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ISO 22397:2014 Societal security - Guidelines for establishing partnering arrangements

This International Standard addresses the establishment of partnering arrangements to contribute making organizations in both public and private sectors more resilient. It helps organizations, regardless of their size, location or activity, to manage multiple relationships for events impacting on societal security. It incorporates principles and describes the process for planning, developing, implementing and reviewing partnering arrangements.

The security and well-being of people increasingly depend on the continuity of vital functions of organizations, local communities, nations and the global community. There are many different roles and responsibilities within and between public, private and not-for profit organizations.

A partnering arrangement can be between two or more organizations. It can improve the capacity of organizations to enhance prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery programmes. This for a wide range of event(s) which may include natural, human induced disasters with potential impact on an organization, community or society and the environment on which it depends.

When a destabilizing event occurs the involved organizations apply their own security procedures and national and/or international standards on security, if available. In such situations agreements or partnering arrangements can facilitate the organizations to operate as concurrent entities. Traditionally, partnering agreements are mainly established taking into account the specific characteristics of the partners and the agreement is the outcome of a negotiation (a balance of powers) of each partner organization and procedures. Furthermore, if one of the partners change its procedures the agreement shall be updated  according to a typical bottom-up process.

Organizations implementing ISO 22397 will reach the following benefits:

  • prevent conflicts among the organizations;
  • reduce costs due to the synergy of the organizations resources to achieve objectives ;
  • trust and share common procedures;
  • give unequivocal responsibility to facilitate the exercise of leadership;
  • eliminate any criticality generated by unforeseen events with a standard methodology that can analyze them in advance to prevent them.

Ivano

Ivano Roveda (Italy), the project leader responsible for the development of ISO 22397, explains:

Some roles and responsibilities are primarily the responsibility of individual organizations while others can be adequately addressed only by the multiple organizations in order to manage risks. In a complex and changing world, organizations need to consider partnering. Partnering is the association with others in an activity or area of common interest in order to achieve individual and collective objectives.

ISO 22397 covers a variety of possible partnering arrangements, both formal and informal. For example, contracts, memoranda of understanding (MoUs), mutual aid agreements, partnerships, cooperation agreements, coordination agreements, operational agreements, supply agreement, etc.”

ISO 22397:2014, Societal security – Guidelines for establishing partnering arrangements, is available from ISO national member institutes. It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, respectively through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department.

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