I-DIEM Global’s Equity Response Teams (ERT) are deployable, interdisciplinary teams of certified emergency managers, cultural competency experts, and community engagement professionals dedicated to ensuring equity in all phases of the disaster cycle for vulnerable, underserved, and marginalized populations post-disaster.
Equity Response Teams (ERTs) are specialized, community-centered groups that deploy before, during, and after disasters to ensure that emergency operations and recovery efforts are fair, inclusive, and accessible to everyone—especially populations that are historically underserved or most at risk.
Type I Equity Response Teams are responsible for all activities of Type II ERTs plus providing access, resources, and short- / long-term community support dedicated to improving equitable resilience. Type I teams include 7 – 15 deployable assets responsible for the following activities:
NOTE: Type I ERTs are centered on providing knowledge, access, experience, and expertise to identified communities leading to long-term strategies centered on resilience building. These teams provide resources directly to communities for example, mitigation experts, grant writers, case managers, etc).
Type II Equity Response Teams are responsible for all activities of Type III ERTs plus connecting communities and resources to ensure equitable response, recovery, and distribution of resources. Type II teams include 5 – 10 deployable assets responsible for the following activities:
Type III teams are available for assignment to assess in incidents to ensure equity is place as a response is being managed. This team consists of an emergency management expert, and several team members for cultural context and research capabilities. This combination of experts will allow boots on the ground reconnaissance to observe the ongoing response and recovery efforts and identify if there are any gaps in service delivery. These incidents may include tornados, hurricanes, wildfires or any other incident where underserved or minority communities. Several Type III teams may be deployed to a single incident if the Type III Equity Response Teams are responsible for assessing equity in following major crises or disasters. Type III teams include 3 – 5 deployable assets responsible for the following activities:
Map vulnerable populations and service gaps.
Track real-time impacts on marginalized groups.
Serve as a trusted bridge between emergency officials and residents.
Elevate local voices in decision-making and resource allocation.
Guide distribution of food, water, medical aid, and financial assistance to ensure no group is overlooked.
Recommend long-term policy changes and equitable rebuilding strategies after the immediate crisis.
Traditional disaster response often focuses on speed and logistics, which can unintentionally leave out people with fewer resources or those facing language, mobility, or economic barriers. Equity Response Teams ensure that resilience is shared by everyone, turning recovery efforts into opportunities for lasting social and economic improvement.
I-DIEM Africa uses this model to train and deploy local teams so that each disaster response—whether in Ghana, the broader African continent, or internationally—protects the most vulnerable while strengthening the whole community.
The Equity Management Team (EqMT) is mobilized during emergency incidents to provide command and control in order to manage the operational, logistical, informational, planning, fiscal, community, political, and safety issues associated with an incident. The EqMT is a rostered group of qualified personnel consisting of the Incident Commander, Command and General Staff, and personnel assigned to other key ERT positions. The level of training and experience of the EqMT members, coupled with the identified formal response requirements and responsibilities of the ERT, are factors in determining “type” or level of team responses.
The demobilization of incident resources must be conducted in an efficient and safe manner and should not interfere with ongoing incident operations. The following activities will be incorporated into demobilization efforts. Full demobilization procedures are outline in the Appendix.
All I-DIEM Global news. Join the Mission, become an I-DIEM Global Volunteer.