RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE
CRISIS STAFF
By Umair Ali Daimee
Goals of the Crisis Staff
Avoid lack of
debates
Keep delegates
under pressure
Avoid consensus
among delegates
Avoid
Resolutions
What to Expect as Crisis Head or
Crisis Staff Member
Don’t expect to be stuck with one
committee
Before the conference
• Write an article to start off
• Predict the actions delegates will make,
and think about possible crisis following
those actions (flow charts are helpful)
• Look through each topic of each
committee and brainstorm possible
crisis for that topic
What to Expect as Crisis Head or
Crisis Staff Member continued
Examples of committee topics and
possible crisis
• UNEP: Deforestation
• UN Commission on Human Rights:
China’s Human Rights Violations
• UNDP: Risk and Impact Reduction of
Natural Disasters
• UNSC: International Terrorism and
Disarmament
What to Expect as Crisis Head or
Crisis Staff Member continued
Putting Crisis and Press Together
Pros
• Members are
familiar with the
events in each
committee
• No need interfere
with debates to pull
a chair/delegates
out for information
Cons
• Pressure of multi-
tasking
• International Press
Corp
Having Multiple Topics
Pros
• Insurance in case
one topic dies out
• Good to break the
silence
Cons
• Delegates’
expectations
• Extra effort
Joint Crisis
Pros
• More realistic
• More exciting for
the delegates and
chairs
Cons
• Hard for Crisis Staff
to have control over
the actions of each
committee
• Timing of response
by each committee
may be slow
Interesting Crisis Committees
ChoMUN (University of Chicago)
• President Taft’s Cabinet
• Central Committee of the Black Panther
Party
• Free French Forces
• GOP Presidential Campaign Committee
2008
Northwestern University Model UN
• Revolutionary War Cabinet
Interesting Crisis Committees
Continued
Yale Model UN
• Joint Crisis: 1948 Soviet Politburo, 1948
Historical US National Security Council,
and Chinese Politburo
Communication with the Chair
Method One (SEMMUNA Method)
• General Crisis stays out of the room
• Communication via Internet/Phone
Method Two (UMMUN Method)
• Chairs simulate the crisis events
themselves
• Pros: Chairs know exactly what is going
on
• Cons: Chairs multitasking often
Communication with the Chair
continued
Method Three (MSUMUN Method)
• Each Crisis Committee has its own staff
of 3-5 members
• Crisis Committee not in room
• Communication between Assistant Chair
and Crisis Direction via Internet
• Pros: Crisis staff can concentrate on
their work; tend to be more productive
• Cons: Timing difficulties
Methods of Delivering Crisis
Newspaper Articles
• Most Common
• The publishing Newspaper (BBC, US
News, etc.) and the type of article
(news, editorial, etc.) should be
mentioned
• Tend to bore delegates when used too
many times
Methods of Delivering Crisis
continued
Speakers
• Delegates get the opportunity to ask
questions
• Can be hard for the speaker at times
Video
• Tend to keep delegates’ attention
• Not easy to make
• Time consuming
Other Creative Methods
How to Start Off
Most conferences tend to throw a crisis in
crisis committees in the beginning
• Pros: Gives delegates a fresh start
• Cons: Most delegates come with an opening
speech and tend to ignore the initial crisis
Recommendation
• Have a crisis ready before the start of the
committee
• Use the crisis as soon as the debate starts
slowing down
What to do when a resolution is
within close reach
After Resolutions are passed, debates tend
to slow down
Response One: Throw a crisis right before
a resolution is passed (time permitting)
Response Two: Read over the Resolution
before it is passed, and throw a crisis that
will make that Resolution almost worthless
Response Three: Move on to the next
topic
What to do when a resolution is
within close reach continued
Examples of Resolutions and the
type of crisis that should be taken to
make them worthless
• Resolution that calls for negotiations
between the Turk Cypriot Government
and Greek Cypriot Government
• Resolution that calls for a limit to
nuclear weapons for each country
• Resolution that divides Israel
Other Situations
Lack of Debate
• Throw a crisis!
Lack of Participation by an individual
delegate
• Throw a crisis that is aimed at the
delegate’s country
• Give a letter to the delegate
For example, it can be about an event that
has taken place in the delegate’s country
Must be relevant to the topic
Other Situations Continued
Delegate(s) takes the wrong side
• Tends to frustrate the chair and/or
other delegates
• Can ruin the “Position Balance”
• Send a letter to the delegate(s)
Can be from the leader of the delegate’s
country
Must indirectly infer the country’s position
Not always an easy thing to do
How to restart debate after lunch or
an extended break
Lunch is always a good time to have
a conversation with the chair
Always have a crisis prepared before
committee re-starts
If there is barely any debate, then
throw that prepared crisis
If there is debate, the crisis is not
necessary
Humorous Crisis
Pros
• Good to wake up
the delegates
• Great tool to ease
tensions
Cons
• Delegates might
ignore it
• Delegate might go
off-topic
Humorous Crisis Continued
Examples
Finishing Off
Towards the end, most delegates
want to go home
Debates slow down
Don’t end committees in a halt
Have a final resolution to the crisis
• Can be good or bad
Humorous Crisis are always a good
idea
Questions?