Disaster Recovery Contract for Services Activation Policy
Introduction
The University of Illinois has entered into a contractual arrangement to retain the services of a preferred provider for disaster recovery services during major emergencies. These services can be crucial when the nature of the emergency exceeds the ability of the University of Illinois to respond or specialized services are needed in order to protect the lives and/or property and assets of the University of Illinois. The need for these services became apparent when it was determined that University special collections were at risk during an emergency and various other assets were not fully covered under existing University insurance policies. These collections include the Rare Book Room in the Library, other University Library assets, priceless museum collections, artifacts, scientific specimens, scientific collections, research data, etc.
Routine (Non-emergency) Access to Disaster Recovery Services
The University of Illinois has extensive collections of rare books, museum artifacts, special collections, research, etc. Professional restoration, recovery, and mitigation services to protect these assets are not typically available from University of Illinois sources. University of Illinois colleges, schools, and departments have routine access to the services available under this contract up to the formal bid limit. Colleges, schools, or departments may contact the service provider directly to initiate requests for routine/non-emergency work provided under this contract. In order to initiate requests for routine service, the department will contact the Facilities & Services, Service Office (333-0340 ) who will provide contact information for the preferred services provider upon request. Payment for all specialized services requested under this contract in a routine manner are the responsibility of the department requesting the service unless other arrangements have been made. An example would be the shipment of quantities of rare books that were damaged during routine business when such damage would not be the result of a catastrophic emergency (i.e. 500 pounds of water damaged books). It is the responsibility of the department requesting the service to notify the University Office of Risk Management at 333-3113 if there are concerns about insurance covered losses under routine requests for service.
Emergency Activation of Disaster Recovery Contract Services
General Information
The Executive Director of Facilities & Services, or his/her designee, is the authorized agent (contact point) for the University of Illinois to contact the vendor for purposes of activating services available under this contract. Contact numbers for the University of Illinois are as follows:
- During work hours ( 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ): Facilities & Services – 333-2501
- After work hours ( 4:30 p.m. and prior to 8 a.m. ): Public Safety – 333-1216.
The Executive Director of Facilities & Services (or his/her designee) will notify the contract service provider and make arrangements to coordinate the response of the vendor with the current Facilities & Services resources committed at the scene, and with the affected department.
Single Facility Emergency
In some cases, an emergency in a given University facility may require the expertise of the preferred services provider. In the event of physical damage to the building and/or contents, the department should contact their building Facility Manager who will in turn contact the Facilities & Services, service office at 333-0340 during work hours (or the telecommunicators at the University of Illinois Police Department at 333-1216 if after hours) to initiate recovery. Once on the scene Facilities & Services will do a damage assessment to determine if they have the necessary equipment and/or manpower to manage the recovery operation. If Facilities & Services determines the project requires additional specialized equipment or more manpower they will contact the preferred services provider to activate the Disaster Recovery Services contract.
Multi-facility University of Illinois Campus Emergency
In a campus-wide emergency involving larger geographic regions of the campus and/or numerous facilities at University of Illinois , the Campus Emergency Operations Committee will be activated. The Campus Emergency Operations Committee working in conjunction with Facilities & Services will determine the scope of the recovery project and if warranted will activate the Disaster Recovery Services contract with the preferred services provider.
Community Emergency involving the University of Illinois
In the event of an emergency involving numerous campus facilities that extends beyond the campus borders, the Campus Emergency Operations Committee will be activated and will work with the Regional Emergency Coordination Group to respond to and mitigate the effects of the disaster. During such events, the request to activate the disaster recovery services of the preferred provider under this contract could come from a number of sources:
- The Incident Commander in a Unified Command situation requiring a regionally coordinated National Incident Management System based response;
- The Campus Emergency Operations Committee as a policy request to the Regional Emergency Coordination Group;
- The Regional Emergency Coordination Group as a request to the Incident Commander in Unified Command.
In these situations the Executive Director of Facilities & Services (or his/her designee) shall approve the activation of services under this contract. The Executive Director of Facilities & Services (or his/her designee), will notify the preferred services provider.
Notification to the University Office of Risk Management
The University Office of Risk Management purchases property insurance coverage for all University buildings and select contents. In all cases when the Disaster Recovery Contract for Services is activated the University Office of Risk Management shall be notified at 333-3113 by either the department, under routine circumstances or Executive Director of Facilities & Services, or his/her designee, under emergency circumstances, to enable them to monitor the extent of the “loss” in case the insurance carrier needs to be placed on notice.
Accounting protocols during Emergencies and Disasters
During campus-wide and/or community emergencies that impact the University of Illinois , it is critical to maintain a log of financial expenditures for potential future reimbursement by the State or Federal government should a state of emergency be declared. The responsibility for maintaining an accurate accounting of the costs associated with a disaster recovery effort rests with the following agencies:
- Affected campus unit;
- Facilities & Services;
- Any other University of Illinois units involved in the response;
- University Purchasing office
- Disaster recovery preferred services provider
Therefore, depending on the nature of the emergency and the need for an immediate response to protect priceless artifacts, collections, research, etc., the decision to engage the preferred services provider should be weighed carefully in order to prevent a situation where the University of Illinois would be precluded from future recovery considerations.
Appropriate accounting measures should be enacted to identify and track all costs associated with the emergency. These tracking measures should be engaged to:
- Track associated costs for potential reimbursement by the State or Federal authorities;
- Track expenditures for insurance purposes to identify the level at which appropriate deductibles have been exceeded;
- Inform the University of Illinois Board of Trustees regarding the financial impact of the event and to identify mechanisms through which the University of Illinois might request financial reimbursement.