Business Continuity

A Business Continuity plan details the preparations and procedures for resuming normal institutional functions, and how to pick up the pieces after a major incident.  The priority is to minimize the impact of the incident on the University community and business and provide for an appropriate recovery process for departments and individuals affected by the loss.

The University of Calgary has adapted a Business Continuity tool from the University of California Berkley.  This tool will help your department prepare for those adverse events.  These events may be wide in scope (blizzard, tornado, pandemic) or more localized (fire or flood in your building, or even the failure of your research freezer.) 

The goal of Business Continuity Planning is to enable the University to continue its mission despite these adverse events. Some departments will be expected not only to continue but to expand their services during these times.

This tool will guide you, step by step, to create a Business Continuity Plan for your area.  Your plan will identify:

• Critical Functions performed by your department, and the factors needed for their continuance; • Information and Strategies that will help during and after the disaster-event; and
• Action Items that can be done, starting now, to lessen the impact of these events and make us ready to cope.

This template is designed for departmental Business Continuity Planning.  It is appropriate for all types of campus units - academic, research, administrative and support units.

The template is in a Microsoft Word format and requires no advance training. However, we strongly recommend that you begin your project by contacting the University Emergency Response Plan Coordinator who will provide guidance and context.

Contact:  Brian Kitching 
Phone:  403-210-6510
Email:  brian [dot] kitching [at] ucalgary [dot] ca