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What is a recovery plan?

The recovery plan is the final stage of this framework and will enable organisations and activity leaders to prepare as well as possible for future changes. It will enable a quick response based on previously prepared information and provide a logical process to base key decisions on.

It will be a live document that should be frequently reviewed and updated as more information is available, or the position (for example, financial) of the organisation or project changes.

Objectives

The recovery plan will:

• provide an action or operational plan for the reinstatement of future activities
• provide a guide based on organisational priorities, resources available and risk management requirements
• outline a number of potential plans based on potential future scenarios
• enable early preparations for generic actions regardless of future restrictions (for example early discussions with land managers and funding agencies)
• provide a thorough and well-planned approach to key actions for future operations.
  

How is the recovery plan completed?

The plan should use clear language that is easy to understand for those involved in the activity or sport. For example, avoid jargon, abbreviations and making assumptions that the reader knows as much about the sport or activity as you do. As much as possible, provide enough detail within each action so the person responsible for the action can carry it out.

Prepare the plan based on known information or on the scenarios identified in the scenario mapping stage. Don’t forget these scenarios can (and probably will) change from time to time so be flexible in quickly reviewing any key changes.

Base your plans on the work carried out in the previous five ‘preparation’ stages. If they need changing use these other documents to keep the development of the recovery plan on track and focused on what is really important.

One person cannot do this all on their own so while the current environment may not lend itself to an extensive consultation process, some quick and targeted feedback or comments may be warranted from your stakeholders. Also, engage the people you want help from in this process or provide them with a chance to review in the context of the previous work (you could even provide them with a copy of the great work already carried out). The important part will be the communication of the plan to key stakeholders with an opportunity to provide comments for consideration.

Preparation of the recovery plan

The following table can be developed for each of the potential scenarios identified in the scenario mapping. Once again, this is just a guide and you may prefer to use your existing operational planning templates or formats. The plan may also have some actions that need to be carried out first before others can follow.