Human impact planning

Human Impact Planning is a semi-structured process by which organizations (companies, communities or public agencies) create a plan that mitigates the impact of different types of crises on their employees or residents. Human Impact Planning is a new component of Continuity of Operations Planning or Organizational Continuity strategies, receiving much attention following Hurricane Katrina and the events of September 11, 2001. Human Impact Planning is also known as Human Impact Preparedness.

Human Impact Planning augments Business Continuity Planning (BCP), Emergency Response Plans (ERP's), Crisis Communication plans, Security plans and general Crisis Management Plans, by adding a specialized human focus - looking at the process of continuity through a "human lens".

Human Impact Planning has five components: Emergency (humanitarian) Response; Psychological Assistance; Family Support; Coordination with Stakeholders; and finally, Organizational Readiness. These five areas have specific strategies associated with them and are developed by the organization community itself.

This approach combines both a grassroots approach (bottom-up) and a governance approach (top-down) to creating plans intended to mitigate the psychological and social impact that natural and man-made hazards cause.