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Scottish Continuity
 
BCI Principles

Introduction

Business Continuity Management is defined as an holistic management process that identifies potential impacts that threaten an organisation and provides a framework for building resilience with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of its key stakeholders, reputation and value creating activities.

Its primary objective is to allow the Executive of an organisation to continue to manage their business under adverse conditions, by the introduction of appropriate resilience strategies, recovery objectives, business continuity and crisis management plans in collaboration with, or as a key component of, an integrated risk management initiative.

BCI Certification

The BCI Professional Recognition Programme provides an international structure for the Certification of business continuity practitioners. It has created a benchmark for the assessment of best practice and encouraged the enhancement and further development of related skills. The Certification is based on a set of standards known as the Certification Standards for Business Continuity professionals, which have been accepted internationally and were developed and published in co-operation with the Disaster Recovery Institute International of the USA. Each element links with the other elements to form the continuum of business continuity management.

Historically the skills required to achieve certification, and ultimately professional membership of the Business Continuity Institute, have been presented as a list of 10 required Subject Areas. To maintain consistency with the continuum of business continuity management as illustrated by the BCM Lifecycle, the BCI has taken the decision to map these fundamental required skills against stages of the Lifecycle presenting these mandatory requirements in 6 distinct sections as detailed below. The Business Continuity Institute's Good Practice Guidelines is published in 6 Chapters which correspond to these sections.


Click here for a list of those holding the new CBCI certification
 

CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTITIONERS

The six subject areas listed below cover the competencies required by a professional practitioner in order to deliver effective Business Continuity Management. They are not presented in any particular order of importance or sequence. 

Subject

Title and Description

1

 

 

BCM Policy and Programme Management

a) Establishing the need for a Business Continuity Management (BCM) Process, including: resilience strategies, recovery objectives, business continuity and incident management plans, obtaining management support for such a process.

b) Organising and managing the formulation of the function or process either in collaboration with, or as a key component of an integrated risk management initiative.

c) Developing, co-ordinating, evaluating and creating plans and procedures to communicate with external stakeholders, including the media, during incidents.

2

Understanding the Organisation

a) Business impact analysis (BIA):

Identifying the impacts resulting from disruptions and disaster scenarios that can affect the organisation and developing techniques that can be used to quantify and qualify such impacts.

Establishing critical functions, their recovery priorities and inter-dependencies so that recovery time objectives can be set.

b) Risk evaluation and control:

Determining the events and environmental surroundings that can adversely affect the organisation and its facilities with disruption and/or disaster and understanding the damage such events can cause.

Establishing the controls needed to prevent or minimise the effects of potential loss.

Providing cost-benefit analysis to justify investment in controls to mitigate risks.

3

 

 

Determining Business Continuity Management Strategies

a) Determining and guiding the selection of alternative business recovery operating strategies for continuation of business within recovery time and/or recovery point objectives, while maintaining the organisation's critical functions.

b) Delivering solutions for continuation of business within the recovery time and/or recovery point objectives, whilst maintaining the organisation's critical functions.

c) Developing, coordinating, evaluating and creating plans and procedures to communicate with internal stakeholders during incidents.

d) The provision of post-incident support and guidance for employees and their families.

4

 

 

Developing and Implementing a BCM Response

a) Developing and implementing emergency response procedures for responding to and stabilising the situation following an incident or event.

b) Establishing and managing an Emergency Operations Centre to be used as a command centre during the emergency.

c) Practical experience in handling incidents/emergencies.

d) Designing, developing and implementing business continuity and incident management plans that provide continuity within recovery time and/or recovery point objectives.

5

 

 

 

Exercising, Maintenance and Review

a) Pre-planning and coordinating plan walkthroughs/exercises.

b) Evaluating, updating, improving and documenting the results of exercises.

c) Developing processes to maintain the currency of continuity capabilities, business continuity and incident management plans in accordance with the organisation's strategic direction.

d) Establishing appropriate policies and procedures for coordinating incidents, continuity and restoration activities with external agencies whilst ensuring compliance with applicable statutes and/or regulations.

e) Practical experience in dealing with external agencies.

6

 

 

Embedding Business Continuity Management within the Organisation's Culture

a) Preparing a programme to create and maintain corporate awareness and enhance the skills required to develop and implement the business continuity management programme or process and its supporting activities.

From 2008 all applicants for professional certified grades ie AMBCI, SBCI and MBCI are required to pass the BCI Certificate (CBCI). The BCI Certificate will examine knowledge of the BCI's Good Practice Guidelines http://www.thebci.org/gpg.htm which are consistent with the Certification Standards as outlined above. In addition to holding the CBCI applicants for the senior grade of MBCI will continue to have their knowledge and experience Scored Assessed.

Certification is not required for Affiliate or Student grades.

Sustaining a Resilient Community

Scottish Continuity
Email: info@scottishcontinuity.com

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