Yesterday, CISA released a companion guide to the Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework (IRPF), which provides guidance on how local governments and the private sector can work together to plan for the security and resilience of critical infrastructure services in the face of threats. Titled the IRPF Playbook, this supplemental manual will assist local stakeholders in planning for the security and resilience of infrastructure in their regions.

According to CISA, the IRPF Playbook is intended for any critical infrastructure stakeholders involved in resilience planning. It uses a recipe-style list of inputs, processes, and fictional scenarios allowing users to better understand how best to implement the IRPF. The Playbook walks through the IRPF’s five steps and core IRPF and resilience concepts to help users contemplate their resilience objectives and develop an approach to incorporate elements of the IRPF into their planning efforts. The Playbook also includes a narrative hypothetical illustration of how a community might conduct resilience planning or incorporate infrastructure resilience into existing planning efforts using the IRPF.

Importantly, the IRPF Playbook is voluntary and does not constitute any regulations, define mandatory practices, provide a checklist for compliance, or carry statutory authority, according to CISA. It is intended to be a set of guidelines, best practices, and awareness of planning resources.

As a reminder the IRPF can be used by local stakeholders to support capital improvement plans, hazard mitigation plans, and other planning documents, as well as funding requests. CISA also released IRPF case studies, including a water and wastewater case, that highlight how the IRPF has been successfully used to support various local and regional planning efforts. For more resilience resources, visit CISA’s Shield’s Ready page. Access the full IRPF Playbook or the original IRPF product here.