ASIS International announced its intent to initiate development of a new American National Standard Organizational Resilience Maturity Model–Phased Implementation, based on the ANSI/ASIS Organizational Resilience: Security, Preparedness, and Continuity Management Systems –Requirements with Guidance for Use Standard.

 

The new standard will enable organizations to implement the Organizational Resilience (OR) Standard using a phased implementation approach. A maturity model will help companies evaluate where they currently are with regard to resilience management and preparedness, set goals for where they want to go, benchmark where they are relative to those goals, and plot a business-sensible path forward. Furthermore, the standard will provide a basis for establishing defined levels for recognition programs for the achievement and maintenance of resilience criteria. ASIS says this will empower small and medium size enterprises, as well as larger organizations, to tailor their implementation of the Organizational Resilience (OR) Standard to achieve, maintain, and demonstrate implementation objectives.

 

A draft concept of the model was successful tested by ASIS and the Tsogo Sun Group, the largest hotel chain in Africa, in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

 

Next steps include the formation of the committee that will begin the process of developing the American National Standard. Risk, resilience, and security professionals interested in participating on the committee should email standards@asisonline.org on or before September 15, 2010.