CHALLENGE:
The world-wide Red Cross movement is made up of two separate and distinct bodies with their secretariats in Geneva: the original Swiss organisation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies from across the world (IFRC). It had been recognised some years prior to 1997, that when a conflict came to an end, the ICRC, when its main role of advocating respect of the Geneva Conventions, and mobilising humanitarian aid was receding, had no formal procedure for handover of remaining resources, equipment and leadership to the national Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies of the countries involved. One result was publicly-viewed lack of co-ordination and agreement between ICRC and IFRC in world media reporting, and resulting embarrassment to the Movement, not to mention wastage of time and vital resources. Despite valiant efforts of an annual advisory commission meeting over several years, successful agreement to a working protocol had continued to elude them. The challenge was to develop a handover agreement that was robust enough to take into account the cultural, political and legal variances and complexities of such situations.

SOLUTION:
Bill Phillips Consulting Ltd. was brought in to work with around 30 senior people, many of them Presidents of national societies, Heads of Regions and prominent officials of the ICRC. Bill Phillips spent one evening and one day with the group, guiding them through the Future-basing process as they imagined it was one year ahead. The group ‘pretended’ to have already in place, an excellent handover procedure that they were deeply proud of. They described in a structured fashion, how it worked and its effects on the ground. After day two Bill left the group with its shared vision, and on day three, the structure of the protocol was already in place.

OUTCOME:
The handover agreement that the organisation had struggled to create over several years was finally developed in three short days. This saving in the costs of annual meetings (and frustrations) alone was worth a great deal to both organisations.
The protocol was ratified at the Red Cross General Assembly held at Seville in October 1997, and is now termed ‘the Seville Agreement,’ recognised as a key operating document across the world. The impact of this agreement has been substantial and it was a privilege for Bill Phillips to have helped broker this historic accord.