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Continuity of Operations
Preparing for operational disruptions
Continuity of Operations planning helps Western departments and units prepare for disruptions that could affect critical services, facilities, systems, staffing, teaching, research, or other university operations. This work supports practical steps to continue essential functions, restore services, and recover after an emergency or disruption.
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What is Continuity of Operations?
Continuity of Operations planning helps departments and units prepare for disruptions that could affect critical services, people, spaces, systems, teaching, research, or other university operations.
Planning for disruption
Continuity planning helps departments identify what work is most critical, what resources are needed, and what alternate processes may be required if normal operations are disrupted.
This planning can support services, staffing, technology, facilities, records, research, communication, and recovery after an incident.
Supporting recovery
Continuity of Operations planning helps Western continue essential functions, restore services, and return to normal operations after an emergency or disruption.
The goal is to reduce disruption, support decision-making, and help departments recover as safely and efficiently as possible.
Why continuity planning matters
Disruptions can affect people, buildings, systems, services, classes, research, events, and normal university operations. Continuity planning helps departments think ahead and prepare practical steps before a disruption occurs.
Protect critical functions
Departments can identify the services, responsibilities, systems, records, research, and resources that are most important to continue or restore during a disruption.
Reduce operational impacts
Planning can help reduce confusion, clarify responsibilities, support communication, and identify alternative ways to continue essential work.
Support recovery
Continuity planning supports recovery by helping departments restore services, assess impacts, communicate needs, and return to normal operations.
What continuity planning may consider
Continuity planning helps departments and units think through the people, services, systems, spaces, and resources needed to continue or restore essential operations.
Critical services
Identify the services, functions, responsibilities, and activities that are most important to continue or restore during a disruption.
People and roles
Consider staffing needs, key contacts, decision-makers, backup roles, communication processes, and supports for affected people.
Systems and spaces
Identify technology, records, equipment, facilities, access needs, alternate work locations, and other dependencies that support essential work.
Recovery steps
Plan for restoring services, communicating updates, assessing impacts, documenting needs, and returning operations to normal.
Department and unit planning
Departments and units play an important role in continuity planning because they understand their own services, people, spaces, systems, records, research, and operational needs.
Preparing department-level plans
Department and unit continuity planning helps teams document critical functions, identify key contacts, understand dependencies, and prepare alternate processes before a disruption occurs.
Plans should be practical, current, and easy to use when normal operations are disrupted.
Keeping plans current
Continuity plans should be reviewed regularly and updated when services, contacts, staffing, systems, facilities, or operational needs change.
Regular review helps departments remain prepared and supports a more coordinated recovery after an emergency or disruption.
Future resources
Additional continuity planning tools, templates, training information, and department guidance may be added as the program continues to develop.
Planning templates
Future resources may include continuity planning templates, checklists, and tools to help departments document critical functions, contacts, dependencies, and recovery steps.
Training and guidance
Future content may include training information, planning guidance, and practical steps to help departments build and maintain continuity plans.
Program development
Continuity of Operations content may expand over time as additional resources, processes, and department-level supports are reviewed and approved.