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| NPHS 1510: Federal and International Framework |
| Continuity of Operations |
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| COOP Course Outline |
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| COOP Introduction |
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Continuity of Operations (COOP) is not a new concept. It has been around for hundreds of years. Succession of leadership is a time honored tradition in monarchies and other forms of government.
Our own US Constitution provided for succession for the Presidency. The order of succession was elaborated by the Presidential Succession Acts of 1792 and 1947. The order of Presidential succession currently is:
- The Vice President
- Speaker of the House
- President pro tempore of the Senate
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of Defense
- Attorney General
- Secretary of the Interior
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Secretary of Commerce
- Secretary of Labor
- Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Secretary of Transportation
- Secretary of Energy
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Secretary of Homeland Security
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| Readings: |
Federal Continuity Directive 1 (FCD-1) FEMA, Federal Executive Branch National Continuity Program and Requirements, February, 2008.
National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51)/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (HSPD-20) White House, May 9, 2007.
Continuity Guidance Circular 1 (CGC 1)FEMA, Continuity Guidance for Non-Federal Entities (States, Territories, Tribal and Local Government Jurisdictions and Private Sector Organizations), January 21, 2009.
Executive Order 12656 Assigmment of Emergency Preparedness Responsibilities, November 18, 1988.
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Today, the concept of COOP has been extended from leadership succession to sustainance of the entire enterprise.
This section will provide an overview of COOP principles and focus on COOP from three perspectives:
- Federal Agency COOP as managed by FEMA
- Stae and local COOP
- General business/NGO COOP
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| Definitions |
COOP: An effort within individual agencies to ensure they can continue to perform their Mission Essential Functions (MEFs) and Primary Mission Essential Functions (PMEFs) during a wide range of emergencies, including localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies. The legal basis for continuity of operations is Executive Order 12656, Assignment of Emergency Preparedness Responsibilities.
Source: FEMA COOP Glossary. |
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| COOP can be thought of as a component of resilience, a term that has become popular withing emergency management circles. |
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| Definition: |
Infrastructure resilience: the ability to reduce the magnitude and/or duration of disruptive events. The effectiveness of a resilient infrastructure or enterprise depends upon its ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and/or rapidly recover from a potentially disruptive event.
Source:
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY COUNCIL, (2009). CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC. |
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| Resilience of an organization, agency or community can be achieved in two ways: design or develop the entity such that it resists the emergency event, or provide the capability to shift the organization's operation to another location. These two roughly correspond to the shelter-in-place and evacuation strategies. |
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| Exercise: | Find out if your organization has a COOP Plan. If so, read it and familiarize yourself with the plan, its genesis and the persons responsible for COOP in your organization.
If not, find out why and explore how you might help your organization formulate one. |
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| Resources |
Three local organizations that are concerned with Continuity of Operations Planning are:
Student memberships and no cost attendance at events are available. |
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| Copyright © 2011 Ken Sochats |
