Lesson 4 Overview
This lesson provides an overview of the Call to Action: Steps to Advance the National Effort. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Describe actions critical infrastructure community partners can take to:
    • Build upon partnership efforts
    • Innovate in managing risk
    • Focus on outcomes
  • Explain how these actions inform and guide priority-setting and joint planning efforts
Call to Action: Steps to Advance the National Effort
NIPP 2013 envisions a Nation in which physical and cyber critical infrastructure remain secure and resilient, with vulnerabilities reduced, consequences minimized, threats identified and disrupted and response and recovery hastened. It provides a clear call to action to leverage partnerships, innovate in risk management and focus on outcomes.
The NIPP Call to Action is meant to guide the collaborative efforts of the critical infrastructure community to advance security and resilience outcomes under three broad activity categories:
  • Build upon Partnership Efforts
  • Innovate in Managing Risk
  • Focus on Outcomes
Federal departments and agencies, engaging with State, Local, Tribal, Territorial, regional and private sector partners—taking into consideration the unique risk management perspectives, priorities and resource constraints of each sector—will work together to promote continuous improvement of security and resilience efforts to accomplish the tasks called for.
A Complete List of the Calls to Action
The Call to Action calls upon the critical infrastructure community (respective of authorities, responsibilities and business environments) to take cross-cutting, proactive and coordinated actions that support collective efforts to strengthen critical infrastructure security and resilience in the coming years.
Build upon Partnership Efforts:
  1. Set National Focus through Jointly-Developed Priorities
  2. Determine Collective Actions through Joint-Planning Efforts
  3. Empower Local and Regional Partnerships to Build Capacity Nationally
  4. Leverage Incentives to Advance Security and Resilience
Innovate in Managing Risk:
  1. Enable Risk-Informed Decision-making through Enhanced Situational Awareness
  2. Analyze Infrastructure Dependencies, Interdependencies and Associated Cascading Effects
  3. Identify, Assess and Respond to Unanticipated Infrastructure Cascading Effects During and Following Incidents
  4. Promote Infrastructure, Community and Regional Recovery Following Incidents
  5. Strengthen Coordinated Development and Delivery of Technical Assistance, Training and Education
  6. Improve Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience by Advancing Research and Development Solutions
Focus on Outcomes:
  1. Evaluate Progress toward the Achievement of Goals
  2. Learn and Adapt During and After Exercises and Incidents
Links between Call to Action, Risk Management Framework and National Goals
Throughout NIPP 2013, call-out boxes identify linkages between the Call to Action activities, steps toward implementing the risk management framework and the National Goals covered earlier in this course.
The National Goals include:
  1. Assess and analyze risks to critical infrastructure
  2. Address the human, physical and cyber threat
  3. Enhance security and resilience through advance planning
  4. Share actionable and relevant information across the critical infrastructure community
  5. Promote learning and adaptation
Five steps toward implementing the risk management framework include:
  1. Set Infrastructure Goals and Objectives
  2. Identify Infrastructure
  3. Assess and Analyze Risks
  4. Implement Risk Management Activities
  5. Measure Effectiveness
What SLTT Executives Can Do
The NIPP calls on executive decisionmakers in the private sector and elected officials at the State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) level to work with partners across the critical infrastructure community to manage risks and achieve security and resilience outcomes.

Build Upon Partnership Efforts

  • Foster active local and regional cross-sector partnerships.
  • Evaluate your organization's risk management policies with the NIPP framework.
  • Engage private sector partners in your area of responsibility on critical infrastructure security and resilience efforts.
  • Use existing partnership structures to enhance relationships across the critical infrastructure community.
  • Encourage staff attendance in webinars, conference calls, cross-sector events and listening sessions.

Innovate in Managing Risk

  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses in your organization's security posture and explore the government and industry resources available to improve.
  • Consider security and resilience when designing infrastructure.
  • Encourage private sector and emergency response coordination on emergency management plans and exercises.
  • Share essential security and resilience information with partners.
  • Review and use the Cybersecurity Framework.
  • Participate in the Critical Infrastructure Cyber Community (C³) voluntary program.
  • Use training and exercises to innovate and evaluate critical infrastructure security and resilience.
  • Encourage staff attendance in risk management trainings.
  • Promote risk management across the state.
  • Encourage information sharing within the state and with neighboring States.

Focus on Outcomes

  • Participate in critical infrastructure planning and priority setting activities.
  • Identify effective security and resilience practices.
  • Understand interdependencies.
  • Share success stories and opportunities for improvement with critical infrastructure partners.
What Private Sector Companies Can Do
The NIPP outlines how government and private sector participants in the critical infrastructure community work together to manage risks and achieve security and resilience outcomes.

Build Upon Partnership Efforts

  • Become involved in sector-specific and information sharing partnerships
  • Establish relationships with key local partners including emergency management
  • Participate in training and exercises; Attend webinars, conference calls, cross-sector events and listening sessions.

Innovate in Managing Risk

  • Incorporate security and resilience into the design and upkeep of critical infrastructure
  • Help develop analysis to better understand risks
  • Adopt the Cybersecurity Framework.

Focus on Outcomes

  • Identify shared goals, define success and document effective practices.
  • Build security and resilience considerations into cost-benefit analysis to understand return on investment
What First Responder Organizations Can Do
The NIPP calls on State and Local Law Enforcement, Fusion Centers and Public Safety organizations to work with State, Local, Tribal and Territorial government and private sector partners across the critical infrastructure community to manage risks and achieve security and resilience outcomes.

Build Upon Partnership Efforts

  • Become involved in a relevant local, regional sector and cross-sector partnership.
  • Engage with private sector partners in your area of responsibility on critical infrastructure security and resilience efforts.
  • Use existing partnership structures to enhance relationships across the critical infrastructure community.

Innovate in Managing Risk

  • Work with private sector and emergency response partners on emergency management plans and exercising participation and response.
  • Participate in multi-directional information sharing.
  • Review and use the Cybersecurity Framework.
  • Use training and exercises to innovate and evaluate critical infrastructure security and resilience.

Focus on Outcomes

  • Participate in critical infrastructure planning and priority setting activities.
  • Participate in implementation efforts.
  • Identify effective security and resilience practices.
  • Understand interdependencies.
  • Share success stories and opportunities for improvement.
Lesson 4 Summary
In this lesson you learned to:
  • Describe actions critical infrastructure community partners can take to:
    • Build upon partnership efforts
    • Innovate in managing risk
    • Focus on outcomes
  • Explain how these actions inform and guide priority-setting and joint planning efforts
Below are the NIPP 2013 resources referenced in this lesson for further review: