This document summarizes a presentation about business continuity and continuity of operations (COOP) planning. The presentation covers the importance of having emergency and COOP plans, challenges in creating plans, key elements to include in plans, and how to validate plans. The objectives are to make attendees familiar with continuity methods, convince them to create a COOP plan, and provide tips to begin emergency and COOP preparedness. Challenges discussed include initiating the planning process, managing it as a project, and validating the plan through training, testing and exercises.

2. CONTINUITY
Of
BUSINess
Center for Non-Profit Success
Denver ,Colorado
Wednesday 3-NOV 2010
Andy Amalfitano
AmalfiCORE Business Solutions www.AmalfiCORE.com

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AGENDA
 Introduction
 Objectives
 Emergency Plans as Part of Continuity
 Why Bother? … Reasons
 Statistics
 Are You Ready?
 Case Study
 Key Take-Aways
 Challenges: Initiation, Management, Validation
 Lessons Learned

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At the end of this session, you will be:
1- Familiar with Continuity Plans and
Methods,
2- Convinced to consider creating a COOP
plan for your organization, 
3- Able to apply Activity tips to begin
connecting your Emergency and
COOP preparedness
OBJECTIVES

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Plans, Plans, Plans
PREVENT – PREPARE – RESPOND - RECOVER
EMERGENCY
IT DISASTER
RECOVERY
CONTINUITY
RISK MANAGEMENT
National Response Framework

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Why most non-profits
and small businesses
either will not,
cannot, or
don't want to…
Be Prepared!
WHY BOTHER?

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____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Activity-1: Our Reasons for NO Plan?

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“I frankly can't be bothered, the likelihood is
just too small”
 So, …
"If it does happen, it won't happen to us"
"If it does happen to us, it won't be too bad"
"If it happens to us and it's bad there is
nothing we can do to stop it”
REASONS

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"25-40% of businesses that
undergo a major disaster event, do
not re-open, and of those that do
re-open, over 25% do not survive
past 2 years”
[Source: US Dept of Labor –SBA]
SBA STATISTICS

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• About 38% say we simply would rather
not think about what would happen in
a crisis.
• 44% say they don’t believe in worrying
about things that may or may not
happen in the future.
What We Americans Say…

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 Moral Responsibility:
 Compliance:
 Financial Recovery:
 Reduce Exposure:
 Reduce Insurance:
Source: OHSA, http://www.werp.uwex.edu/eap.cfm
OSHA: There Are Positives
 Helps fulfill moral responsibility to protect
employees, the community and the
environment.
 Facilitates compliance with regulatory
requirements of Federal, State and local
agencies.
 Enhances ability to recover from financial
losses, regulatory fines, loss of market
share, damages to equipment or products
or business interruption.
 Reduce exposure to civil or criminal
liability. Enhances image and credibility
with employees, customers, suppliers and
the community.
 May reduce your insurance premiums

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ARE YOU READY?

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“Community helps nonprofit cope
after fire destroys shop” [1]
Unknown Cause:
Fire completely destroyed building and contents
Result:
Thrift Store is out of business
Impacts second non-profit who supplied disabled
workers for store
Statistic: Cost, Double Impact
[1] (Aug 2010) Retrieved 11-1-10: http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2010/08/30/news/iq_37607847.txt

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“Fire levels Neighborhood Ministries
warehouse, destroys donations” [2]
Suspected Vandalism:
Fire confined to warehouse
Result:
“Clothing, 20 baby cribs, other furniture, mattresses,
electronics, toys -- all of it was destroyed.”
Statistic: Cost, Double Impact
[2] Holland, Catherine, (June 2010) AZ Family.com. Retrieved 11-1-10:http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Fire-levels-Neighborhood-Ministries-
warehouse-destroys-donations-96374074.html

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5- Plan exists, tested, ready!
4- Plan exists, will
exercise
3- Creating Plan
2- Maybe
1- COOP?
Activity-2: Rate Your Readiness!

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CASE
STUDY

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5 Key Take-Aways
1. Planned Emergency Response is vital to
business continuity
2. COOP plan helps us continue our essential
functions during a crisis or disaster
3. Build Awareness, Know Your Resources, Learn
4. COOP is a Project, manage it as such

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5 Key Take-Aways
5. Free Templates / Buy S/W / Consultant,
mix?
6. Key Elements of Successful COOP
 Get their Attention and build awareness
 Be organized, use process
 Choose best resources, methods, tools
 Validate: Train, Test, Exercise

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Challenges to Create a COOP?
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One year after a tornado ripped through a rural
Colorado town, a neighboring city takes notice:
“This could
happen
here…
We need a
COOP!”
©AmalfiCORE, LLC

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The City
• Population - 95,000;
Employees - 1025
• Champion – Director Public
Safety
• Timeframe – 3 months
• Tools – Software purchased
• Knowledge level of staff –
little to none
• Number of Functions – 10
• Data Access – Average
• Current Plans – Only IT
Backup/Recovery
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Challenges -1: Project Initiation
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Attention
Buy-In
Funding
Pitch
What-Ifs
Perceptions
Awareness
Purpose
Mission
Champion-yes
Functional Directors
commit staff time,
agree to process.
Cost only in time.
Recent tornado-now
realistic. We knew
people affected.
Yes, it could happen
here.
Probably most key
action is educate those
involved, the leaders,
help bridge the gap,
get better support.

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How will you get their ATTENTION?
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 No scare tactics
 Presidential Directives
 It’s Just ‘Good Business’
 Neighboring OEMs
 Present a Project Plan
 Get a Sponsor
 Shared Funding

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PITCH: Closer to Home: What If ?
 Recent Events
 Conflation– sequential events
 Confluence– simultaneous
 Pandemic
 Expected Outcomes, Benefits
 Timeline and Costs
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 2007 Tornado within 15 miles
 Imagine it on main street and it takes out
police, dispatch, jail, library, etc
 Timeframe on the heels of H1N1

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 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
Activity-3: We’ll get their attention by:

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AWARENESS: Bring It To Them
 Purpose Be prepared for disaster
 Scope Continue essential functions
 Terminology Keywords and phrases
 Process steps Keep It simple
 Examples Share published plans
2
5
1 – Met one-on-one, shared concepts, purpose, goals, scope
2 – Provided terminology, reference materials
3 – Conducted training on use of tools and templates
4 – Team working sessions built unified and consistent approach
5 – With each functional rep presented to their Director and managers

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Challenges – 2: Managing the Project
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All city functions:
Visibility with
directors.
OEM-sponsored,
PM—led team.
Functional reps in
working group
HR , IT. Risk Mgr,
support.
SaaS tool used.
Validate, update,
secure data.
Building dept, HR, IT,
statistics, external
sources
Organize
People
Process
Resources
External
Internal
Tools
Methods
Data

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ORGANIZE YOUR PEOPLE
• It’s a Team
• Awareness/Expectations
• Functional
Representation
• Inform Leaders
• Select and Learn Tools
• De-conflict – Consensus
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A rep from each function
Got involved in the details
Project Mgr led the effort
Built momentum, timeline
Made it happen!

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Delegation of Authority
Succession Plan
Devolution
Routine, Temporary
Permanent, Long-term
Catastrophic
LEADERSHIP

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Response
Teams
Support
Response
Teams
Go Home
Critical - Support - Other

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Source: FEMA Training Process
Manage your COOP like a project!
Continuity Planning Process
Initiate Continuity
Planning Process
Determine Essential
Functions
Conduct a Risk Analysis
Design & Build the Plan
Distribute, Maintain,
and Update the Plan
Test, Train, Exercise the
Plan

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Source: FEMA Training Process
Continuity Planning Process
Initiate Continuity
Planning Process
Determine Essential
Functions
Conduct a Risk Analysis
Design & Build the Plan
Distribute, Maintain,
and Update the Plan
Test, Train, Exercise the
Plan
 Use Project management
 Limited resources must be shared
 Not everyone is a key employee
 De-conflict sessions are very valuable
 Communicate often

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RESOURCES: Who Can Help?
 Government Websites
 National Hazards Center
 Crime Stats, Threat Levels
 Risk Mgmt, HR, IT, $, OEM
 Existing Public Works, Light &
Power Disaster Plans
 IT DR Plans
 Vendors with solutions
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Internal
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
External
 _____________________________________
 ____________________________________
 _____________________________________
Activity-4: Which Resources For Us?

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TOOLS & METHODS
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Software as a Solution
Templates
Desktop
• Automated plans
• Web Accessible
• WebEOC access
• Remote Back up
• 7x24 support
• HR/IT feeds
• Guided, Generic
• Consistency
• Free downloads
• Manage in-house
• Manual data entry
• Standard and familiar
• Local IT backup

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 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
Activity-5: Which Tools Will We Use?

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Internal - Data - External
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Contact Info
Essential Functions
Facilities
Delegation / Succession
Disaster Recovery Plan
Security Access and Control
Train, Test, Exercise
Vital Records
Resources
Approved Vendor List
Natural Hazards - Colorado
MOU- Hotels/Schools
Mutual Aid Agreements
Transportation Statistics
Emergency Utility
Federal Regulations
Crime Statistics
NBCR Exposure Data
C
O
O
P
City Building Dept

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Activity-6a: Where is our External Data?
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Natural Hazards - Colorado
MOU-Vendors
Mutual Aid Agreements
Transportation Statistics
Emergency Utility
Federal Regulations
Crime Statistics
NBCR Exposure Data
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City Building Dept

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Activity-6b: Where is our Internal Data?
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Contact Info
Essential Functions
Facilities
Delegation / Succession
Disaster Recovery Plan
Security Access and Control
Train, Test, Exercise
Vital Records
Resources
Approved Vendor List
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Challenges – 3: Validating the Plan
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Analysis
Threats/Risks
Impacts
Process
Essential
De-conflict
TTE
Train-Test-
Exercise
Maintain
Quell fears, use best
data available from
official sources.
“We are all important –
not!”
Focus on essential
functions.
“We all want the
library for alternate site
– not!”
Training OK; No Test or
Exercise. Need AAR
Quarterly reviews
failed; Annual on time.

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Hazard Vulnerability
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 9-11
 Katrina
 BP Oil Spill
 NBCR Hazards
 Natural Hazards
Storms!
 Derailment
 Air Crash

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Analysis
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Threats
• Always Present
• Known and unknown
• Natural, Technological, Man-
made
Hazards
• Airport, Trains, Trucks
• Major Power Outage
• Tornado
• Intentional Acts
Risks
• Business Impact
• Risk Assessment
• Determine Essential
Function Exposure
What could impact our
essential functions
and what are we doing about it?
What’s our backup plan if we lose people,
buildings, IT,
vehicles or infrastructure?
• Other Cities
• Utilities Disaster Plan
• County ServicesAgencies
• Approved List, Pricing
• Data at ‘Iron Mountain’
• Remote Payroll
• Treasury, Billing, Tax
Suppliers
• Other govt. bldgs.
• Hotels, schools
• Devolution
• Reconstitution
Facilities

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If Your Mission is to provide/deliver/ignite:
…training, knowledge and resources
to help other nonprofits
…low-cost, quality human services
….a worldwide social movement
….health professionals of choice
…food, care and sheltering
Essential Functions

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Then, your essential functions might be:
 Skilled workforce availability
 Facility Power and Light
 Information Technology access and use
 HIPPA / Data Protection
 Supplier/Vendor Contracts
(“day before pricing”)
Essential Functions, cont.

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 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
Activity-7: Our Essential Functions:

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De-conflict Consensus
[5] WBAL-TV. (2010). Retrieved 9-23-10: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/22519090/detail.html
Uh, OK-
So, all functions
have identified the
across-town
warehouse as
their alternate
facility!
Shall we discuss?

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Train – Test - Exercise
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Table-Top ‘Walk-thru’
Drill Alert Notification
Live Exercise
Test Response
Drill Evacuation

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 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
 _____________________________________
Activity-8: We will validate by…

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“The issue we are facing now is the
departments have a COOP, and think they
are done.
It’s much more difficult to get follow up
work done than the original plan.”
48
Benjamin Daniels
Emergency Manager
Case Study City
Aug 2010
FOLLOW UP

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1. Awareness - Early Training is Vital
2. Champion / Sponsor - Critical to Success
3. Communications – Frequent, to All
4. Inclusion – Need reps from every function
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LESSONS LEARNED - A

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5. Momentum – ‘Hold their hand’, reassure,
‘Snap-Drills’ to build confidence
6. Validate - Data, Functions, Assumptions
7. De-conflict - More than once, Important!
`50
LESSONS LEARNED - B

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8. Test, Train, Exercise –
Schedule it, do it, review it
9. Maintenance – After Action Reports,
Accountability, job
10. Follow Up – Difficult to keep focus
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LESSONS LEARNED - C

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ARE YOU READY?

53. Thank you!
AmalfiCORE Business Solutions
www.amalficore.com
720.220.6466

54. ©AmalfiCORE, LLC 54
Happy Planning!