CONTINGENCY CYCLE &

CONTINGENCY PROCESS

By: ivy y. Jordan, rl

 OBJECTIVES

• At the end of this session, the participants are expected to know the
process of contingency planning and cycle.
No one can predict the future or how events beyond an organization’s
control will affect its ability to continue to operate. But businesses can
prepare for events beyond their control. Using a “what if” process,
organizations develop contingency plans, sometimes called business
continuity plans, to identify unknown scenarios that may affect their
operations, such as earthquakes, fires, violence and other situations and
how they will respond to each scenario.
 PURPOSE

The purpose of a contingency plan is to allow an organization to return to its daily

operations as quickly as possible after an unforeseen event. The contingency plan
protects resources, minimizes customer inconvenience and identifies key staff,
assigning specific responsibilities in the context of the recovery. For example,
human resources may develop employee evacuation plans; support employee
benefits programs, such as health care or worker’s compensation; or hire
temporary workers as needed. Contingency plans are both organization-wide and
department-specific. For example, information services departments typically have
a disaster recovery plan to protect, restore and use company data, including
computer hardware, software and instructional manuals.
CONTINGENCY CYCLE
 CONTINGENCY CYCLE

• The National Incident Management System (NIMS) defines preparedness as “a

continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising,
evaluating, and taking corrective active in an effort to ensure effective
coordination during incident response.” The cycle is one element of a broader
system to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against natural
disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.
 CONTINGENCY CYCLE

1. PLAN
- Planning makes it possible to manage the entire life cycle of a potential crisis. Strategic and
operational planning establishes priorities, identifies expected levels of performance and capability
requirements, provides the standard for assessing capabilities and helps stakeholders learn their
roles. The planning elements identify what an organization’s Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs) or Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) should include for ensuring that contingencies are
in place for delivering the capability during a large-scale disaster.
 CONTINGENCY CYCLE

• ORGANIZE & EQUIP

- Organizing and equipping provide the human and technical capital stock necessary to build
capabilities and address modernization and sustainability requirements. Organizing and equipping
include identifying what competencies and skill sets people should possess and ensuring an
organization has the correct personnel. Additionally, it includes identifying and acquiring standard
equipment an organization may need to use in times of emergency.
 CONTINGENCY CYCLE

TRAINING
-Training provides first responders, homeland security officials, emergency management officials,
private and non-governmental partners, and other personnel with the knowledge, skills, and
abilities needed to perform key tasks required during a specific emergency situation.
 CONTINGENCY CYCLE

• EXERCISE
-Exercises enable entities to identify strengths and incorporate them within best practices to sustain
and enhance existing capabilities. They also provide an objective assessment of gaps and shortfalls
within plans, policies and procedures to address areas for improvement prior to a real-world
incident. Exercises help clarify roles and responsibilities among different entities, improve inter-
agency coordination and communications and identify needed resources and opportunities for
improvement.
 CONTINGENCY CYCLE

• EVALUATE / IMPROVE
• -The last phase of the Preparedness Cycle is evaluation and improvement. During this phase,
organizations collect lessons learned, develop improvement plans, and track corrective actions to
address gaps and deficiencies identified in exercises or real-world events. FEMA’s Lessons
Learned and Continuous Improvement Program (LL/CIP) brings together the collective
evaluation and improvement efforts of federal, state and local emergency management and
homeland security professionals to continuously improve and strengthen preparedness and
homeland security at the federal, state and local levels.
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING
• NATIONAL INSTITUTE of STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY (NIST) –
defines contingency planning as management policies and procedures designed
to maintain or restore business operations, including computer operations,
possibly at an alternate location in the event of emergency, system failure, or
disaster.
• INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE LIBRARY (ITIL) –
defines disaster recovery as a series of processes that focus only upon the
recovery processes, principally in response to physical disaster, that are
contained with in business continuity management (BCM).
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HSS) and
ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE LIFE CYCLE (EPLC) – defines a
contingency/disaster recovery plan as the strategy and organized course of action
that is to be taken if things don’t go as planned or if there is a loss of use of the
established business product or system due to a disaster such as flood, fire,
computer virus, or major failure.
 HOW CAN LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS
EFFECTIVELY PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR
DISASTERS?
A dynamic and effective disaster plan is the most important element
of the process. Much of the work being done in disaster planning in
the for-profit field can be applied to libraries and museums, and
information on writing a disaster plan is easily accessible from a
number of business information sources.
CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROCESS
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING
1. PREPARE - such planning is a management tool, involving all sectors, which
can help ensure timely and effective provision of humanitarian aid to those
most in need when a disaster occurs. Time spent in contingency planning
equals time saved when a disaster occurs. Effective contingency planning
should lead to timely and effective disaster-relief operations.
 When and how to plan?
-Contingency planning is an ongoing process and the planning process is often as
important as the plan itself.
- Contingency planning should always be undertaken when there is a high risk or
probability that a disaster or emergency situation may occur
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROCESS

2. ANALYSE

Contingency planning has three components: an estimate of what is

going to happen, a plan based on this estimate of what the response
should be; and some actions identified to be best prepared.
- In the absence of an actual disaster, contingency plans are based on
scenarios. These are focused on analyzing the risks to the population
and likely impacts of potential disasters. Producing realistic scenarios
is important for effective contingency planning
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROCESS

• Hazards Most National Societies will be aware of the principal

hazards that need to be planned for, as will most at-risk communities.
Contingency planning is likely to have been triggered by the probable
threat of a particular hazard
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROCESS
3. DEVELOP
Strategy, goal and objectives- This will normally be about the
number of people involved and what areas of response are required
technically and geographically.
Activation of the plan - Almost as essential as knowing what you are
going to do in a response, is to know when you are going to do it.
This small but important detail is crucial, and can save hours or even
days. Every plan should have a small section outlining how the plan
is to be activated, when and by whom.
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROCESS
 Management -In an emergency it is vital to know who is going to do what. The
clearer the responsibilities and the decision-making processes are, the more
likely a response will be effective.

 Coordination – Coordination is key to successful disaster response, and is

essential in enabling the scaling-up of resources. Coordination takes place at
different levels and in various forms. Good coordination is crucial for combining
resources effectively and efficiently, in order to assist the disaster-affected more
rapidly with a well organized operation.
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROCESS
Quality and accountability - These guidelines aim to provide advice and
suggestions to help disaster managers produce contingency plans of high quality,
relevance and usefulness.
4. IMPLEMENT
Analysis and action plans, standards operating procedures, early warning and
alert systems, logistic and program readiness, human resource and resource
mobilization, training and simulation, linkages and communications
5. REVIEW
• updating and evaluating plans, real-time evaluating and after the response.
 CONTINGENCY PLANNING CHALLENGES

You should be aware of two common obstacles as you begin your contingency
planning process:
• People are often poorly motivated to develop a strong "Plan B," because they
have so much of an emotional investment in the "Plan A" that they want to
deliver. Stress that Plan B needs to be properly thought-through.
• There’s often a low probability of a crisis occurring, so people often don’t see
contingency planning as an urgent activity. Unfortunately, this can mean that it
gets stuck at the bottom of their To Do Lists as a task that never gets done.
Developing the Plan
Remember these guidelines when it's time to prepare your contingency plan:
• Your main goal is to maintain business operations – Look closely at what you
need to do to deliver a minimum level of service and functionality.
• Define time periods – What must be done during the first hour of the plan being
implemented? The first day? The first week? If you look at the plan in this way,
you're less likely to leave out important details.
• Identify the trigger – What, specifically, will cause you to implement the
contingency plan? Decide which actions you'll take, and when. Determine who is
in charge at each stage and what type of reporting process they must follow.
• Keep the plan simple – You don't know who will read, and implement the plan
when it's needed, so use clear, plain language.
• Consider related resource restrictions – Will your organization be able to
function the same way if you have to implement Plan B, or will Plan B
necessarily reduce capabilities?
• Identify everyone's needs – Have people throughout the company identify what
they must have, at a minimum, to continue operations.
• Define 'success' – What will you need to do to return to "business as usual?"
• Include contingency plans in standard operating procedures – Make sure you
provide initial training on the plan, and keep everyone up-to-date on changes.
• Manage your risks – Look for opportunities to reduce risk, wherever possible.
This may help you reduce, or even eliminate, the need for full contingency plans
in certain areas.
• Identify operational inefficiencies – Provide a standard to document your
planning process, and find opportunities for performance improvement.
HERE ARE SOME KEY STEPS IN THE CONTINGENCY
PLAN MAINTENANCE PROCESS:

• Communicate the plan to everyone in the organization.

• Inform people of their roles and responsibilities related to the plan.
• Provide necessary training for people to fulfill these roles and responsibilities.
• Conduct disaster drills where practical.
• Assess the results of training and drills, and make any necessary changes.
• Review the plan on a regular basis, especially if there are relevant technological,
operational, and personnel changes.
 HERE ARE SOME KEY STEPS IN THE
CONTINGENCY PLAN MAINTENANCE PROCESS:
• Distribute revised plans throughout the company, and make sure that the old plan
is discarded.
• Keep copies of the plan off-site, and in a place where they can be accessed
quickly when needed.
• Audit the plan periodically:
• Reassess the risks to the business.
• Analyze efforts to control risk by comparing actual performance with the
performance levels described in the contingency plan.
• Recommend and make changes, if necessary.
 KEY POINTS

• Contingency planning is ignored in many companies. Day-to-day operations are

demanding, and the probability of a significant business disruption is small, so
it's hard to make time to prepare a good plan.
• However, if you're proactive in the short term, you'll help ensure a quicker and
more effective recovery from an operational setback in the long term, and you
may save your organization from failure in the event that risks materialize.
• Contingency planning requires an investment of time and resources, but if you
fail to do it – or if you do it poorly – the costs could be significant if a disaster
happens.
CONTINGENCY PLANNING SAMPLE
REFERENCES:
http://www.coehsem.com/emergency-management-cycle/
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_51.htm
https://www.ifrc.org/PageFiles/40825/1220900-CPG%202012-EN-LR.pdf
https://
www2.cdc.gov/cdcup/library/practices_guides/CDC_UP_Contingency_Planning_Practices_Guide.
pdf
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/purpose-contingency-planning-24864.html