DRI INTERNATIONAL
Bridging the Gaps
By ALAN BERMAN, MBCP
The ongoing effort to create a more resilient society has moved to the forefront of disaster/emergency and busi- ness continuity management. This endeavor has never been more evident than through the recent activities of
DRI International. Over the last few months, DRI International
has helped facilitate a number of conversations with public sector
entities to bring about a better understanding of goals and methodologies pertaining to private/public sector organizations. This
has culminated in a joint public/private sector meetings held at
the New York Stock Exchange on March 21, 2011. To supplement these efforts,
DRI International
has met and briefed
senior administration
and Congressional
officials.
During these conversations it became
apparent that there
was a need for creating some basis of
common understanding for public/private
sector interfaces.
Such understanding
is critical considering
that 85 percent of all
resources used by the
government are in the
hands of the private
sector. “The need to
bridge the gaps and
misconceptions is vital to both a government’s and a business’s
ability to operate,” said Ira Tannenbaum, director of Public-Private Initiatives at NYC OEM.
The mission of emergency services and the delivery of governmental functions are duties and obligations of public sector
employees. Often, the level of preparedness will have a direct
effect upon life saving functions or a business’s ability to resume
operations in the aftermath of an incident.
There has been much discussion in the continuity community
of the parallel path travelled by emergency mangers, COOP professionals, and their private sector counterparts. Increasingly, it is
acknowledged that there are many similarities, which when fully
coordinated, work to achieve mutual benefits. That is not to say
that there aren’t also some challenges to overcome.
In an attempt to create a convergent and coherent response to
interruptions and to establish common ground for the union of
private and public sector response, DRI International is devel-
oping training and certification programs specifically targeted to
federal, state, and municipal public sector entities. This will be
a step in bridging the terminology and procedural gap that now
exists.
The course and certification, tentatively called “Certified
Public Sector Resiliency Professional (CPSRP),” will provide a
four-day course of study delineating the knowledge, skills, and
abilities needed to keep government open during times of crisis.
The class will review public sector terminology, laws, federal,
DRI International’s goal is to bring together the knowledge
and experience of top resiliency professionals in the public sector
with their private sector counterparts. By learning and sharing
from best practices and lessons learned from colleagues with the
same set of priorities, we grow as a profession. By being able to
understand the many pressures experienced by disaster recovery
professionals in the private sector and the providing of essential
services by government, we can create a model for public/private
sector resilience.
The DRI International Board of Directors gathered for a photo at DRJ Spring World 2011 in
Orlando, Fla.
v
Alan Berman, MBCP, is a member of the ASIS BS25999 technical committee, a member
of the Committee of Experts for ANSI-ANAB, a former member of the NY City Partnership
for Security and Risk Management, executive director for Disaster Recovery Institute and
the co-chair for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation committee to create the new standard for
the US Private Sector Preparedness Act (PL 110-53).
