Challenge
Meet FEMA-aligned requirements for continuity planning under the Continuity Guidance Circular (CGC), while turning them into practical, operational procedures that would work in a real emergency.
Solution
Design and facilitation of a tailored tabletop COOP development exercise, that brings together cross-sector stakeholders to test, validate, and strengthen plans.
Benefits
The exercise identified gaps, clarified roles, developed participant relationships, and generated a clear roadmap for finalizing a robust, federally aligned Continuity of Operations Plan.
Customer
A Texas county public health agency.
Building continuity through collaboration and expertise
Faced with the need to transform FEMA-aligned continuity requirements into actionable plans, the Texas county public health agency turned to 4C Strategies for a tailored COOP development exercise. The scenario design, simulated a realistic disruption to test the agency’s ability to maintain essential services, coordinate decision-making across departments, and initiate recovery from the outset. It embedded FEMA key best practices to ensure the agency got the greatest benefit from the exercise. These included:
Cross-Sector Collaboration
The exercise brought together subject matter experts from across multiple departments to share their perspectives and ideas, reflecting FEMA’s recommendation for multi-disciplinary participation to ensure comprehensive COOP and Continuity of Government (COG) planning.
Relationship Building Before Crisis
Informal relationship-building is a valuable consequence of exercising together. As mentioned in the session, “Even in the coffee breaks, that ability to carry on the conversation and meet people and discuss different points of view was invaluable”. This highlights just how essential relational networks are for efficient interdepartmental coordination during an actual incident.
Focusing on Recovery from the Outset
Restoration and the recovery period needs to start as soon as disaster strikes. Through the exercise scenario and moderated discussions, participants recognized the importance of initiating recovery planning concurrently with the response phase, including cost tracking and restoration milestones—both FEMA-mandated aspects of a well-rounded COOP.
Dedicated software for increasing resilience
Agencies can document results, track progress against identified improvement areas, and maintain audit-ready continuity plans in our Resilience Platform. Regular testing and exercising is encouraged, with built-in scheduling and delivery capabilities, as well as AI-assisted scenario and report generation capabilities.
From Gaps to a Clear Path Forward
The exercise delivered tangible results that went beyond simple compliance. It revealed critical gaps in leadership succession, communications infrastructure, and stakeholder coordination, while clarifying roles and responsibilities during potential disruption. Department leaders left with a deeper understanding of federal guidance and continuity mandates, and the process fostered strong internal buy-in for further planning development and refinement.
More than just identifying improvement areas, the session gave the agency renewed momentum and a clear, actionable roadmap for finalizing its Continuity of Operations Plan.
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