Continuity of Operations COOP Awareness Training

1
Continuity of Operations (COOP)Awareness
Training
2
Objectives

• Provide an understanding of COOP, COOP terms, and
  benefits of COOP planning
• Explain elements of a viable COOP capability
• Provide information about how a COOP event might
  affect you, your organization, and your family

3
Training Topics

• COOP Definition and Scope
• Authority for COOP
• DHSs Role in COOP
• COOP Overview
• Elements of a Viable COOP Capability
• COOP Impacts
• Course Evaluation

4
COOP Definition Scope

• COOP includes. . .
• The activities of individual departments and
  agencies and their subcompartments to ensure that
  their essential functions are performed

5
COOP Definition Scope

• COOP activities include
• Plans and procedures to ensure that essential
  functions are performed.
• Tests, training, and exercises essential for
  ensuring a viable COOP capability

6
COOP Authority

• Legal Basis Executive Order 12656, Assignment
  of Emergency Preparedness Responsibilities
• Applies for Federal Executive Branch
  departments/agencies, but COOP concepts
• Guide the Legislative and Judicial Branches.
• Can be adopted for State and local levels.

7
DHSs role in COOP

• Lead agent for Federal Executive Branch COOP
• Has designated FEMA as lead agent

8
DHSs Role in COOP

• FEMA is responsible for
• Issuing COOP guidance.
• Promoting understanding of and compliance with
  COOP requirements in FPC-65.
• FEMAS Office Of National Security Coordination
  (ONSC) is DHSs implementing organization for its
  COOP Lead Agent responsibilities

9
COOP Overview

• FPC-65 guides COOP planning in the Federal
  Executive Branch

10
COOP Overview Benefits

• COOP is a good business practice. It enables
  agencies to continue their essential functions
  across a broad spectrum of hazards and
  emergencies
• Natural
• Manmade
• Technological
• National security emergencies

11
COOP Overview Planning Objectives

• Ensure continued performance of essential
  functions
• Reduce loss of life/minimize damage
• Ensure succession to office of key leadership
• Reduce/mitigate disruptions to operations
• Protect essential assets
• Achieve timely recovery/reconstitution
• Maintain TTE program for validation

12
COOP Overview Planning Considerations

• COOP plans must
• Be capable of implementation anytime, with and
  without warning.
• Provide full operational capability for essential
  functions not later than 12 hours after
  activation.
• Be capable of sustaining operations for up to 30
  days.
• Include regularly scheduled TTE.

13
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Plans and Procedures
• Essential Functions
• Delegations of Authority
• Orders of Succession
• Alternate Facilities
• Interoperable Communications

• Vital Records
• Human Capital
• TTE
• Devolution
• Reconstitution

14
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Essential Functions are those functions that
  enable an organization to
• Provide vital services.
• Exercise civil authority.
• Maintain the safety of the general public.
• Sustain the industrial and economic base.

15
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Essential functions
• Most important planning element
• Basis for determining resource requirements
• Staff
• Vital information/critical systems
• Equipment
• Supplies and services
• Facilities

16
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Identifying/Prioritizing Essential Functions
• Agencies must determine functions that must be
  continued in all circumstances.
• Essential functions include those that
• Cannot be interrupted for 12 hours.
• Must be resumed within 30 days.

17
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Essential functions include all functions
• Explicitly assigned by law or order of the
  President.
• Determined by the agency head to be essential.
• That provide vital support to another Federal
  Executive Branch department or agency.

18
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability
Staffing

• Staff required to support essential functions
• Number
• Skills
• Experience
• Availability
• Timing of requirement

19
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Delegations of Authority
• To ensure the continued operation of
  departments/agencies and their essential
  functions
• To ensure rapid response to any emergency
  situation requiring COOP implementation

20
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Delegations of Authority specify. . .
• Who is authorized to make decisions or act on
  behalf of the department/agency head and other
  key officials for specific purposes during COOP
  emergencies

21
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Delegations of Authority
• Purposes
• Approving emergency policy changes
• Approving changes in SOPs
• Empowering designated representatives to
  participate as members of interagency emergency
  response teams to act on behalf of the agency
  head

22
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability
Delegations of Authority

• Purposes
• Making personnel management decisions
• Approving commitment of resources
• Signing contracts

23
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Orders of Succession are. . .
• Provisions for the assumption of senior agency
  leadership positions during an emergency when. .
  .
• The incumbents are unable or unavailable to
  execute their legal duties.

24
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Orders of Succession
• Should be established for
• The agency head
• Officials down to and including office directors
  responsible for performing essential functions
• Are required by Presidential Executive Order for
  the heads of cabinet-level departments and
  agencies

25
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Alternate Facilities are
• Locations, other than the normal facility, used
  to carry out essential functions in a COOP
  situation.

26
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Alternate Facilities
• Desirable characteristics
• Located at a safe distance from and secured
  against worst-case and most-likely scenarios
• Can be operational in 12 hours or less
• Provide sufficient space, equipment, supplies,
  and services to support COOP personnel in the
  performance of essential functions

27
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Alternate Facilities
• Desirable characteristics
• Supports required communications and IT
  infrastructures
• Provides for food, lodging, health, sanitation,
  and security needs of COOP personnel on site or
  nearby

28
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Interoperable Communications are
• Communications that provide the capability to
  perform essential functions, in conjunction with
  other agencies and organizations, until normal
  operations can be resumed.

29
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Interoperable Communications
• Support performance of essential functions
• Provide capability to communicate within the
  organization
• Provide connectivity to outside agencies/
  customers
• Ensure access to data, systems, and services

30
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Vital Records are
• Electronic and hardcopy documents, references,
  and records needed to support essential functions
  during a COOP situation. The two basic
  categories of vital records are
• Emergency operating records.
• Legal and financial records.

31
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability
Vital Records

• Emergency operating records
• Plans and directives
• Orders of succession
• Delegations of authority
• References for performing essential functions

32
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability
Vital Records

• Legal and financial records
• Personnel records
• Social Security records
• Payroll records
• Retirement records
• Insurance records
• Contract records

33
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Vital Records
• Every Federal agency must have a vital records
  program.
• An effective vital records program provides for
  the identification, protection, and ready
  availability of
• Vital records
• Databases
• Hardcopy documents

34
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Human Capital Management is
• The sum of the talent, energy, knowledge, and
  enthusiasm that people invest in their work.

35
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Human Capital Management
• The right people in the right jobs to perform
  essential functions
• Ensures that all employees have a clear
  understanding of what to do in an emergency
• Includes protocols for identifying/assisting
  special-needs employees

36
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Human Capital Management
• Invests in training and development to build
  skills and competencies to increase employee
  flexibility
• Considers alternate assignments for nonemergency
  employees

37
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Human Capital Management
• Non-ERG Members
• Tell non-ERG members
• Where to go.
• What to do.
• Include employee accountability procedures
• Include recall/activation procedures

FPC-65 provides general guidance on non-ERG
employee work options.
38
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Tests, training, and exercise program includes
• Measures to ensure that an agencys COOP program
  is capable of supporting the continued execution
  of its essential functions throughout the
  duration of the COOP situation.

39
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• TTE Program Goals
• Train ERG members in functional areas of mission
  readiness
• Provide opportunities to acquire skills and
  knowledge required to perform assigned ERG role
• Build team unity
• Reflect lessons learned from TTE events, current
  COOP information, and training needs

40
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Devolution is
• The capability to transfer statutory authority
  and responsibility for essential functions from
  an agencys primary operating staff and
  facilities to other employees and facilities and
  to sustain that operational capability for an
  extended period.

41
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Reconstitution is
• The process by which agency personnel resume
  normal agency operations from the original or
  replacement primary operating facility.

42
Elements of a Viable COOP Capability

• Reconstitution
• Inform all personnel that the threat no longer
  exists, and provide instructions for resumption
  of normal operations.
• Supervise an orderly return to the normal
  operating facility or movement to another
  operating facility.
• Report status of relocation to agency
  partners/customers.
• Conduct an after-action review.

43
COOP Impacts
How will a COOP event affect your organization,
you, and your family?
44
COOP Impacts

• Impact on the Organization
• Leadership
• Operations
• Security
• Communications

A viable COOP plan will minimize the adverse
impacts of a COOP event!
45
COOP Impacts

• You and your family
• Uncertainty
• Personal and family security
• Job security
• Economic well-being

A viable COOP plan and a family support plan will
minimize the adverse impacts of a COOP event!
46
COOP Impacts

• Employee and Family
• COOP and family support plans should
• Include personnel accountability procedures.
• Provide a means for keeping employees informed.
• Provide information to all employees so they can
  develop their family emergency plans.
• Provide information about family support services
  near the alternate site.

47
COOP Impacts

• Employee and Family
• Family emergency plans should include
• Contact and communications information.
• Immediate Emergency Checklist
• Medical
• Financial
• Automobile/Transportation
• Legal/Administrative
• Important documents

48
Course Wrapup

• The COOP program provides the capability to
  continue essential government services through
  any emergency
• Viable COOP programs include comprehensive plans,
  tests, training, and exercises to ensure desired
  capabilities are achieved/maintained.
• COOP emergencies can disrupt all organizations
  for a time and can threaten our well-being and
  that of our families.

49
Course Wrapup
Your support of your organizations COOP program
and a good family support plan can minimize
adverse impacts and promptly restore normal
government operations and family life.