Following lessons identified from the urban search and rescue response to the Padang earthquake (2009) and the Haiti earthquake (2010), INSARAG has discussed to establish a technical working group looking into operational sides of coordinating urban search and rescue. In the INSARAG Steering Group Meeting, June 2010 , it was decided that an INSARAG working group should be established to further develop these aspects based on the recommendations from the INSARAG Haiti Earthquake After Action Review Meeting of June 2010 and INSARAG Team Leaders Meeting of March 2010. Therefore, the INSARAG Operations Working Group (OWG) was established in 2011 with the endorsement of INSARAG Steering Group.

This newly established working group is a project-based temporary inter-regional working group with specific targets and timelines as described at itsTerms of Reference . The inputs from the INSARAG regional groups are received through its participants in the working group. The groups is composed of a chair, two representatives from each INSARAG regional group and a representative of INSARAG. The group meets two to three times a year. The reports of this working group’s meetings can be found below.

Chair of OWG:

Mr. David Norlin

Email: David.Norlin@msb.se

2013

FIRST MEETING, 1-9 MARCH 2013, LUZERN, SWITZERLAND.
The first meeting of the INSARAG OWG in 2013 took place from March 1st – 9th 2013 in Luzern, Switzerland. Please find theChairman Summary  of this meeting.

SECOND MEETING, 16-18 SEPTEMBER 2013, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
The second meeting of the INSARAG OWG in 2013 took place from September 16 – 18 2013 in The Hague, Netherlands. Please find the Chairman Summary of this meeting.

2012

FIRST MEETING, 17-25 MARCH 2012, AUSTRALIA
The first meeting of the INSARAG OWG in 2012 took place from 17-19 and 23-25 March 2012 in Australia back to back with the INSARAG Team Leaders Meeting. Please find the Chairman Summary of this meeting. Please note that the outcomes of the working groups are not official INSARAG documents until they are endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group.

SECOND MEETING, 27 MAY – 3 JUNE 2012, PADANG, INDONESIA
The second meeting of the INSARAG OWG took place from 27 May -3 June 2012 in Padang, Indonesia . Please find below theChairman Summary of this meeting. Please note that the outcomes of the working groups are not official INSARAG documents until they are endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group.

THIRD MEETING, 5-9 NOVEMBER 2012, LOS ANGELES, USA
The third and last meeting of the INSARAG OWG in 2012 took place from 5-9 November 2012 in Los Angeles, USA. You may find the Chairman Summary of this meeting here. Please note that the outcomes of this working group are not official INSARAG documents until they are endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group.

2011

FIRST MEETING, 30 MARCH-03 APRIL 2011, COSTA RICA
The first meeting of the INSARAG OWG took place from 30 March–03 April 2011 in Costa Rica back to back with the INSARAG Team Leaders Meeting. Below is the Chairman Summary of this meeting. Please note that the outcomes of this working group are not official INSARAG documents until they are endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group.
Chairman’s Summary

SECOND MEETING, 8 JULY-12 JULY 2011, TURKEY
The second meeting of the INSARAG OWG took place from 8-12 July 2011 in Turkey back to back with the INSARAG External Classification (IEC) of Turkish USAR teams. Below is the Chairman Summary of this meeting. Please note that the outcomes of this working group are not official INSARAG documents until they are endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group.
Chairman’s Summary

THIRD MEETING, 18-22 NOVEMBER 2011, SOUTH AFRICA
The third and last meeting of the INSARAG OWG in 2011 took place from 18-22 November 2011 in South Africa back to back with the INSARAG/UNDAC Awareness Training. Below is the Chairman Summary of this meeting. Please note that the outcomes of this working group are not official INSARAG documents until they are endorsed by the INSARAG Steering Group.
Chairman Summary