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Continuity of Operations: Selected Agencies Tested Various Capabilities during 2006 Governmentwide Exercise

GAO-08-185 Published: Nov 19, 2007. Publicly Released: Dec 19, 2007.
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Highlights

To ensure the availability of essential government services in emergencies, federal agencies are required to develop continuity of operations (COOP) plans. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for disseminating guidance to federal agencies on developing plans, as well as conducting government-wide exercises every other year to assess federal continuity readiness. In June 2006, FEMA conducted an exercise called Forward Challenge 06, to allow agencies to activate COOP plans, deploy essential personnel to alternate facilities, and perform essential functions. GAO was asked to describe the extent to which agencies tested continuity plans and procedures, personnel, and resources during the June 2006 exercise. To do this, GAO selected the eight civilian agencies with significant responsibilities during national disasters, analyzed agency exercise documentation, and interviewed officials to determine which test and exercise activities each agency included in its participation.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Homeland Security To better assist agencies in assessing their readiness to respond to disruptions, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the FEMA Director to require agencies participating in future governmentwide exercises to document the specific test and exercise activities conducted.
Closed – Implemented
In February 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued Federal Continuity Directive 1 (FCD 1), which provided direction to executive branch agencies for developing continuity plans and programs. Among other things, it directs agencies to develop effective test, training and exercise programs in order to assist agencies in preparing and validating their continuity capabilities. As part of this effort, the directive states that agency exercise programs must include compliance with DHS's National Exercise Program (NEP), which coordinates governmnentwide exercises to examine and prepare the U.S. government and its officials for emergencies. Further, it directs agencies to develop corrective action plans that incorporate evaluations, after-action reports, and lessons learned from agency exercises--including agency participation in governmentwide exercises--in order to assist in documenting, prioritizing and resourcing issues identified during continuity exercises.

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Topics

Continuity of governmentContinuity of operationsContinuity of operations planEmergency managementEmergency preparednessEmergency preparedness programsEmergency response plansEvaluation criteriaFederal agenciesProgram evaluationReporting requirementsPolicies and procedures