CNA Delivers 26 Risk Management Workshops Nationwide

Over the past 18 months, team members from CNA’s Safety and Security Division traveled extensively throughout the United States (including Puerto Rico) to deliver two-day workshops to state, local, tribal, and territorial professionals in the fields of homeland security, emergency management, and public safety. Under a grant administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) National Preparedness Directorate, CNA delivered 26 workshops in 15 states/territories and 8 FEMA regions, and trained nearly 500 executives, elected officials, planners, operators, and private-sector representatives.

The workshop is the capstone course in a three-course risk management curriculum that CNA designed to improve risk-informed decision-making in the public sector. It takes a broad, programmatic approach to calculating risk to critical infrastructure, based on likelihood of threats and hazards, vulnerability, and consequence. Through analysis of the results, planners can then (1) better understand the distribution of the risks, based on sectors, geography, and population; (2) make strategic, real-world decisions based on available resources and operational capabilities; and (3) integrate these decisions into a larger public safety context and program.

CNA team members also used the workshops as an opportunity to update professionals on how to apply new FEMA guidance relating to Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment reports, which are required of states and urban areas that receive federal funding from the Homeland Security Grant Program and the Emergency Management Performance Grant.

The workshops received outstanding reviews and highlight CNA’s commitment to working with state and local clients to optimize their strategic and operational planning efforts.