CIP Update

August 14, 2009

This newsletter is for public agencies, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders involved or interested in public-private partnerships for joint emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery.

 

Michigan State University (MSU) produces the newsletter through the Critical Incident Protocol (CIP)-Community Facilitation Program under a grant awarded by the Training & Exercise Integration/Training Operations, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This newsletter provides ideas, suggestions, best practices, and lessons learned to establish critical incident protocols using public-private partnerships.

 

Michigan State University through the CIP Program will “enhance cities, counties, and region’s capabilities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural disasters through public and private sector collaboration, communication, and cooperation.”  MSU facilitates public-private partnerships and the CIP Program is free of charge to participating communities.

 

Please visit our website at www.cip.msu.edu for more information about the program.

 

Participating Communities in the CIP Program
The CIP Program has been initiated in 46 communities in 24 states with over 4,200 participants establishing community public-private partnerships for joint management of critical incidents. We are looking to work with other cities, counties and regions. Is there a location in the nation that you think may be interested in developing a public-private partnership? If so, please let us know.

 

Currently, we are working with the following communities:
Alabama:  Hoover
Arizona:  Casa Grande
California:  Mountain View
Colorado:  Littleton
Connecticut:  Norwalk

Florida:  Western Panhandle
Illinois:  Lake-Cook Regional, Libertyville, Naperville
Indiana:  Evansville
Kansas:  Douglas County
Maryland:  Annapolis, Carroll County, Rockville
Michigan:  Detroit, Marquette County, Monroe, Oakland County
Missouri/Illinois:  Gateway Citizen Corps Coalition, St. Louis
Montana:  Lewis & Clark County
Nevada:  Clark County, Northern Nevada
North Carolina:  Buncombe County, Greensboro
Ohio:  Brooklyn
Pennsylvania:  Allentown, Bethlehem, Northampton County, Perkiomen Valley

South Carolina:  Columbia, Horry County
Texas:  Dallas
Utah:  Layton, Sandy City
Virginia:  Arlington County, Richmond
Washington:  Redmond

West Virginia:  Beckley/Raleigh County
Wisconsin:  Brown County, Dane County, Eau Claire County, Milwaukee, Outagamie County, Racine County, Superior, Winnebago County

Status of CIP Program

On March 17, 2009, we notified the readers of the CIP Update newsletter and other stakeholders that the CIP Program will not receive continuation funding; therefore, the program and staff will be terminated late Fall 2009.  In the meantime, we will continue to provide program services and if anything changes, we will notify you.

 

We encourage you who have participated in the CIP Program or are familiar with it to contact your legislators indicating your support in continuing funding for the program.  Thank you.

 

CIP Program Calendar

August 18, 2009 – Dearborn, MI (Initiating the CIP Partnership Program)

August 19, 2009 – East Lansing, MI (Community/Business Drills, Safe America Foundation’s On 9/11, Drill Down for Safety)

September 9/10, 2009 – Washington, D.C. (National Research Council on Partnerships Conference)

September 20, 2009 – Anaheim, CA (Facilitating Tabletop Exercise for ASIS Conference)

September 29, 2009 – Detroit, MI (Participating in SecureWorld Expo on Public-Private Partnerships)

 

Best Practice on Partnerships

In March 2005, the CIP staff initiated the partnership program with the city of Casa Grande located between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.  During the workshops we facilitate around the country, once in a while something unexpectedly happens.  That day (March 24th) in Casa Grande, a few hours into the workshop, suddenly pagers for the police and fire command started beeping.  About a third of the participants in the workshop got up and went into an adjoining room.  After a few calls, it turned out that a backhoe operator had severed the main communication’s wire that led to shutting off the 911 center to all county residents.  Fortunately, the command eventually came back into the workshop to continue working together.  Four years later that group is still meeting!

 

Casa Grande does not have the participant numbers of Dallas, Detroit, Allentown or some of the other communities.  However, their vision in bringing together various public and private sector stakeholders and leaders is equal to the other partnership communities.  Across the country, there is greater focus on these collaborations, but unfortunately, there are many more communities and regions who have not realized the rewards.

 

The Casa Grande group recently held their latest meeting where the following topics were discussed:

·         Report on the H1N1 situation, including flu shots, vaccinations, supplies, and more.

·         Reviewed with the group the Red Rock outage and lessons learned.

·         Shared information on “Ready Your Business” program and how this might provide a new model for the partnership to follow.

·         Discussed how to generate more participation and reaching out to certain organizations and groups.

·         A new name for the group was approved – the Casa Grande Business Ready Partnership.

 

Our congratulations on the new name and compliments to those who are committed to collaboration for crisis management in Casa Grande, Arizona.

 

Free DHS Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Learning Series

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is providing monthly webinars on critical infrastructure and key resource protection, as part of their CIKR Learning Series.  The webinars are presented by experts on the tools, trends, issues, and best practices for infrastructure protection and resilience.  These free webinars are for private and public sector stakeholders with responsibility for risk, security, and emergency management functions.

 

To be notified of upcoming webinars and their specific date, please contact IP_Education@HQ.dhs.gov.

 

The webinars are as follows:

·         September: CIKR Private Sector Preparedness: What You Need to Know for the Fall Flu Season
   Presenter: Mr. James Caverly, Director, Partnership and Outreach Division, Office of Infrastructure   

   Protection

·         October: CIKR Private Sector Preparedness. What You Need to Know About the New Voluntary Preparedness Standards
    Presenter: Mr. James Caverly, Director, Partnership and Outreach Division, Office of Infrastructure  

    Protection

·         November: The Infrastructure Protection Security Survey. What’s in It for You? 
    Presenter: Mr. Mike Norman, Director, Protective Security Coordination Division Field Operations   

    Branch, Office of Infrastructure Protection

 

Top 10 Risks for Businesses

In reviewing the list of the top 10 risks that affect the business community, one could visualize how many of these risks could also impact government agencies.  Whether the public sector faces the risks is one issue; however, it is equally important for government to “understand” the risks and threats that their stakeholders (businesses, non-profits, and citizenry) face.  The more the public sector understands which issues affect the business community in their locality, the better it can enhance the private sector’s level of preparedness, response, and recovery.  A resilient business community equally makes a resilient government.

 

Aon Risk Services is a global risk advisor and insurance broker and provides their stakeholders with the latest business intelligence.  They surveyed 551 organizations representing 40 countries in late 2008.  Fifty-six percent were publicly owned, 37% privately owned, and the rest were primarily government owned or not-for-profit organizations.  Over 50% of the surveyed participants were located in North America.

 

Aon noted that the top 10 risks that businesses identified were:

·         Economic slowdown

·         Regulatory/legislative changes

·         Business interruption

·         Increasing competition

·         Commodity price risk

·         Damage to reputation

·         Cash flow/liquidity risk

·         Distribution or supply chain failure

·         Failure to attract or retain top talent (Aon Risk Management, 2009, p. 6).

 

Aon Risk Services noted that business preparedness had increased from 60% to 70% compared to the previous survey from 2007 (Aon Risk Management, 2009, p. 6).

 

To download the 64-page report, please go to http://insight.aon.com/?elqPURLPage=3907.

 

2009 ASIS International Conference, Anaheim, California / Free Pre-Seminar Intensive Workshops

For those people who are going to attend this premier security conference, ASIS International is hosting their 55th annual conference for public and private sector professionals.  The conference is from Sept. 21-24, 2009 and the pre-seminar intensive workshops are on the 19th and 20th.  Many attendees make the most of their conference by adding a pre-seminar intensive.

 

For example, those who are interested in critical infrastructure and key resource protection should sign up for the September 20th “Critical Infrastructure Protection: An Educational Forum”.  This pre-seminar workshop focuses on the 18 critical infrastructure sectors.  The morning will include presentations by notable subject matter experts, and the afternoon will include a 4-hour tabletop exercise scenario involving all 18 sectors, such as law enforcement, fire services and the media.  Brit Weber, CIP Program Director will be facilitating the tabletop exercise.

 

For those who attended the last three annual conferences, ASIS is offering a VIP Alumni service.  This includes the following:

·         Free pre-seminar intensive workshop of your choice

·         Team discounts for five or more people from the same organization

·         Early VIP housing registration service

 

To access the information on the VIP Alumni program, please go to http://www.asisonline.org/education/programs/anaheim/vip.htm.  To learn more about the ASIS conference, please go to http://www.asisonline.org and click on the menu item for the 55th Annual Conference.

 

12 Tips for Using Social Media in Emergency Management (Seeking Feedback)

More public and private sector leaders are looking to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to get their message out.  Because this area is relatively new, people are questioning the best way to effectively use social media.  Here are 12 tips that were synthesized from various sources.

In keeping with the format of Twitter, each tip consists of less than 140 characters (excluding the paragraph heading):

  1. Accessibility:  Use social media to make emergency management messages accessible to a diverse, mobile and interconnected audience quickly.
  2. Tone:  Use active voice and stick to facts to communicate authority, accuracy, and applicability.
  3. Reliability:  Do not rely on social media to transmit urgent warnings or as the sole means of disseminating important messages.
  4. Redundancy:  Use social media to reinforce messages transmitted using other media and channels.
  5. Repetition:  Avoid repeating the same message too often, albeit in modified form, as a means of reinforcing key ideas.
  6. Relevance:  Make sure messages are pertinent and coherent, avoid excessive use of links to external sites, and keep content fresh and crisp.
  7. Receiving:  Recognize that social media is a form of two-way communication, not just another outbound channel.
  8. Reciprocity:  Share timely and relevant information from trusted sources by reposting or retransmitting it.
  9. Frequency:  Respect followers and friends by posting regularly but not too often; at least twice but no more than six times a day except in emergencies.
  10. Timeliness:  Get messages out as soon as practical, but do not let social media interfere with essential functions.
  11. Sensitivity:  Exercise reasonable care and discretion when disseminating information that could affect personal or proprietary interests.
  12. Security:  Always select and use a secure password and restrict account access to authorized agency representatives.

 

Our thanks to Mark Chubb, Principal Consultant, Public Safety and Emergency Management at Manitou, Inc., Portland, Oregon who shared this.  Mark Chubb is seeking feedback on the list, so feel free to contact him at mchubb@manitouinc.com.

 

Join Former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta in 9/11 National Drill Down Safety Campaign

Honorary Chairman Secretary Mineta is inviting agencies, businesses, non-profit organizations, and citizens to demonstrate their emergency preparedness by participating in the On 9/11, Drill Down for Safety campaign led by the Safe American Foundation.  Also partnering with Safe America as the lead public sector entity is Region V (Chicago) FEMA, in collaboration with other FEMA Regions.

 

On September 11, 2009, you and members of your organization, agency, school, hospital, business, and community can participate in emergency preparedness initiatives by conducting a drill, such as an evacuation or shelter-in-place.  If drill activities do not fit your plan, then implement another event which profiles preparedness and the organization’s commitment.  Michigan State University is participating in this event by activating the university wide emergency alert system which can reach up to 55,000 staff and students.

 

Many business executives are participating, as they reach out to other executives to join them, including UPS, Motorola, Office Depot, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Allstate.  The leadership from FEMA, American Red Cross, International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), National Association of Emergency Managers (NEMA), National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC), National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), and the National Association of EMTSs (NAEMT) are also participating.

 

Beginning July 22nd, Safe America will be hosting the following weekly Webinars on Wednesdays:

            Aug 19th – Creating Business/Community Drills

                        Aug 26th – Business Continuity Planning

                        Sept 2nd – Special Needs Population

                           

 

For more information, contact Bob Surrusco at bsurrusco@safeamerica.org.

 

To learn about the Safe American Foundation and this upcoming opportunity to demonstrate emergency preparedness in honor of September 11th, please go to http://www.safeamerica.org. 

 

Recent Postings to the CIP Information Exchange Website
The CIP Information Exchange website is a large database for public and private sector professionals interested in homeland security, emergency preparedness, business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency management.  It also contains research publications, government documents, news items, and more.

 

To enter the ‘CIP Information Exchange’ database, please go to https://angel.msu.edu and using the drop-down menu, select Angel Guest Account.  Click on ‘proceed’, and on the next webpage, enter “msu.msu” in the Angel Guest User box and “partnership” (both without quotation marks) as the password to log on.  On the next page, click on Critical Incident Protocol (CIP) – Community Facilitation, which launches to the main menu.

 

Located in the folder "Bulletin Board - Information for all Communities" are a variety of recent postings, including:

·         Terrorist Watch: 23 Plots Foiled Since 9/11

·         Public Uses Social Networking During Disasters

·         Schools Find Role In National Emergency Communication’s Plan

·         DHS Progress in Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendations

 

There are numerous other resources located on the website. To locate a specific topic, utilize the "search" function on the left side.  On top left side click on “guide” and when the sidebar box opens, go to the bottom in the box and click on “search” and follow the directions. 

 

Past Newsletters
If you are interested in viewing past CIP Update newsletters, please go to www.cip.msu.edu and select "Newsletters" from the main menu.

 

Closing
If you have any topics and/or ideas for a future CIP Update newsletter, please contact Brit Weber at weberbr@msu.edu or (517) 355-2227 or other MSU staff members. About every three weeks you will receive this newsletter via email. If you no longer wish to be on this list, please reply to this email.

 

Disclaimer
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or Michigan State University.

 

Sources

Aon Risk Services (2009).  Aon Global Risk Management Survey 2009.  Retrieved on August 12, 2009 from: http://img.en25.com/Web/AON/GlobalRiskManagementSurvey2009.pdf.

 

Chubb, M. (2009).  10 Tips for Using Social Media in Emergency Management.  Web posting, LinkedIn bulletin Board.

 

 

Brit Weber
Program Director
CIP-Community Facilitation Program
School of Criminal Justice
Michigan State University
1407 S. Harrison Rd., 335 Nisbet Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48823
Work:  (517)  355-2227   Cell:  (517) 206-1640
weberbr@msu.edu
Please visit our website:  http://www.cip.msu.edu