CIP Update
July 24, 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 4,100 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
July 29, 2009 – Pensacola, FL (Facilitating Tabletop Exercise)
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)
Previous Best Practices from CIP Program
Last week we were reviewing some of the past newsletters in the archive (available on-line at www.cip.msu.edu) and decided to share with you a few best practices.
March 07, 2005: A few weeks ago we were talking with a security director of a large upscale shopping center who is actively involved in his community's CIP Program. He stated when businesses first start working with the public agencies that generally it is a more of a give, but that in time it can also pay dividends. As a result of his involvement in the CIP program, he networked more with the different public agencies and was invited to participate in public sector committees/working groups. He states that recently all of his security staff were issued emergency response pagers through a federal grant! Plus, the shopping center and a few other high-profile businesses in the area have received radio equipment through a grant too! (Weber, 2005, p. 2).
April 28, 2006: Occasionally, the CIP staff is asked by new communities in the CIP Program if they should have a mission statement, objectives and/or goals…Just last week we finished our last CIP workshop, a tabletop exercise for Annapolis, Maryland. The Annapolis Critical Incident Partnership (ACIP) group formalized their existence by developing a mission statement, objectives and creed. As an example, here is their mission statement:
The Mission of the ACIP is to serve as a bridge between private sector business and local emergency management in order to foster an understanding of emergency preparedness and continuity planning practices within the private sector; to support local businesses in preparing their employees and their families for emergencies; and to broaden the active involvement of the business community in critical incident preparedness, thereby helping to build resilience, self-sufficiency and security into our community. (Weber, 2006, p. 4).
November 16, 2007: When discussing emergency management or crisis management, there are four phases: preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. In public-private partnerships for joint crisis management, the weakest link is the recovery phase. Public emergency responders typically focus on planning, mitigation, and response efforts in providing services to the private sector and do an excellent job. Of course, those communities and regions that collaborate or partner with the business community draw in the expertise from multiple partners to further enhance the level of ‘joint’ crisis management. Yet, what is also needed across the nation is for partners to take their emergency management program to the next level and start dialoguing on how to speed up the ability of the affected businesses and non-profit organizations to recover from a disaster.
In 2005, in Sandy City, Utah, we designed and facilitated a tabletop exercise scenario that involved an explosion and fire at a shopping mall…Normally, after the critical incident, most public agencies have completed the main portion of their tasks and responsibilities. At this point, the devastated business picks up the pieces and attempts to resume normal operations. Depending upon the impact of the disaster, it may take hours, days, or months to recover, or it can also lead to eventual bankruptcy. Here is an excellent example of the public sector focusing on the recovery phase.
The city indicated it would provide the following services during the recovery phase of the exercise:
o Using the Redevelopment Agency Program, the city can provide any needed gap financing to the shopping mall to help in restoration.
o Utilizing city volunteers, they will distribute accurate information about the event to reduce fear or panic in the community, in addition to providing details of the city’s response and improvements prior to a future incident.
o The Joint Information Center (JIC) will coordinate with the marketing efforts of the mall to resume normal operations.
o The Salt Lake County Valley Mental Health Department will be used to support mall employees with counseling.
o The city will expedite the process of obtaining permits for rebuilding and repairing damaged portions of the mall.
o The city will continue their investigate efforts.
o A post-incident assessment (these are done routinely) will be completed with city personnel to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the response and recovery efforts. The city will subsequently communicate the findings to the general public.
o The city’s Economic Development Department will continue to coordinate marketing efforts with the mall.
o The mall will receive additional security support from the police department for a period of time to assure customers and tourists that it is safe.
The above actions could assist the shopping mall to recover quicker. What is your community doing to assist businesses and non-profit organizations to enhance their disaster recovery procedures? (Weber, 2007, p. 2-3).
Social Media and Crisis Management
In March, the American Public Health Association, George Washington University, Booz Allen Hamilton, National Association of Government Communicators, and the International Association of Emergency Managers co-sponsored the “Expert Round Table on Social Media and Risk Communication During Times of Crisis” workshop. Utilizing survey results, along with an agenda, participants further defined the role of social media for crisis communication.
Additionally, Booze Allen Hamilton collated much of the information from the conference and produced a 17-page report, which included the following tips:
Included in the report are other tips, narrative summary of the conference, suggestions on how to establish best practices, and a social media primer. The keynote speaker was Amanda Ripley, author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why. To see an overview of the conference and read Amanda Ripley’s remarks, please go to: http://www.apha.org/about/news/socialmediariskcomm_roundtable.htm.
To obtain a copy of the 17-page report, contact Tim Tinker at tinker_timothy@bah.com or 703 902-4519 with Booze Allen Hamilton. Our thanks to John Solomon and his In Case of Emergency, Read Blog newsletter for sharing this information. To read his blog and/or sign up for email newsletters, go to: http://incaseofemergencyblog.com.
Predicting Human Behavior During Disasters
The previous article leads to an opportunity for stakeholders to further explore the actions, thoughts and motivations of people during times of disaster. If you have not read the book, please take the time to peruse Amanda Ripley’s, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disasters Strike and Why. I believe you will find it interesting with many different examples of disasters where Ripley examines how and why people react the way they do. Ripley provides case histories with personal interviews with survivors of disasters. I suspect there are a number of assumptions that organizations have designed into planning, response, and recovery procedures that are based upon what we believe people will do when faced with a serious incident.
FEMA is Hiring Private Sector Reservists
Please share with the military associations and groups in your community that FEMA is looking for reservists to join the FEMA Disaster Assistance Employees workforce. Reservists, who are able to be deployed to at least two disasters a year, can travel on short notice, and are available to work on an intermittent basis should contact FEMA. To learn more, please go to: https://www.fema.gov/pdf/privatesector/reservist.pdf.
Additionally, FEMA has a dedicated website for the private sector, which contains a variety of useful information on preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. In addition to planning and preparedness guides, there is a list of best practices called Success Stories. To learn more about the FEMA Private Sector Division, please go to: http://www.fema.gov/privatesector.
Free School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) Training for Law Enforcement – Gulf Region
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Foundation in partnership with the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety (NUCPS) is offering SPSC to Gulf Region law enforcement executives, managers, and supervisors. NUCPS has gratuitously offered this course free to prospective participants.
The 10-week course is from August 24th to October 30, 2009 and will be held at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy. The IACP Foundation is offering this course to agencies that would otherwise be unable to send officers due to cost or travel restrictions.
To learn more about this unique opportunity, please contact IACP Foundation Director, Petey Casstevens at casstevens@theiacp.org or 800 843-4227, x367.
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.
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:
July 22nd – Planning for an Emergency Aug 19th – Creating Business/Community Drills
July 29th – Creating Business/Continuity Drills Aug 26th – Business Continuity Planning
Aug 5th – Personal Emergency Planning Sept 2nd – Special Needs Population
Aug 12th – Protecting Employees
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:
· Grants for Public/Private Partnerships Using Broadband Through Federal Government
· Sustainable Critical Infrastructure Systems (National Research Council)
· ASIS Facilities Physical Securities Measures Guide
· Ready New York: Emergency Planning Guide for Small & Mid-Size Businesses
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
Solomon, J. (July 21, 2009). In Case of Emergency, Read Blog newsletter. New report Offers Officials 11 Tips for Using Social Media in Emergencies: Survey Indicates Public Health & Safety Professionals Can Do “Considerably More” On Communications.
Weber, B.R. (March 7, 2005). CIP Update - newsletter. Critical Incident Protocol (CIP) – Community Facilitation Program.
Weber, B.R. (April 28, 2006). CIP Update – newsletter. Critical Incident Protocol (CIP) – Community Facilitation Program.
Weber, B.R. (November 16, 2007). CIP Update – newsletter. Critical Incident Protocol (CIP) – Community Facilitation Program.
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