A new learning review by the University of Birmingham’s Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC), commissioned by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has assessed the performance and impact of the Emergency Deployments Team 2 (EDT2) programme.
The review provides a ‘light-touch; evaluation of EDT2, which includes the UK’s Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT) and International Search and Rescue (UK ISAR) team. These specialist teams deliver rapid humanitarian assistance in response to disasters and emergencies worldwide.
Drawing on existing programme and administrative documentation, the evaluation examined EDT2 against the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) criteria, including relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. The review identifies key lessons learned and offers recommendations to strengthen future emergency response delivery.
The findings highlight the policy relevance of deployable humanitarian response capabilities and provide evidence on the effectiveness and impact of EDT2 teams in saving lives during international disaster responses. The review also contributes to broader discussions on how governments can maintain agile, high-quality emergency response mechanisms in an increasingly complex humanitarian landscape.
The learning review is intended to support ongoing programme improvement and inform future policy and investment decisions relating to the UK’s international emergency response capacity.
