ROI Analysis of Preparedness Planning Consulting & Software

Factors to Consider in Cost Justification for Preparedness Planning Consulting and Software

The Value of BOLDplanning's Planning Solution

Is your organization fully prepared in the event of a crisis? Many agencies and organizations still do not have a formalized Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). Or, if they do, it’s incomplete or gathering dust in binders on a shelf.

Online planning solutions, like BOLDplanning, a division of Agility, are powerful tools to help ensure your agency and community are fully prepared. To understand its value, consider the following points that support a significant return on investment for an online preparedness planning platform.

Time Saved

Every plan takes time to develop, with hours dedicated to researching government regulations, writing the plan, enhancing elements, reviewing, approving, and facilitating coordination between participating entities. BOLDplanning’s professional team and use of technology significantly decrease the time required to accomplish these tasks.

Process Activities Made Easier

At least 50% of planning projects involve meetings, communications, and information collection activities that require intense coordination and consensus gathering. BOLDplanning’s system facilitates better communication and easier planning of events such as:

• Planning team meetings
• Staff trainings
• Executive decisions
• Plan improvement exercise and testing

Plan Writing Made More Streamlined

The other 50% of planning involves time spent designing the plan, researching, writing, editing, and formatting. Using BOLDplanning’s online platform saves at least two hours of work for every one hour spent on plan development using Microsoft® Word® and Excel®.

This efficiency is gained because initial plan design is inherent in our system’s purposes and structure. Base plan language and standardized planning elements are already developed and in place. Formatting, tables, graphs, and other cosmetic aspects are also fully integrated.

Additionally, existing planning content is easily transferred to our solution. And, documentation and training materials do not need to be created as they already exist.

Cost Efficiencies Achieved

When budgets are tight and grant funding is spread thin, it is imperative every dollar is spent efficiently. BOLDplanning supports cost efficiencies in the following ways:

• Economies of scale are realized by simultaneously implementing a technological solution across multiple organizations and departments instead of attempting to manage separate planning processes.
• Administrative savings for large and diverse organizations can occur by bundling grant funding into the purchase of BOLDplanning solutions. Individual organizations won’t need to spend time and money tracking and applying for grants while the overarching entity handles this as a singular planning project.
• Volume discounting is available for larger organizations with many departments, sub-agencies, and umbrella projects that span states, metropolitan areas, or specific districts such as fire districts or port areas.

Plan Maintenance and Long-Term Success

Plan development doesn’t stop once the plan has been finalized and adopted. Great plans need to be maintained and updated as an organization changes. Plans that remain untouched for months or years lose their functionality. Organizations that wait to update their plans end up simply rewriting them as too much has changed. BOLDplanning’s online solutions are designed specifically to encourage plan updating and simplify the process through:

• Plan Maintenance Cycle – BOLDplanning’s software reminds planners which elements need to be reviewed for updating.
• Staff Transition – New planners instantly receive access to documentation, technical support, and project training through the platform.
• Version Control and Auditing – BOLDplanning’s solution tracks all planning updates and provides detailed reports on the changes as well as system usage.
• Increased Participation – Due to the platform’s ease of use and accessibility, projects engage a much larger group than traditional resource-intensive planning methodologies.

Value Added Through Integrated Plans

BOLDplanning delivers additional value through integrations with an organization’s Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs).

• Integrated Training – Planners and responders are trained on both EOP and COOP elements at the same time using the same system.
• Integrated Data – Critical information such as contracts, facilities, vital records, and communications are entered once and updated centrally but then used and reused in department COOPs and EOP Annexes.
• Integrated Processes – The COOP and the EOP processes are managed simultaneously to solicit executive support, training, exercises, tests, and plan maintenance schedules.

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