If you are developing a Business Continuity Plan or trying to prepare your administrative, research, or academic unit to resume essential and critical functions and services following an emergency, you may benefit from the following tools:
Your BCP in 5 Steps: A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) can be as long or as short as a department, unit or division requires – there is no one size fits all, and not everything listed in the 5 steps will be relevant to your area. Click on the tab at the top of the page to work through your BCP needs in 5 steps (guidance provided).
BCP Template – this is a long form, very detailed template for customization by units (includes general information; action items to increase your unit’s readiness; information & strategies for operating during a crisis); a short form guidance site is under construction as of January 2023.
EHS – for information on assessing and mitigating hazards in the workplace, and assistance on occupational health evaluation and related preparation
Access to additional UofT Resources – In cases of extraordinary operational interruptions when divisional resources (e.g., people, expertise, funding) are insufficient to maintain/resume operations in accordance with the University’s mandate, Divisions should submit their intention to request resourcing to provost@utoronto.ca. Requests must be submitted by the Division Head (i.e. Dean, Campus Principal) with a carbon copy to the Divisional Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Units can use the process map to determine their route of request.
External Resources:
City of Toronto’s Guide to Business Continuity Planning
Additional sites with useful information:
NOTE: Public Safety Canada’s Guide to Business Continuity Planning (link disabled following August 2022 Audit of the federal government’s Business Continuity Planning Program which found that “The 2013 Business Continuity Plan was neither operationally tested nor was it updated to reflect the 2015 assessment of the Department’s critical services.”)
And once you have a Business Continuity Plan: Know It, Live It, Use It.