FEMA has developed an Exercise Starter Kit with sample documents your organization can use to conduct your own planning workshop to navigate the complexities of returning to full operations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Exercise Starter Kit includes a sample facilitator guide and conduct slides that are designed to be adapted and customized for your own needs. Suggested discussion questions for the workshop build upon reconstitution planning principles and relevant White House guidance for employers included in the Guidelines for Opening Up America Again.
FEMA maintains a series of Exercise Starter Kits as part of the National Exercise Program designed to help organizations facilitate their own exercises, such as workshops and tabletop exercises, to examine their readiness for a range of threats and hazards. This particular kit is designed to help organizations across the whole community facilitate their own conversations in a virtual workshop format around planning considerations for reconstituting operations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Exercise Starter Kit includes a sample facilitator guide and sample conduct slides. These materials are designed to be adapted and customized for your own needs. The workshop materials build upon relevant White House guidance for employers included in the Guidelines for Opening Up America Again and a FEMA fact sheet, “Planning Considerations for Organizations in Reconstituting Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
This workshop, which is intended to be guided by a facilitator within your own organization, provides a framework to assess your current status and begin planning to reconstitute operations. Reconstitution is the process by which organizations resume full operations. However, each organization is unique and should establish its own criteria for successful reconstitution. Reconstituting operations following the COVID-19 pandemic will require a phased approach that results in restoration of full organization functionality but may leverage non-traditional and flexible work arrangements that can be adapted based on current public health guidance and local needs. The suggested discussion questions focus on four discussion themes: People, Facilities, Messaging & Communications, and Resources & Logistics. The desired outcome from the workshop is a roadmap for a functional reconstitution plan tailored to your organization’s unique needs.
CLICK HERE to access the FEMA Exercise Starter Kit for Workshop on Reconstituting Operations.