Crisis Note Pad

In a Model UN crisis committee, the crisis note pad (often just called a "notepad" or "crisis pad") is the primary tool a delegate uses to take individual action outside of formal debate. Unlike a General Assembly simulation, where outcomes are decided collectively through resolutions, crisis committees run on a parallel track: while the room debates publicly, each delegate secretly directs the personal powers of their character — troops, spies, businesses, family members, or personal wealth — by writing crisis notes that are passed to the backroom staff.

A typical pad is a small legal pad or stack of half-sheets. Each note generally includes:

• The delegate's portfolio name and country/role
• A sequential number (so the delegate can track replies and the backroom can keep arcs in order)
• The recipient (e.g., "To: My Chief of Staff" or "To: Crisis")
• A clear directive or request, with operational detail

Strong notes are specific: they name the actor carrying out the order, the resources committed, the timeline, the secrecy level, and a contingency. Vague notes ("Build my army") tend to be ignored or interpreted unfavorably by the backroom. Experienced delegates also maintain arcs — multi-note storylines such as a coup, an assassination, a covert weapons program, or a corporate takeover — and number their pads so they can reference earlier notes ("per my Note 7…").

The pad is also used for joint directives (signed by multiple delegates conspiring together) and press releases. Because notes are private, they are the engine of competitive crisis play: two delegates can publicly cooperate on a directive in the room while privately working to undermine each other on their pads. Most North American collegiate circuits — including conferences run by Harvard, Penn, and Chicago — treat the notepad as the central instrument of individual scoring in crisis.