CIP Update

June 22, 2007

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 & Education Division, 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. Through the CIP Program, Michigan State University facilitates public-private partnerships for cities, counties, and regions across the nation.

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

Participating Communities in the CIP Program
The CIP Program has been initiated in 32 communities in 20 states with over 2,200 participants collaborating on 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:
Allentown, PA / Annapolis, MD / Bethlehem, PA / Brooklyn, OH / Brown County, WI / Buncombe County, NC / Carroll County, MD / Casa Grande, AZ / Clark County, NV / Dallas, TX / Dane County, WI / Douglas County, KS / Evansville, IN / GCCC-St. Louis, MO / Greensboro, NC / Hoover, AL / Layton, UT / Lewis & Clark County, MT / Libertyville, IL / Littleton, CO / Marquette County, MI / Milwaukee, WI / Monroe County, MI / Northampton County, PA / Norwalk, CT / Oakland County, MI / Perkiomen Valley, PA / Redmond, WA / Racine, WI / Richmond, VA / Rockville, MD / Sandy City, UT

CIP Program Activities 
July 11, 2007 – Auburn Hills, MI  (Presentation on Building Public-Private Teams)
July 16-18, 2007 - Sandy City, UT  (Enhanced Social Capital Survey Project)
July 19, 2007 – Brown County, WI  (Tabletop Exercise through CIP Program)
July 24, 2007 – Riverwoods, IL  (Initiate CIP for Lake-Cook Regional Illinois)
July 26, 2007 – Schaumburg, IL  (Initiate CIP for Schaumburg, Illinois)
August 16, 2007 – Asheville, NC  (Tabletop Exercise through CIP Program)

Public-Private Partnerships - What's in it for Me?
Across the nation there is a grass-roots movement of collaboration between government, businesses, and non-profit organizations to ensure that communities are safe, secure, vibrant, and economically robust.  The government sector considers these partnerships as an opportunity to gain additional resources to mitigate the impact of critical incidents in communities, establish pre-planning with businesses for continuity of operation planning (COOP), and strengthen relationships with the private sector.  The business community is looking at these partnerships to enhance their short and long term strategic planning, increase their level of emergency preparedness, and strengthen their relationship with government.

Through partnerships, both public and private sector entities identify and share new resources, emphasize mitigation to reduce the impact of disasters, conduct risk assessments to identify critical business functions and community needs, facilitate business resumption and recovery, identify and enhance critical infrastructure protection, reduce operational costs, and manage critical incidents to minimize economic losses.

For the public sector, partnering with the business community is vitally important.  For example, potential loss of businesses can impact the community through diminished tax revenue and consumer spending.  Cooperation creates greater understanding of the business community's risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.  Many companies will provide resources to the public sector for mitigating crises, disasters, and critical incidents.  Businesses which share strategic planning initiatives with the local government can assist the public sector in their long-term objectives as well.  Government agencies and private sector organizations which utilize the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) create a partnership model for joint emergency response and recovery.

When the private sector collaborates with public sector entities, businesses profit in several ways.  First, it raises the level of emergency preparedness in the business community.  Second, businesses learn the capabilities and limitations of first responders which aids in identifying shortfalls or gaps.  Information sharing educates members in the business community on the government's long-term goals, which assists the private sector in pre-planning efforts.  Businesses which share their organizational philosophy and their mechanisms to achieve their mission provide valuable information to the public sector on business value, since public sector entities may want to incorporate similar methods.

In sum, communities that recognize the value of public-private partnerships can enhance the overall level of emergency preparedness, since the next disaster can strike in any locality.

Building an Intelligence Program for the Community (DHS Funded)
The 'Intelligence Toolbox Training Program' is offered by Michigan State University, which is a free DHS approved course for local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies to enhance or develop intelligence-led policing in communities, regardless of size.  This two-day training program is funded by the Department of Homeland Security and is offered at no cost to participants.  During the program, the development of intelligence missions, goals and objectives, trends and issues in law enforcement intelligence, security clearance, access to federal intelligence products, and funding is discussed in depth.  Additionally, private sector professionals have benefited from attending these workshops.

For more information on the program, and to view a schedule of upcoming sessions, please visit their website at: https://intellprogram.msu.edu/Index.php.

Michigan State University is widely recognized for its research, academic and outreach programs in the intelligence field.  MSU offers the Law Enforcement Intelligence Certificate in addition to other related curriculum.  David L. Carter, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Criminal Justice, recently published Law Enforcement Intelligence: A Guide for State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement.

Profile of the Pittsburg Regional Business Coalition for Homeland Security
In January 2005, the Pittsburg Regional Business Coalition for Homeland Security (PRBCHS) was established as a non-profit, public/private partnership group to assist businesses in western Pennsylvania to prepare for, respond to, and recover from man-made and/or natural disasters.  The PRBCHS is creating a database of participating businesses that lists physical assets, subject matter experts, and volunteers that may be called upon by first responders when a disaster occurs.  Additionally, they will be developing communication and educational programs for disaster preparedness and response.  PRBCHS is collaborating with federal, regional, state, and local government entities for a variety of preparedness initiatives, including threat and vulnerability assessments.

PRBCHS maintains an extensive website, which provides an overview of their organization, services, and contact information.  Furthermore, past newsletters are available, as well as educational and training material, including CD-ROM's on disaster preparedness topics.  For more information, please visit their website at http://www.pittsburghcoalitionforsecurity.org.

Enhancing Critical Infrastructure Protection Through Partnerships
Ensuring the safety of critical infrastructure owned and operated by businesses, agencies, and organizations is essential for community and national security.  According to The National Strategy for Homeland Security (July 2002, p. 29-30), critical infrastructure includes, "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters."

Over the past year, there has been a resurgence across the nation by government agencies, communities, associations, and other institutions looking to identify, evaluate, enhance, and secure critical infrastructure.  The federal government has indicated that critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR) is inclusive of  the following 17 sectors: agriculture/food, drinking water/wastewater treatment systems, public health/healthcare, emergency services, defense industrial base, telecommunications, energy, transportation systems, banking/finance, chemicals/hazardous materials, postal/shipping, information technology, national monuments/icons, nuclear reactors/materials/waste, dams, government facilities, and commercial facilities.

Since approximately 85% of the nation's CI/KR is owned by the private sector, government jurisdictions are seeking to identify these entities in their communities that meet this initiative.  Therefore, through public-private partnerships, communities can identify the shortfalls and gaps in critical infrastructure protection.  Although some businesses may be included in one of the above 17 sectors, some organizations may not be designated as critical infrastructure.  However, there are significant challenges to enhancing privately owned critical infrastructure, including funding.

To identify ways to assist the business community for CI/KR protection, the following suggestions are offered for policy-makers and practitioners alike:

At the local level, communities are encouraged to include CI/KR protection as one of their goals.  

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, government documents, news items, and more.

To enter the CIP Information Exchange website, please go to https://angel.msu.edu and enter “msu.msu@angel” in the User/NetID and “partnership” (both without quotation marks) as the password to log in. On the next page, please click on CIP, which launches the main menu.

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

There are numerous other resources located on the website. To locate a specific topic, utilize the "search" function.  

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.


Brit Weber
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
Visit our website:  http://www.cip.msu.edu