Resilience Services

Overview

Resilience is the ability to prepare for threats and hazards, adapt to changing conditions, and withstand and recover rapidly from adverse conditions and disruptions. - National Security Memorandum-22

Meaningful progress toward enhancing the security and resilience of critical infrastructure assets and systems to the threats of today and the emerging threats of the future, whether due to natural, technological, or man-made causes, requires coordinated action by government at all levels, private sector owner-operators, businesses, and individuals. Infrastructure is the backbone of our communities, providing critical services and the means for health, safety, and economic growth. For communities to thrive in the face of uncontrollable circumstances and adapt to changing conditions, we must work to make our infrastructure more resilient.

CISA's Role

CISA’s Resilience Services Branch (RSB) is an authoritative source for methods and guidance to secure and enhance the resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure systems. The mission of the Resilience Services Branch (RSB) is to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure assets and systems. RSB accomplishes the mission by developing and deploying methods, capabilities, and guidance for assessment of security and resilience of critical infrastructure assets and systems, and implementation of resilience-based approaches in local and regional plans.

The RSB team expertise delivers methods, capabilities, guidance, and assistance in the application of these resources by CISA staff and external users. RSB uses its unique perspective, expertise, and experience to advise CISA leadership and other federal agency partners to encourage actions that lead to greater resilience nationally.

Capacity-building involves supporting stakeholders in obtaining, improving, and retaining the skills, knowledge, and resources they need to perform their work on a larger scale and with greater efficiency and effectiveness. Capacity-building is accomplished through three lines of effort:

1. Develop assessment and planning guidance, capabilities, and resources
2. Conduct assessments
3. Build strategic partnerships

Conduct assessments, analysis, and support planning: lead efforts to enhance the understanding of, and drive collective action on, infrastructure security and resilience challenges – by, with, and through integrated planning and assessment capabilities to enhance resilience. The complimentary processes of assessments and planning highlights RSB’s unique capability to support and empower stakeholders. As RSB conducts regional infrastructure resilience assessments, CISA strengthens its partnerships with those organizations, and develops capabilities and resources which can be utilized by other stakeholders.