There are common themes to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of missions, as they relate to the pre-deployment and deployment phases: engagement at and support from the strategic national policy level, integration with other key stakeholders, and opportunities for greater synergies via bi-lateral, multi-lateral and regional approaches.

In addition to a troop contributing nation’s (TCN) national assets, UN agencies and departments, and other TCNs, and third parties can help nations to prepare for deployment. A TCN’s national assets that may be especially valuable but underutilized are its military liaisons, representatives and attaches, who are in positions to directly enhance their nation’s awareness, knowledge, access and influence from within the organizational bodies they serve in.

There is a tendency for military personnel to amalgamate, or merge, civilian issues and concerns. Understanding the differences and addressing them individually as they relate to sharing information, planning and training is critical to the success of the mission. Civilian policing issues, for examples, which are related to law and order, should not be combined with or confused with humanitarian assistance activities. Likewise, integration with civilians in information management and sharing, planning and training will result in improved outcomes of UN missions.

Non-state actors, such as the media, multinational corporations with business interests in areas of conflict, as well as private security firms and other contractors who may have a higher degree of interaction with traditional actors on the tactical level, have a direct impact on the environment. They should be accounted for in information, planning and training activities to the degree to which they may affect the outcomes of a mission.

Information

Various agencies and departments within the UN system will have gleaned information from reconnaissance missions to the area of operations that will assist nations in planning for deployment. This information will guide them and participating TCNs as to what capabilities are needed, the kind of short term training that is required, what kinds of environmental conditions will be encountered, and so on.

Generally speaking, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are the implementing partners for donor nations and organizations (including international organizations and other international bodies), and their efforts are loosely coordinated through UNOCHA. This may not negate more direct contact with particular NGOs, which will be determined by circumstances on the ground.

The sharing of information between civilians and military can greatly enhance the chances for success in the mission area. What needs to be shared, and the preferred methods of sharing this information have to be determined. Conferences and workshops are one vehicle that may be employed.

Lessons Learnt is a particular subset of information that should loop into curriculum development, to meet both short term and long term education and training needs.

An information gap exists between the UN and TCNs. Early engagement of TCNs in the planning process would help to bridge that information gap. The military advisor should provide the linkage. More PSO seminars would also help.

Planning

The security environment is evolving such that TCNs are experiencing increased risks and a greater number of tasks. Planning should begin as early as possible to ensure the complexities of the modern security environment are taken into account.

Steps can be taken to improve the relationship between TCNs and UNDPKO. Operational planning would be positively impacted by commitment from various nations’ military and civilian police, and NGOs and IOs. A common template for planning procedures would also help.

Technology can be employed for collaborative planning over great distances and across a broad spectrum of organizations. Planning, including integrated planning across agencies and organizations, should be part of an exercise training program, and technology can assist.

Earlier planning will help TCNs to address family support issues earlier, which will in turn benefit the mission by relieving or sharing of the burdens which arise for deployed troops, particularly to missions which have greater risks.

Training

The availability of resources and the existence of potential partners are key, intertwined aspects of training for UN missions. Conducting training in conjunction with other nations spreads the cost of the training and increases the depth of learning through the sharing of experience.

Participation in UN PSOs is generally supplemental to the primary role that a nation assigns to its military: defense of the nation. While some nations focus their military almost exclusively on providing military support to the UN, this is the exception to the rule. Because of the cost factors and unique aspects of PSO training, most TCNs benefit by syncing PSO training with their current training cycle, which is composed of six phases: induction, routine (or ongoing), pre-deployment, in mission, and post mission/lessons learned. The content of the induction and routine phases are typically focused on traditional military activities. Synergies can be most effectively exploited in the pre-deployment phase, which is a cost shouldered entirely by the TCN. Once deployed to a mission, the UN pays for in mission training. Opportunities for cost sharing again appear in the final phase of the training cycle. A mid-cycle assessment would help to determine the effectiveness of the training.

There are four principal models in effect today for PSO training: 1) A “clearinghouse”, which uses solely the current national training structure; 2) A COE or “expert” model, which is generally not resourced from in-house, but is an external center of knowledge and expertise which is tapped into; 3) A training center or institute in-house, which can be completely self contained or as in the first model, or more utilizes the knowledge of experts as in the second model; and 4) Contracting of outsiders in the broadest sense, such as the UN

Training can occur via an institutional support base (an indigenous training center) or in a collective fashion for those countries that take have no internal capacity but partake of training on a bi-lateral, multi-lateral or regional basis.

The UN does not develop doctrine, but it does promulgate guidelines developed in conjunction with and on behalf of member states. The UN, in many cases via the DPKO’s Training and Evaluation Service, can supply strategic guidance, instructional materials, validation and certification, and standards. In addition to the UN, different international and regional centers can also be a source of expertise and knowledge, and are a means through which the cost burden for PSO training can be shared.

For best results, there should be an integration of PSO in conventional bilateral and multilateral exercises, with representation of civilian police, NGOs and International Organizations (IOs), such as UN agencies and departments, the International Committee of the Red, and the International Office of Migration. Training awareness modules could educate people on who NGOs/UN/Agencies/IOs/military are and how they work.

Training packages should include the complete spectrum required or present in PSOs, such as the media, NGOs/IOs, and host nation government and organizations. Networks among PSO training organizations would contribute to the learning and sharing process.