Continuity Resource Toolkit

This toolkit provides partners at all levels of government, private and nonprofit sectors with tools, templates and resources to help implement concepts found in the Continuity Guidance Circular (CGC).

On this page, you will find links to tools and information organized by the relevant chapter in the CGC. Use these resources to help your organization develop and maintain a successful continuity program and plan.

We welcome your feedback! Email us your input on tools and resources, best practices, case studies or other ways to improve the Continuity Resource Toolkit.

Continuity Guidance Circular

This document guides whole community efforts to develop and maintain the capability to ensure continuity of operations, continuity of government, and enduring constitutional government during an emergency that disrupts normal operations.

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Resources by Chapter

Forward: A National Continuity Philosophy

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Chapter 2: Building a Capability

Chapter 3: Maintaining a Capability

Forward: A National Continuity Philosophy  

This section of the CGC provides the foundation of continuity planning across the nation and the whole community.

Introduction, Vision and Purpose, and Continuity Planning

• Presidential Policy Directive-21, Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, defines resilience as “the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and recover rapidly from operational disruptions.”
• Get a general overview of continuity principles through the one-hour IS-1300Introduction to Continuity of Operations independent study course.
• Our whole community continuity brochure and federal continuity brochure outline important principles in continuity planning.

Guiding Principles

• Presidential Policy Directive-8, National Preparedness, outlines the whole community approach to emergency management. Continuity is an important part of preparedness.
• The National Preparedness Goal states that continuity is an integral part of each core capability across the five mission areas of protection, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery within the National Preparedness System.
• Continuity provides foundational support for the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which enables the nation to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from any incident with minimal disruptions to the functions, core capabilities and services that citizens expect.
• The Emergency Management Institute works in collaboration with the whole community to provide training in support of the NIMS Training Program.

Roles, Responsibilities and Integration

• Presidential Policy Directive-40, National Continuity Policy, outlines the policy to maintain a comprehensive and effective continuity capability with a coordinated effort throughout all branches of the government at all levels. This policy is not available for dissemination but the core principles and concepts are included within the CGC.
• The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

Interface with Other Concepts

• When conducting continuity planning, organizations should incorporate requirements and functions from the National Planning Frameworks.
• The Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101 is designed to assist planners develop emergency operations plans. Continuity planning supports the success of these plans by ensuring essential functions, services and visible leadership are readily available when typical operations are disrupted.
• The National Incident Management System (NIMS) enables the nation to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from any incident with minimal disruptions to the functions, core capabilities and services that citizens expect.