SAFECOM Develops SAFECOM Writing Guide for Standard Operating Guidelines

Every community is susceptible to incidents, natural or man-made. When chaos strikes, having a plan in place is crucial to reduce damage. The SAFECOM Writing Guide for Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs)was developed to support communities writing SOGs or instructions for incident response. The resource highlights significant components of a standard SOG.

Each section begins with a brief introduction of its purpose and then poses questions to consider to guide content and includes sample content for reference. This document does not address every issue that jurisdictions, regions, tribes, territories, or states may face when seeking to establish an SOG. They should be customized to the capability or resource for which they are established and should consider the unique characteristics of specific states or participating jurisdictions. 

Public Safety Officials and community leaders are encouraged to share this document with their respective networks. For questions about the SAFECOM Writing Guide for SOGs, please contact SAFECOMGovernance@cisa.dhs.gov or visit cisa.gov/safecom/resources for additional SAFECOM resources.