Levels of Resilliency

There are multiple levels of resiliency that are important to consider and deal with.

There's the National level which deals with major national level infrastructures that cross regions of the country and link the country to the outside world. Those include the transportation systems, ports and shipping, power grids, water systems, and transmission systems. Key considerations are the points of intersection between infrastructure elements and the maintenance of clear delivery pathways across the nation.

There's the Regional level which considers the delivery of the services and products to consumers at local levels within and outside specific jurisdictional boundaries. Those include the utilities and power systems, some public safety, health care, waterways and flood protection. Key considerations are relative levels of performance of those infrastructures, the logical and physical interfaces between them, and the elimination of unacceptable gaps.

There's the Corporate level which considers the specific actions and capacities that individual companies must have in place to positively respond to a crisis situation. Those include its risk management processes, crisis and disaster management capabilities, supply chain management capabilities, and a full range of physical and logical security activities. Key considerations are the level of capability the company can bring to bear to maximize its chances for surviving and thriving in the face of a crisis. Also considered are the identification of critical deficiencies in those companies (or industry segments) that are in the regional/national resilience value chain.

In addition to the above three levels, resiliency is being addressed at the Community level and the personal levels. At that level, the focus is on individual preparedness and survivability and how that aggregates to a community’s overall preparedness. Key considerations are the training and awareness provided to individuals and the effective planning and coordination between public sector agencies and the private sector. This level also considers many psycho-social aspects of survivability and response in the face of crisis situations (usually a major disaster or traumatic event).

As the subject of resiliency increases in prominence, all levels must continue to be dealt with in a vigorous manner. I submit that the Corporate level offers a key lynchpin and leverage point that will affect the resilience up and down the line.

Darryl Moody
President / COO Resilient Corporation

Comments

[Dear Mr. Moody]

Dear Mr. Moody,

It with pleasure that I have discovered The Resilient Blog as a new resource on thinking in the field of resiliency. I look forward to its continuing contribution to the field.

I felt provoked by the Levels of Resiliency post however, to the degree that I have now placed two posts on my blog at www.wildresiliency.com: titled Levels of Resiliency, and Resiliency Invitation & Challenge. You can find a different view of levels expressed there.

Thanks for 'provoking' me.
Larry Glover