Knowledge Transfer and Technical Coordination in Shelter: Secondment at the Global Shelter Cluster

Establishing the Technical Community of Practice

In October 2024, Pascal launched the GSC Technical Community of Practice (CoP) with over 180 global participants. A survey identified the following thematic priorities:

• Damage Assessment Resources

• Emergency and Temporary Shelter Technical Specification Resources

• Durable Permanent Shelter & Housing (Sustainable Solutions) Resources

• Construction Good Practices / Build Back Better (BBB) Resources

• NFI/EHI Technical Specification Resources

• Greener Shelter Resources

• Fire Safety Resources

The inaugural Technical CoP webinar took place in February 2025 with 120 attendees to present the selected thematics. In April 2025 partners took the responsibilities to co-chair the themes.

Conclusion

This secondment demonstrates how targeted technical expertise and coordinated knowledge transfer can significantly improve shelter responses in both natural disaster and conflict settings. The collaboration between SDC and GSC fosters lasting impact through improved tools, guidance, and community engagement.

Field Mission – Philippines, November 2024

During a two-week mission to Manila, Pascal played a key role in three major regional events:

• Asia-Pacific Shelter & Settlement Forum (21–23 Nov 2024)
  With over 250 participants, the forum focused on recovery pathways. Pascal co-moderated a panel on "Pathway to Recovery" alongside Habitat for Humanity International.
• Asia-Pacific RCRC Shelter Workshop (24–25 Nov 2024)
  This Red Cross/Red Crescent A-P network event brought together practitioners from 18 National Societies: shelter cluster coordinators and shelter program officer.
• Shelter Severity Classification System (SSC) Workshop (28–29 Nov 2024)
  The first regional SSC workshop, co-led with the Philippine Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, focused on post-disaster damage assessment. Working groups analysed local housing typologies and risks related to floods, earthquakes, and tropical storms.
• Field Mission – Togo, July 2025
  Active committee member of the Francophone Shelter Network’s Community of Practice (CoP), which brings together French-speaking experts and practitioners specializing in emergency shelter management in crisis contexts, Pascal organized webinars in February 2025 and led a session on Cash Transfer Programming for Shelter and Build Back Better.
  He also organized and participated in the first Francophone Shelter Network CoP Forum in Lomé, Togo, held in collaboration with the African School of Architecture and Urban Planning (EAMAU), a three-day exchange from July 1–3, 2025, involving shelter partners, students, and academics. The event gathered around 200 in-person participants and 150 online attendees.

Knowledge Management & Tools

Pascal contributed extensively to the redesign of the GSC website and the technical component of the Shelter Coordination Toolkit, expected to launch in 2026. He developed a categorised Technical Toolkit, linking resources collected by the Technical CoP and including Swiss contributions such as the SHACC library, SEISMICO and the GTH platforms.