GESA – Global Emergency Services Action

As members of the Emergency Services (ES) community, whether practitioners, consultants, or manufacturing companies, we choose to take on challenges others shy from – because we know those challenges are often a matter of life or death. Still, we know that there is so much more to do. Our fire departments may not be fully equipped or trained for the disaster at hand, our consultants may not reach the practitioners who most need their advice, or our companies may not be able to provide service in markets where need is greatest. Across our sector we know there are gaps between north and south, between consultants and equipment manufacturers, between experts and on-the-ground professionals. We face gaps of knowledge and practice – how we design, procure and deliver service. Now is the time to bridge these gaps, to help communities around the world get access to the emergency services they need to safely grow and develop.

How GESA began

Founded in 2020 by a group of leader companies, trainers and consultants in the emergency services sector – including LION, Rosenbauer, Dupont and Holmatro – GESA works to promote widely available, quality emergency services globally.

GESA was born out of work done with the World Bank and other donors over the course of two and a half years, studying how ES systems from developed and developing nations are organized and supported.

Our results reaffirmed that emergency services are CRUCIAL to development…

but also that our sector faces challenges in reaching parts of the world:

• Procurements are often slow, irregular and difficult to plan for
• Best-of-breed tools, equipment, consulting and solutions are not widely available in growing Global South markets
• Greater donor attention and financing for ES projects are needed
• Most importantly, there is not enough information flowing between north and south – between equipment manufacturers, trainers, practitioners and planners

We created GESA to build the sector – to grow sustainable business and save lives

• Pushing for larger budgets and more ES projects to deliver to more citizens
• Developing templates, standards and tools for donors and countries to help make projects and improvements simpler, faster and more transparent
• Promoting regular, country-driven assessments of ES capacity
• Working with governments and donors to build citizen awareness

Membership

Membership of GESA brings a variety of benefits for businesses and consultants. In addition to increased visibility, procurement information and member activities, GESA members also get exclusive first access to intelligence we gather through our Global South work, created by and around the Advisory Council (described below). Through this privileged information, ES businesses and consultants have the tools they need to effectively enter emerging markets, grow their business and stay competitive on the global scale. Think of it as crowdsourced new market research for the ES sector.

The Global South Advisory Council

To help us understand and respond more effectively to the needs of fast-growing Global South markets, GESA has established a Global South Advisory Council. The AC – made up of experts, in-service professionals and planning professionals from around the developing world – advises GESA members on the issues faced by their communities and regions, and helps us promote solutions to fit the reality of underserved markets. Creating a dynamic flow of information is crucial to success.

A taste of insight from emerging markets

Our inaugural Advisory Council meeting was incredibly productive. One trend that came through in our discussion was the pervasive lack of adequate gear. Our AC members spoke about difficulty procuring the equipment they needed and how the equipment they did manage to procure sometimes turned out to be faulty. To get a deeper look at this issue, apply to GESA and help us move the conversation forward!

GESA is partnering with MDM to reach the practitioner community

GESA will be writing articles for MDM over the coming months, in both MDM’s e-newsletter and magazines, covering a variety of topics with a focus on emerging markets. GESA has also created a GESA LinkedIn Group where readers, members and interested individuals can get information and share their experiences to help better inform the sector and build bridges.

For more information, go to http://bit.ly/GESAction