Disasters challenge and destroy growth and socio-economic achievements. They are often communicated in the media with heartbreaking images of suffering, destruction and despair. They tend to inspire a wave of generosity and compassion among those who feel vulnerable, concerned, touched. Individuals manifest their solidarity through donations, collections and by sending money, goods, foods, medicines, and other essential items. Like individuals, companies are increasingly moved to act upon their sense of compassion and generosity, and contribute with skills, capacity, and of course money. These initiatives are welcomed by employees who are ready to put their knowledge and expertise to the benefit of the greater good, on behalf of the company. When a natural disaster takes place, humanitarian organizations activate all their response mechanisms to assess and respond as quickly as possible to the rising needs. However, everything is uncertain, and only time can provide the answers as information becomes available about the level of impact, the number of people affected, the resources available and the type and length of aid required. Among the difficulties faced by humanitarian organization is getting access overnight to trained and available staff who could implemented such sophisticated and life-saving logistics. This thesis takes a look at the secondments from different companies to disaster relief operations. It develops a framework for informal learning during secondments which can be used by managers to ensure that the secondment can be a fruitful learning experience for the seconded manager, in which he or she can further their knowledge by applying their skills set in a different context. Through the development of the framework, and the three essays, the thesis addresses three main questions: 1. How do partnerships develop in disaster relief operations? (Essay 1) 2. How do partners interact during a disaster relief operation? (Essay 2) 3. What can seconded managers learn from secondments to disaster relief operations? (Essay 3)