Continuity Functions
Facilities
Continuity Capability Elements
Roles and Responsibilities
Continuity Terms
100

These activities, which include functions crucial for MEFs but fall short of meeting the thresholds of MEFs or PMEFs, serve as vital facilitators for an organizations' operations without directly achieving their mission goals.

What are Essential Supporting Activities (ESAs)

100

This location operates 24 hours a day with fully operational equipment and capacity to immediately assume operations upon loss of the primary facility.

What is a Hot Site?

100

This Capability Element are records that ensure an organization has identified key personnel to assume leadership positions in the event that regularly appointed personnel are unavailable.

What are Orders of Succession?

100

These are the staff that are assigned to continue the performance of essential functions at an alternate location in the event that their primary operating facility or facilities are impacted or incapacitated by an incident.

What is the Emergency Relocation Group (ERG)?

100

This describes the ability of an organization to continue performing its essential functions, using COOP and Continuity of Government (COG) programs and continuity requirements that have been integrated into the organization’s daily operations.  

What is a Continuity Capability?

200

These activities are directly related to accomplishing the organization's mission as set forth in the GSA National Continuity Plan and mirrored in regional plans.


What are Mission Essential Functions (MEF)?

200

This is a facility that is neither staffed nor operational on a daily basis. Telecommunications, IT equipment, and infrastructure is typically present at the location, however teams of specialized personnel must be deployed to activate the systems before the site can become operational.

What is a Cold Site? 

200

This Capability Element ensures that continuity personnel have the appropriate legal authority to make key decisions and take action during catastrophic emergencies.

What are Delegations of Authority?

200

This document informs continuity personnel and alternates in writing of their continuity roles and responsibilities.

What is an Emergency Relocation Group Designation Memo?

200

This system establishes the executive continuity program readiness levels, focusing on emergencies in or credible threats to the National Capital Region, or affecting the performance of NEFs.

What is the Continuity of Government Readiness Conditions (COGCON) system?

300

These are an organization's critical functions that must be continued throughout or resumed rapidly after a disruption of normal activities.



What are Essential Functions?

300

This is a location has a minimum acceptable level of infrastructure in-place, and also possess the IT and telecommunications equipment to become operational as soon as possible, but not later than 12 hours after continuity activation.

What is a Warm Site?

300

This Capability Element is a component of continuity planning that establishes procedures to transfer statutory authority and responsibilities from an organization’s primary operating staff and facilities to another designated staff and one or more facilities for the purpose of sustaining essential functions.

What is Devolution? 

300

This describes the personnel, both senior and core, that provide organizational leadership with advice, recommendations, and the functional support necessary to continue essential functions during continuity operations. 

What are Continuity Personnel? 

300

This describes those types of vital records essential to the continued functioning or reconstitution of an organization during and after an emergency. They include emergency plans and directive(s), orders of succession, delegations of authority, staffing assignments, and selected program records needed to continue the most critical agency operations, as well as related policy or procedural records that assist agency staff in conducting operations under emergency conditions and for resuming normal operations after an emergency.

What are Emergency Operating Records?

400

These are mission essential functions (MEFs) that must be continuously performed to support or implement the uninterrupted performance of national essential functions (NEFs).



What are Primary Mission Essential Functions (PMEF)?

400

These documents are required for alternate locations that are neither owned nor leased, and include details regarding the space and services to be provided at the facility.

What are MOAs/MOUs? 

400

This Capability Element entails the identification of continuity personnel, consisting of leadership, staff, and functional support elements capable of relocating to alternate locations or assuming devolved functions.

What is Human Resources?

400

This key member of the Emergency Relocation Group (ERG) oversees all phases of the reconstitution process.

Who is the Reconstitution Manager?

400

This entails information systems and applications, electronic and hardcopy documents, references, and records needed to support essential functions during a continuity event.  

What are Essential Records? The two basic categories of essential records are emergency operating records and rights and interest records. Emergency operating records are essential to the continued functioning or reconstitution of an organization. Rights and interest records are critical to carrying out an organization’s essential legal and financial functions and vital to the protection of the legal and financial rights of individuals who are directly affected by that organization’s activities.  

500

This process allows organizations to establish priorities and allocate resources appropriately.

What is a Business Process Analysis (BPA)?

500

This is where essential functions are continued or resumed, or where organizational command and control may occur during a continuity event.

What is an Alternate Location?

500

This Capability Element is the final phase of a continuity event, but begins immediately during the recovery process, and is the process by which surviving and/or replacement personnel resume normal operations. 

What is Reconstitution?

500

This regional authority is responsible for deciding which alternate locations will be used to ensure continued execution of the organization’s MEFs and PMEFs. 

Who is the regional Organization Head/Regional Administrator/Chief Emergency Response Official?

500

This refers to a document that was developed and promulgated by DHS/FEMA, in coordination with the Continuity Advisory Group and in consultation with the Continuity Policy Coordination Committee, which directs Executive Branch organizations to carry out identified continuity planning requirements and assessment criteria.  

What is the Federal Continuity Directive (FCD)?

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