Airmic joins three other business associations to form Resilience Alliance

Airmic has signed a memorandum of understanding with ASIS International, The BCI (Business Continuity Institute) and the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) to form the Resilience Alliance.

The Resilience Alliance aims to develop and promote industry resilience globally and will address the implications of changes and sudden disruptions to business, such as those faced by organisations already in 2020.

The goal is to convert the benefit of the collective specialisms of member organisations through collaboration and to develop and promote a common mutual understanding of resilience.

The Resilience Alliance chair and secretariat will rotate between the member bodies on a yearly basis from April 1, starting with The BCI. The incumbent secretariat will agree immediate and longer terms plans and priorities.

John Ludlow, chief executive of Airmic, said the initiative will help organisations to become more “risk intelligent”.

He added: “It is important that we work with risk professionals across the spectrum to demonstrate what we believe, that resilience is a team game and that together we are stronger.”

Peter O’Neil, chief executive officer at ASIS International, said: “Resilience plays a significant role in the security profession as a whole, particularly as it relates to crisis management and business continuity challenges. The ability to prepare for, and adapt to, changing conditions and withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions is a major role of security professionals worldwide.”

David Thorp, chief executive of The BCI, said organisational resilience is delivered when different disciplines work together in a coordinated manner. “There is no single discipline that can claim to cover all aspects of resilience,” he explained. “Resilience is delivered by specialist disciplines working together towards a common purpose.”

Linda Hausmanis, chief executive of IWFM, said: “COVID-19 has underlined the importance of resilience as organisations have needed to be adaptive and flexible in the face of challenging and uncertain circumstances. Resilience will continue to be paramount in the coming months as we emerge from the crisis; likewise, flexibility will remain key to any newly laid plans as we continue into the unknown.”