these regular meetings is to continuously enhance the network's effectiveness and ensure that seconded experts receive optimal preparation and support throughout their deployments. Accordingly, the focus in The Hague was on peer exchange, knowledge sharing, and the further development of joint approaches.
Added Value Beyond Technical Expertise
Discussions addressed topics such as improving data management within the network, aligning approaches to localization, and reviewing the findings of a Joint Monitoring Mission on the role of seconded experts in humanitarian coordination across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The study highlighted that seconded experts deliver impact far beyond providing technical expertise. They contribute significantly to inter-agency cooperation, foster capacity building for local partners, and help sustainably strengthen local structures and coordination mechanisms.
Expert Exchange with Seconded Personnel: Coordination Under Extreme Conditions
A few days after the network meeting, ZIF organized an expert exchange with 22 currently deployed experts on the topic of "Coordination in Crisis Contexts," with participation from representatives of the German Federal Foreign Office. Drawing from their deployments in West Africa, the Middle East, and Sudan, participants highlighted the critical importance of functioning coordination structures for effective humanitarian aid.
Their experiences illustrated how coordination contributes to improving humanitarian access, ensuring a more efficient use of scarce resources, and advancing localization efforts. In the context of the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, coordination was described as indispensable for making rapid joint decisions, exchanging information, and supporting one another in overcoming operational hurdles under highly dynamic conditions.
Trust and Personal Relationships as Key Factors
The discussions also emphasized that humanitarian operations increasingly take place in politically, geographically, and operationally fragmented environments. Effective coordination—bringing diverse actors together, avoiding duplicate structures, and facilitating access to affected populations—is therefore all the more vital. Successful coordination relies not only on formal mechanisms, but above all on trusted relationships, personal exchange, and collaborative problem-solving. In crisis situations in particular, swift communication, mutual support, and a shared understanding of roles and goals are essential.
A Valuable Bridge Between Practice and Policy
For ZIF and the Federal Foreign Office, exchanging perspectives with seconded experts offers crucial insights into the practical challenges of humanitarian deployments. It helps align overarching strategic initiatives—such as the Humanitarian Reset or the UN80 reform agenda—with realities on the ground, deepening the understanding of how international and national experts can jointly contribute to addressing humanitarian crises effectively.