Alternate Action Plan Format

STRATEGIC PLAN GUIDANCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION                                                                                                                   PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................

INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................

ERT STRATEGIC PLANNING OVERVIEW........................................................

·                             TIMELINES..............................................................................................

·                             MILESTONES..........................................................................................

·                             STRATEGIC SUB-OBJECTIVES...........................................................

·                             SPECIAL FUNCTION PLANS..........................................................

STRATEGIC PLANNING CHECKLIST..........................................................

STRATEGIC PLAN TEMPLATE (Instructions)...............................................

STRATEGIC PLAN TEMPLATES (Format)....................................................

ERT STRATEGIC PLANNING OVERVIEW

The primary purposes of an ERT Strategic Plan are (1) to provide a master planning framework within which shorter-term functional area planning activities are conducted, and (2) to provide a basis for measuring and assessing ERT efficacy.  The level of detail required in a strategic plan is normally determined by the overall complexity of the response/recovery situation and projected duration of the ERT operation.  For specific goals that require extensive detail (e.g., a long-term debris management activity or a mitigation recovery program), a Special Function Plan dealing solely with that activity should be separately developed (refer to page 8 for additional Special Function Plan guidance).

The Strategic Plan is guided by a Mission Statement that succinctly articulates the direction the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) has established for the response, recovery and mitigation missions.  A Mission Statement is not measurable, but instead reflects a strategic direction. Strategic goals form the foundation of the strategic plan.  They represent where the FCO wants the ERT operation to be at selected times along an established timeline.  Although the FCO is responsible for articulating the strategic ERT goals, they are based on deliberative input from major ERT elements, as well as the State Coordinating Officer (SCO).  Once identified, these goals allow functional ERT elements to develop supporting long-range objectives and estimated workload and staffing requirements.

NOTE: Do not confuse strategic goals with an FCO’s action planning priorities.  Whereas an FCO priority is established to focus operational activities on an existing need or requirement, an FCO strategic goal is established to focus functional planning activities on a future requirement or desired outcome.  And, while FCO priorities will change frequently over the course of a disaster response, strategic goals should remain relatively fixed.

The strategic planning process should be as simple and straightforward as possible.  The major elements/products of the process are described below:

1) Mission Statement.  The FCO, as the leader of the response effort, establishes and articulates the long-range direction of the response, recovery and mitigation effort.  The FCO revisits and revises the Mission Statement as needed.

2) Strategic Goals.  The FCO, in consultation with the SCO, identifies long-range, or strategic goals (with desired dates of achievement) for the ERT to meet.  The FCO revisits and, if necessary, updates the strategic goals on a regular basis.

3) Strategic Objectives.  The ERT functional area leaders (section chiefs, program area chiefs, etc.) identify actions (with projected dates of achievement) they can take to meet the FCO’s strategic goals.  These actions become strategic objectives.  ERT functional area leaders revisit and update their objectives on a regular basis.

4) The ERT Strategic Plan.  The Information and Planning Section captures and maintains the above planning and strategizing in a timeline-based outline that is the ERT Strategic Plan.  To support this process, the Section conducts regular strategic planning meetings to revisit and, where necessary, update strategic planning objectives.

The Information and Planning Section is responsible for coordinating the development and production of the ERT Strategic Plan.  Typically, strategic planning does not begin in earnest until immediate response operations have stabilized, permitting a clearer picture of long-term disaster response and recovery implications and requirements.  However, it may be situationally desirable to begin initial strategic planning early in the initial response phase, perhaps even as a preliminary activity at the Regional Operations Center.  However, once the DFO is operational, responsibility for continued strategic planning will transition to the ERT.

Strategic planning meetings are crucial to developing the Strategic Plan itself, and should be held as often as necessary to assure its timely development.  Once the plan has been developed and published, it is recommended that strategic planning meetings be scheduled shortly after each major strategic milestone is achieved or was scheduled to occur.  This will allow the Planning Support Branch to recalibrate the plan to accommodate any significant changes.  Because strategic goals normally remain relatively static throughout the lifecycle of the response, the ERT Strategic Plan should not require constant maintenance, nor is it likely to require major revision.

Although the ERT Strategic Plan is based on the FCO’s Strategic Goals, the most operationally useful component is the timeline and associated milestones.  The timeline provides a ready reference for comparing where the ERT operation is relative to where the FCO wants or expects it to be, as well as a visual planning reference for long-term functional planning activities.  Again, if detailed planning is required to address a particular goal or functional objective(s), consider developing a separate (but supporting) Special Function Plan.  The Planning Support Branch should maintain an up-to-date, display-size strategic timeline posted in the Situation Room.

The ERT Strategic Plan does not need to be elaborate.  However, it must identify/address the following:

·        FCO’s Strategic Goals

·        Supporting Functional Area Objectives

·        The functional area responsible for each objective

·        The projected completion date for each objective

Although the format of the plan should be as simple as possible, strategic planning must encompass the full range of ERT functional activity and associated internal and external considerations.  Among the areas to consider when developing a strategic plan:

·        SCO strategic priorities

·        FCO action planning priorities

·        response activities

·        long-term recovery issues and considerations

·        early implementation mitigation strategy

·        future agency involvement

·        supporting agency mission responsibilities

·        environmental factors

·        organizational assessments

·        political issues

·        economic issues

·        personnel issues

·        legal issues

·        media interest

·        special needs communities

·        regional issues and concerns.

TIMELINES

A key component of strategic planning is the timeline.  A timeline provides a universal basis for planning, progress evaluation, and analysis.  It also provides a visual overview of long-range strategic planning goals and associated milestones. The following figures depict an example timeline planning worksheet format (Figure 1) and an example timeline (Figure 2).  Initially, and periodically thereafter, a worksheet is provided to each functional ERT element for completion and returned to the Planning Support Branch, which uses the information to update the timeline.

NOTE:  A number of software programs designed to support project management requirements (e.g., MS Project) are capable of producing timelines.  The timeline example at Figure 2 was created using the table function in Microsoft Word.

At every strategic planning meeting the Planning Coordinator should distribute new Timeline Planning Worksheets (a separate worksheet for each FCO Goal) to each ERT functional area strategic planning representative.  The Planning Coordinator should fill in three sections: ERT ELEMENT, DATE/TIME DUE, and FCO GOAL TO WHICH THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS AND MILESTONES APPLY.  The remaining sections should be completed by the functional area and returned to the Planning Support Branch by the due date/time.  An example extract of a blank Timeline Planning Worksheet Format follows:

Figure 1

Timeline Planning Worksheet Format