ECHO-JRC partnership: the key to success in UCPM training
This article looks at the Training Management and Registration Tool, a platform developed by the JRC in collaboration with DG ECHO.
By Knowledge Network – Staff member
Training for civil protection and disaster management experts across Europe has advanced significantly in the last six months, following the launch of the new Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) Training Programme in September 2023. Established in 2004, the programme recently underwent a thorough revision, introducing 16 new courses, with 11 already operational. However, the success of the new training offer for civil protection and disaster management does not only stem from the modernisation of the programme and the deep involvement of EU Member States and UCPM Participating States – it is a result of the partnership between DG ECHO and the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The collaboration between the JRC and DG ECHO has been instrumental in the development of the UCPM Training Programme. A notable outcome of this collaboration is the creation of the "Training Management and Registration Tool". Developed by the JRC at the request of DG ECHO, the tool has considerably eased the sometimes complex process of training nomination, registration, and selection of experts for training courses in a swift and effective manner and quickly became an integral part of the UCPM Training Programme's implementation.
The tool is visible and accessible via the ERCC portal to authorised users only, either programme managers or beneficiaries, including DG ECHO as administrator, the National Training Coordinators (NTCs), the training organisers, and the national experts from the EU Member States and UCPM Participating States. In 2023, the system facilitated the automated applications of over 1,400 national experts, with 370 of these being first-time applicants.
The tool has been further developed recently to facilitate the nomination, registration and selection process of response capacities and experts to UCPM exercises, in particular in EU MODEX exercises.
Within the Training Management and Registration Tool created by JRC, there are two different systems in place. The first is the Online Registration Tool (ORT), essential for the work of NTCs responsible for identifying, managing, and maintaining the national system of experts and stakeholders enrolled in the UCPM Training, Exercises and Exchange of Experts Programmes, ensuring that qualified and competent experts and staff are trained to support UCPM activities and operations on the ground. In the ORT, NTCs can nominate candidates to attend UCPM training courses and exercises. Experts themselves need to complete the registration form in the tool, and NTCs validate their submissions afterwards.
Another product of DG ECHO-JRC partnership is the Experts Database. Here, NTCs can find a list of all the registered experts from their own country, which they are recommended to regularly verify. Whenever the list needs to be updated, NTCs inform DG ECHO. Another functionality is at the disposal of NTCs for them to better perform their role: the Experts Database Statistics. This section of the Experts Database is especially useful to extract and visualise data on experts. Among other things, it is possible to get an overview and aggregate data on different filters such as attending experts, type of courses, number of nominations and deployments.
There are guides and tutorials available on the Training Management and Registration Tool to help the users. There is also a help section in the tool for more information and support.
The UCPM has come a long way since it was established and has evolved into a complex framework, where the NTC plays an essential role supporting experts in all parts of their learning journey at the European level, to help develop their skills and reinforce the learning.
This collaboration between DG ECHO and JRC is key in the training of civil protection and disaster management experts – it eases the nomination, registration, and the selection process within the UCPM Training and Exercises Programme, while offering valuable data on each expert in a centralised, efficient way.
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The Knowledge Network – Staff member
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