Outbreak READY!

Outbreak READY! is an online digital simulation for NGO leaders and managers across all sectors. In Outbreak READY!, you will take the role of an NGO team lead managing a multi-sectoral humanitarian program portfolio for a medium-sized, international NGO named READY. The NGO operates in Thisland, a fictitious, low-income country that recently experienced civil conflict following a disputed national election. The simulation is divided into two modules: the first focuses on readiness prioritizations and actions as an outbreak is identified in a neighboring country; the second focuses on the NGO’s response to the outbreak as it begins to spread. Over the course of the simulation, you (the learner) must make decisions that determine how the NGO adapts and expands programs to respond to the outbreak.

The simulation is designed for national and international NGOs responding to humanitarian emergencies, particularly targeting NGO leaders and managers from both operational and programmatic backgrounds across all sectors.

By the end of the simulation, the learner will be able to:

1. Describe the key areas of operational readiness when preparing for an infectious disease outbreak in humanitarian settings and weigh how investments and trade-offs in operational readiness impact outbreak response outcomes.
2. Identify key stakeholders and coordination structures that are critical to outbreak response in humanitarian settings and weigh their impact on multi-sectoral outbreak response activities.
3. Explain the roles of various technical and cross-cutting sectors within infectious disease outbreak preparedness and response, and design activities that integrate multiple sectors in an outbreak response.
4. Use epidemiological, assessment, and community feedback data to inform and develop organizational adaptive management strategies and response plans for inclusive and ethical outbreak responses in humanitarian emergencies.

We are sorry to hear that you are having trouble opening the simulation. Please check the following:

• Do you have the right URL? Make sure you are using www.outbreakready.com.
• For optimal use of the simulation, use Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Please ensure your browser version is up-to-date.
• If you have done the above and it is still not working, try opening the simulation in an “incognito” or “private” window. This is done differently depending on your computer type and browser, but a simple internet search (e.g., “how to open incognito window in Firefox”) can quickly provide instructions on how to do this.

The simulation is meant to be played using a laptop, desktop, or large tablet. The interface does not support playing on smaller mobile devices.

We recommend playing the simulation with an internet connection. However, after the initial loading of the simulation (after the introductory video), you should be able to play the entire simulation without an internet connection.

Yes, progress is saved throughout play. If you lose internet connection or choose to exit the browser window during a session, your progress will be saved up to your last completed turn.

There is a recommended minimum bandwidth for optimal use of the game. Please find additional details below regarding the optimal bandwidth:

• The simulation takes approximately 7 minutes to load on 1Mbit/s.
• The simulation takes approximately 1 minute to load on 8Mbit/s.
• The minimum bandwidth required to load the video is 400-500kbit/s.

You can check your connection speed at https://www.speedtest.net/.

Are you still encountering issues? Please contact us at outbreakreadysim@savechildren.org, so we can assist you.