What is continuity of operations (COOP), and how do records fit in?

Continuity of operations (COOP) is the planning that ensures an organization can continue or quickly resume its essential functions during and after a disruption — a fire, flood, cyberattack, or other emergency. It covers people, facilities, communications, systems, and, crucially, records.

Where records fit

You can’t perform an essential function without the records it depends on. That’s why vital records — the records needed to operate in an emergency and to protect the organization’s and individuals’ legal and financial rights — are a core part of COOP. A continuity plan is only as good as the records it can actually call on when systems or facilities are down.

Vital records fall into two groups:

• Emergency operating records — delegations of authority, emergency plans, critical operational data, key contracts.
• Rights-and-interests records — incorporation/ownership documents, personnel and benefits records, accounts.

Protecting them

COOP resilience depends on protecting vital records through:

• Duplication and dispersal — copies kept off-site or geographically separated, so one event can’t destroy the only copy.
• Currency — refreshing protected copies regularly; an out-of-date copy offers little protection.
• Crisis accessibility — the records must be retrievable when normal systems are unavailable.

A different horizon from preservation

COOP and vital records are about surviving the short-term emergency. That’s distinct from archival preservation, which keeps records of enduring value usable for the long term. Both matter, but they answer different questions.

The takeaway

Continuity planners and records managers should identify and protect vital records together — it’s what lets an organization keep functioning on its worst day. See vital records programs and COOP and vital records for more.