The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) presents a virtual workshop pilot project on the topic of developing an Emergency Response Plan for your institution.

CCI is partnering with the Ontario Museum Association (OMA) to pilot this workshop with up to ten (10) OMA member museums. There is no cost to participate. Please see below for additional information on the selection process.

About the Workshop

As an active participant, you will learn about the objectives of emergency response, and the key components that make up a plan that is suitable for heritage institutions.

The virtual workshop comprises five highly interactive modules each composed of two virtual, 60-minute workshop sessions. Participation in the virtual workshop will involve:

• attendance at a 20 minute technical trial session in early June
• attendance at both sessions of all five workshop modules,
• review of workshop resource materials prior to the first session of each module (15-30 minutes)
• completion of exercises between the two virtual sessions for each module (1-2 hours)

This Response Ready virtual workshop provides an engaged, interactive learning experience in which to learn about and make progress on preparing or updating your Emergency Response Plan. You will develop an Emergency Response Plan suitable to your institution with support and feedback from CCI experts and peers. You will also receive an Emergency Response Plan template to assist with plan preparation. You will also learn how to test your plan using simple tabletop exercises.

Who Should Participate

Since emergency planning benefits from multiple perspectives, we encourage participation by up to three people per heritage institution, ideally those who are responsible for emergency incident management. Due to the interactive nature of this virtual workshop, attendance in the virtual sessions is restricted to 10 institutions. This workshop will be delivered in English.

Preliminary Schedule and Learning Objectives

Precise dates and times are subject to change and will be finalized with participants.

Module 1. Developing an Emergency Response Team for Heritage Institutions

Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Thursday, 24 June 2021

• Decide on the size and structure of an Incident Management Team for your institution.
• Select individuals with the expertise and skills suitable for incident response management roles and add their contact information to your Emergency Response Plan.

Module 2. Developing Immediate Emergency Response Procedures for Heritage Institutions

Tuesday, 10 August 2021
Thursday, 19 August 2021

• Complete a simple risk assessment of the emergency hazards that could impact your institution and collection.
• Prepare Immediate Response Procedures suitable for your institution for those hazards that should have them and add them to your Emergency Response Plan.

Module 3. Developing All-Hazards Response Procedures for Heritage Institutions

Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Thursday, 30 September 2021

• Identify all-hazards actions that meet the emergency objectives for emergency response.
• Prepare All-Hazards Response Procedures suitable for your institution and add them to your Emergency Response Plan.

Module 4. Collections Salvage and Recovery Strategies for Heritage Institutions

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Thursday, 24 November 2021

• Identify salvage priorities for your collection.
• Prepare procedures for your Emergency Response Plan to guide salvage and recovery.
• Conduct a damage assessment and prepare an emergency response action plan using a scenario exercise.

Module 5. Providing Resources for Effective Emergency Response

Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Thursday, 20 January 2022

• Determine supplies and equipment that your institution may need for emergency response and list them with sources in your Emergency Response Plan.
• Prepare floor/site plans and add them to your Emergency Response Plan.
• Conduct a simple emergency scenario exercise with your Emergency Response Team.

Recruitment Priorities:

• museums that did not participated in the in-person version of this workshop (Oshawa 2016),
• museums that do not have an emergency plan or their plan is very out of date,
• museums that would not have the resources to attend the in-person version of this workshop (small organizations, remote locations).

Recruitment Requirements:

• museums must commit to participate in all five modules and to complete the work of creating their plans between sessions.
• individuals participating must have the authority to create this plan on behalf of their museum and have access to the information required to do so.

Deadline for applications: May 25, 2021

Questions? Email Mary Collier, Professional Development Program Manager at [email protected]