March 30, 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, planning, and prevention.

Michigan State University (MSU) produces the newsletter through the Critical Incident Protocol (CIP)-Community Facilitation Program under a grant awarded by the Office of Grants & Training, Preparedness Directorate, 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 www.cip.msu.edu for more information about the program.

Participating Communities
The CIP Program represents 31 communities in 19 states with 2,060 participants collaborating on public-private partnerships for joint management of critical incidents. We are looking to work other cities, counties and regions over the next couple of years. Is there a location in the nation that you think may be interested in building a public-private partnership for joint emergency preparedness? If so, please let us know.

Presently, we are working with:

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 / Douglas County, KS / Evansville, IN / GCCC-St. Louis, MO / 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

Welcome Buncombe County, NC to the CIP Program
Buncombe County is located in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and is home to the city of Asheville, the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore Estates, and other attractions. 

The Buncombe County Office of Emergency Management and Progress Energy Corporation co-sponsored the CIP Program.  During the workshop, attendees were committed to establishing a public-private partnership for collaboration on emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery, utilizing an all-hazards approach.  Please welcome Buncombe County to the CIP Program.

The following organizations participated in the workshop: Buncombe County Office of Emergency Management, Progress Energy Carolinas, Buncombe County Schools, American Red Cross, Ingles Markets, Asheville Police Department, Hearts with Hands Disaster Relief, Biltmore Forest Police Department, Buncombe County Safety Department, WLOS-TV, Montreat Water Department, Weaverville Fire Department, Sonopress LLC, Milkco Inc., AB Technical Community College, Tyco Valves & Controls, Montreat Police Department, University of North Carolina-Asheville, Haynes Electric Construction Company, VA Medical Center-Asheville, Colbond Inc., Land-of-Sky Regional Council, The Grove Park Inn, Warren Wilson College, Kearfott Navigation & Guidance Corporation, AT & T, and the Ashville Museum.

Thank You Redmond, WA - Social Capitol Project
Michigan State University recently began the Enhanced Social Capital Survey Project (ESCSP).  In the CIP Program, MSU administers two social capital surveys in each community, which measure the level of networking and critical incident preparedness.  Surveys are completed by participants at the first and last workshop.  An analysis is subsequently conducted and a report is submitted to participating communities.   

The social capital report illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of partnerships as well as critical incident planning and preparedness in communities.  The Enhanced Social Capital Survey Project is intended to measure any long term effects of partnerships for joint crisis management upon communities.  MSU will return to eight communities to administer the questionnaires and conduct personal interviews to gain further insight into the dynamics of partnerships.

Redmond, Washington was one of our initial pilot communities in 2002, when we began the CIP Program.  We contacted the sponsoring organizations to administer an additional survey and discuss partnership issues.  Participants were very enthusiastic, and the City of Redmond is committed to enhancing emergency preparedness through partnership building.  We would like to thank the Redmond Police Department, Redmond Fire Department, Microsoft Corporation, and UPS for participating in the Enhanced Social Capital Survey Project.  A report will be provided in the near future to participating members and organizations, as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A Tabletop Exercise - The Business Case for Security
In addition to the CIP Program, MSU staff works with businesses, public agencies, and non-governmental organizations on programs and projects pertaining to criminal justice, emergency management, business continuity, and homeland security.  Recently, we facilitated a tabletop exercise for the Chief Security Officer (CSO) Executive Council through the CSO Perspectives Conference at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Our scenario included a large corporation that was in the process of launching a new product when a theft occurred.  Simultaneously, a foreign competitor announced that they, too, would be releasing a similar product.  As the scenario unfolds, public and private sector executives collaborate on response to the incident.  Eventually, the scenario concludes with the recovery phase.

The exercise was tailored to the mission of the conference, The Business Case for Security on how to plan, deliver, measure, and communicate.

For more information on the CSO Executive Council, please visit their websites at www.csoexectuivecouncil.com or www.csoonline.com.

Collaborating with the Media
MSU recommends to communities participating in the CIP Program to include the media in the emergency preparedness and planning processes.  Unfortunately, there are communities which may overlook the media as a resource when creating public-private partnerships.  Additionally, during a critical incident, public information is vital through media networks.  Although most public sector organizations include the role of a public information officer, by incorporating the media into the planning stages prior to a critical incident, misunderstandings can be reduced or alleviated. 

To ensure valuable media collaboration:

• Ask for a media representative to jointly discuss crisis planning
• Provide a discussion forum that shares basic information between the media and your organization
• Share with the media information on public sector plans and procedures for crisis management
• Solicit from the media the challenges they face in delivering news when reporting on a crisis
• Provide the media the challenges your organization faces when responding to a crisis
• On a regular basis, provide public awareness information to the media that they may share with their audience
• After the meeting, continue the dialogue in future meetings

Take the time to meet with the media, in order to foster a collaborative spirit that will assist you and them, before the next crisis occurs.

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources
Communities can face numerous challenges when struck by a major crisis.  Additionally, public agencies and businesses respond to the day-to-day challenges of emergencies, accidents, and critical incidents.  In order to reduce or mitigate the impact of a crisis, one of the key components is training, which reduces the time needed to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an incident.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a variety of training exercises, many of which are offered at no cost to individuals tasked with these responsibilities.  FEMA provides information on what are critical infrastructures and key resources in the nation.  Each community needs to be aware of these entities and what preparedness plans are required to ensure the safety of the infrastructure and key resources.

FEMA can provide valuable information on collaboration and cooperation between various agencies and sectors.  To determine your role at the national level, please review the FEMA Independent Study Program for the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) under IS-860.  This independent study focuses on defining critical infrastructure, identifying roles and responsibilities, using risk management to provide protection, and sharing information between partners.

For more on the program, please go to http://training.fema.gov.
Upcoming CIP Workshops

• Greensboro, North Carolina on April 19, 2007
• Perkiomen Valley (Collegeville), Pennsylvania on April 26, 2007 (Tabletop Exercise)
• Racine, Wisconsin on May 10, 2007 (Tabletop Exercise)
• Lansing, Michigan on May 17, 2007

If you would like to attend one of our workshops, please contact us.
Recent Postings to 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 to the welcome page, then on the bottom of the page click on Continue, which takes you to the main menu.

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

• Public Works: An Integral Partner in Emergency Preparedness (EMR-ISAC)
• NFPA1600 (2007 Edition) Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management & Business Continuity Programs
• Resilience Considerations for Disaster Planning & Management

There are numerous other resources located on the website. To locate a specific topic, use the "search" function, which can be found on the main menu page on the right-hand side in the green task bar.

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.

Please note my new email address of weberbr@msu.edu

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