Promoting Resilience Using an Asset-Based Approach to Business Continuity Planning

Essential service organizations fulfill critical roles in maintaining public health during a disaster; therefore, business continuity planning is paramount to ensure continued functioning of core operations during a disruption. Business continuity planning is typically oriented around a predict and prevent approach. Asset-mapping activities have the potential to balance the predominantly risk-based approach by focusing on strengths and capability already present within organizations. The purpose of this study is to identify a suite of organizational-level assets that support resilience, and to contribute to the empirical evidence base for business continuity planning. Two focus group consultations with essential service organization representatives (n = 22) were held in Ottawa, Canada, in March and April 2014, using the Structured Interview Matrix facilitation format. Inductive analysis was used to identify eight emergent themes that highlight the importance of organizational-level assets and their contribution to adaptive capacity. Leadership and culture in adopting and promoting preparedness strategies were predominant themes, as well as the importance of communication and connectedness across micro, meso, and macro levels. A suite of 25 assets were identified and grouped into seven categories: (a) awareness, (b) human resources, (c) information and communication, (d) leadership and culture, (e) operational infrastructure, (f) physical resources, and (g) social capital. This evidence base can be used as a template to guide asset-mapping activities, and support organizations engaging in business continuity planning.