This presentation by Dr. Miriam Haritz, Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, Germany, was made at the 2014 OECD/Swiss Federal Chancellery Strategic Crisis Management Workshop (12-13 June, Geneva).

1. 3rd OECD Workshop on Strategic Crisis Management
Geneva, 12 June 2014
Panel 1: Transboundary Crisis Management Exercises
“Germany: Lessons from 10 Years of
LÜKEX Strategic Exercise Series”
Dr. Miriam Haritz, Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance

2. Police
Armed
Forces
Secret
Service
Actors
in Civil
Protection
Private
Operators
of Critical
Infra-
structures
Comprehensive Safety and Security
System in Germany
Risk and Crisis Management
for Societal Prevention and Protection
Comprehensive Safety and Security Approach
otheractors
otheractors

3. The German Perspective on Strategic Exercises
3
The term „Strategic Exercise“ refers to comprehensive exercises
at strategic level (e. g. cross- ministerial crisis staff, political-
administrative staff, cross-sector management staff etc.)
It aims at
• improving the integrated ability to
react to crises in extreme threat and
danger situations (crisis situations)
and
• developing a comprehensive
coordination and decision-making
culture in organisations of the public
as well as in the private sector.

4. Guidelines for Strategic Crisis Management exercises, 1st edition
Länder
departments
Federal
authorities
Authorities
of
the Länder
Federal
departments
Critical
infrastructure
providers
Science,
research
Relief
organisations
Strategic Exercise
International
references
Exercising = Learning the language
of crisis management
4

5. Philosophy of LÜKEX
 Focus: strategic crisis management
 Integrated societal approach, pluralistic platform
 Crisis scenario affecting several Laender at once
 Including the private sector of critical infrastructures
 Creating networks and contacts, pooling competencies and
expertise, lasting beyond each exercise cycle
 Involvement of high level (political) decision makers
 Raising awareness for risk and crisis communication
as an integral part of strategic crisis management
 Aim: Improving cross-sectoral crisis manage-
ment on national level through exercises
5

6. 6
two-year
project
Awareness of decision makers
Networking of security personnel
Promoting an exercise culture
Testing concepts and structures
Unfolding tacit knowledge ...
Knowledge transfer
Transmitting standards
Qualitative risk assessment
1st day of
exercise
2nd day of
exercise
The Iceberg Principle
Identify new (international) actors

7. • Exercise
Topic
• Exercise
Framework
• Rough
Scenario
• Political
Decision
• Project
Organisation
Planning Preparation Execution Evaluation
6-8 months 9-11 months 2-3 months 4-5 months
• Iterative Scenario Development
• Sucessive Exercise Participation
• Involving Expertise
• Script Work
• Main Exercise Control
• Media Pre-Production
• Preparing Evaluation
• Pre-Table
Top
• Observer
Concept
• Question-
naires
• Exercise
Week
• Hot Wash Up
• Final Report
• Lessons
Learnt
• Political
Recommen-
dations
Implementation
Science
~ 24 Months of Exercise Cycle
7

8. 5
LÜKEX Topics
20042005
2009/10 Black out
Threat to large scale events
e. g. Soccer World Championship
CBRN
2013
Biolog. Threats
& Food Safety
2015
Storm Surge
North Sea
?
8

9. DG SANCO -
RASFF
ERCC
9
Growing International Involvement:
LÜKEX 13
Municipality
Land Federal
state
EU +
International
Healthcare
Security
Protection of
consumers‘ health

10. HH
HE
NI
TH
SN
MV
BB
BE
ST
BY
RP
BW
Designated National and
International Actors LÜKEX 15
NW
SH
SL
HB
Intensively exercising
Exercising
10
Sturm-
flut
Storm-
vloed
Storm-
flod
Ministries: Interior,
Transportation and Defense
Agencies: Meteorology, Civil
Protection, Transport,
Hydrography
Federal Level
- Transport / Traffic
- Health
- Administration
- Power Supply
- Meda
CI-Sector

11. Future Exercises (example)
HE
NI
TH
SN
MV
BB
BE
ST
BY
RP
BW
NW
SH
SL
HB
HH
Erdbeben!
Séisme!
Erdbeben!
Terremoto!
Séisme!

12. Conclusion: LÜKEX…
• … represents a strategic platform in the field of civil protection and
a milestone in developing a nation-wide exercise culture in
Germany
• …is valued as an integral part of crisis management; often sector-
specific exercises are conducted by LÜKEX participants in the
aftermath of LÜKEX exercises
• … reads as an awareness campaign for
political leaders in the field of strategic
crisis management
• … can be considered a vehicle (and cross-cutting strategy) to
integrate all relevant stakeholders and to initiate sustainable crisis
prevention at political level as well as on working level
• … has developed into a nationally and internationally widely
recognized brand 12

13. Thank you for your attention!
13
Dr. Miriam Haritz
Head of Division I.6 - Interministerial and Interstate Crisis Management Exercises, LÜKEX
Head of Federal Project Groups LÜKEX 2013 / 2015
Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK)
Provinzialstr. 93, D-53127 Bonn
Tel.: +49-(0)22899 550 5600
e-mail:miriam.haritz@bbk.bund.de / luekex.info@bbk.bund.de
www.bbk.bund.de