Business continuity management (BCM)

The key document in the development of a business continuity (BC) plan is the business impact analysis (BIA). It helps you think about what you do as a school and when something goes wrong what activities really matter most.

A key feature of the BIA is to let you identify and rank your activities and then identify and focus on priorities. It does this by looking at impact over time - how long can you manage without a particular activity being in place.

The results of a BIA - ie your critical activities - are carried over to the first part of your BC plan and form its basis.

Who should complete a BIA?

The ideal time to complete a BIA is in a team meeting where you have all the key people round the table at one time, such as facilities, finance etc.

If you have the right people around the table, the BIA should take about one hour to complete and it should be signed off by the management team.

A BIA should be reviewed every annually or if there is a significant change at the school.