January 15, 2010 12:10 PM
The following was submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in addition to the diversity of other communications to the department regarding the Private Sector Preparedness Program (PS-Prep):
The International Center for Enterprise Preparedness (InterCEP) at New York University is an academic research center dedicated to private sector preparedness and resilience. InterCEP’s research focus is primarily on the linkage of the “what” & “why” of private sector preparedness and resilience. Industry best practices and standards generally inform “what” a company should do in terms of preparedness while bottom-line business case and other motivations generally suggest “why” a company should prepare. Absent a compelling business reason to undertake preparedness efforts, no efforts will be undertaken.
In interfacing with a diversity of stakeholders which potentially could provide incentives for business preparedness, a common message was that there was agreement that preparedness had value and potentially could be better acknowledged overtime in various arenas such as business reporting, supply chain management, etc. However, none of these stakeholders wished to be responsible for expending the effort to assess or confirm that preparedness programs were in place in each business. Many however were open to better acknowledging preparedness overtime if there were an easy-to-recognize and trusted measure or confirmation of business preparedness.
It has been suggested in general business management circles that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” The research of the Center suggests further that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t reward it” as well.
The PS-Prep program could provide a commonly accepted confirmation or measure of preparedness. By providing a confirmation that preparedness is in place, the PS-Prep program may potentially strengthen the link between the “what to do” and the “why to do it” in terms of business preparedness.
A common framework for preparedness based on standards could also facilitate the sharing of preparedness practices across industries, allowing one industry sector to learn from another. Such cross-pollination of preparedness practices could significantly support a more resilient private sector overall as each sector can learn from the success and challenges of others. A common framework could also facilitate the evolution of preparedness and operational risk management as a business discipline and body of knowledge. With the ability to compare and contrast practices across industries and across time, the most effective practices to address common risks and challenges could more easily be identified and communicated.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation funds InterCEP’s research on incentives for business preparedness. The Center is currently addressing the following areas: insurance, rating agency, mitigating legal liability, supply chain management, and corporate governance/business reporting. In this regard, the Center has organized stakeholder Working Groups focused on the PS-Prep Program and key areas of potential business incentives. The objectives of these Working Groups are:
• To identify existing practices and principles in specific topical areas relevant to private sector preparedness;
• In view of these practices and principles, to identify issues, opportunities and potential strategies relevant to the design and implementation of the PS-Prep certification program; and,
• To gather these outputs generated by Working Group participants and communicate them to program stakeholders including where appropriate DHS, and accrediting and certifying bodies.
There are currently five Working Groups, each focused on a particular area of business benefit that could potentially be enhanced by the PS-Prep Certification Program. The Center has been most fortunate to have observers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in each Working Group. In addition, the accrediting body, ANAB, has also participated in various Working Group forums. Both DHS and ANAB are updated as to the Working Group proceedings as appropriate. The Working Groups currently address:
o Supply chain resilience
o Legal liability mitigation
o Business reporting of preparedness
o Insurance acknowledgement
o Rating agency acknowledgement
The current proceedings of these Working Groups as well as research on the PS-Prep program and related issues may be found on the Center’s website at: http://www.nyu.edu/intercep/certification/
The proceedings are available at the following links.
Download file">Proceedings of the Working Group on Supply Chain Management & Resilience
Download file">Proceedings of the Working Group on Business Reporting & Resilience
Download file">Proceedings of the Working Group on Corporate Ratings & Resilience
Download file">Proceedings of the Working Group on Insurance & Resilience
Download file">Proceedings of the Working Group on Legal Liability & Resilience
Certification Working Groups