Client: London Borough of Newham Council
EPC Team: Helen Baxter-Smith & David Cloake
Introduction
With the Emergency Planning Officer due to retire, the client wanted support to:
- Carry out a baseline review into the delivery of civil protection
- Complete a documentation review
- Inspect facilities
- Ensure a robust civil contingency plan was in place
- Support a cultural shift to move civil protection ownership beyond the emergency planning team
- Embed business continuity as part of business planning
What We Delivered
There were 2 key areas to work EPC delivered:
- Situational awareness
- Influence
The EPC undertook an impartial comprehensive evidence-based review, (which included inspection of facilities) over a 12-month period to support the organisation and set the tone for emergency planning and business continuity improvement and development.
The report was broken into 4 key areas:
- Findings
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- Improvements
The EPC worked alongside other departments including: highways, housing, social care and safeguarding to move ownership beyond the emergency planning team.
This was achieved through: expert consultancy, relationship building, stakeholder engagement, demonstrations and exercises, and identifying key players.
Results
The approach allowed the client to introduce and maintain improved corporate ownership and support of the civil protection agenda to accurately assess and plan for preparedness, introduce improved training, coaching on response techniques, develop documentation and processes, cite facilities improvements and frontline equipment provision.
Additionally, using the tools and processes means that business continuity is not seen as a standalone function but is embraced as an important part of the wider business planning.
The client has since added resource to help continually develop and refine their processes.
By using the most appropriate associate through careful selection, EPC were able to improve the process by building relationships and engaging with key stakeholders and influencers, thus underpinning confidence in the delivery.
As a result, the client has seen a change in culture in the organisation that has led to:
- Shared responsibility across all departments, at both strategic and operational levels
- Buy-in across the organisation
- Staff being accountable for resilience and business continuity
“EPC added significant value over and above a review. Through careful selection we had the right person supporting us who was able to influence the wider organisation and help embed these changes.”
Matthew Hooper, Former Director of Enforcement & Safety