NC4: Risk Center - Special Events

NC4 analysts establish Special Events for major planned and unplanned events that are generally multi-faceted, complex, and of great interest to NC4 Risk Center members. Examples include the World Cup, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, all of which tend to involve roadway closures or other restrictive security measures, actual or threatened protests or security incidents, and participation by corporate and public sector VIPs. Examples of unplanned events are tropical storms, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, or national events like Occupy Wall Street. These also usually include a wide range of threats, incidents, and issues that Special Events bring together into a single environment. Special Events are meant to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for getting all of the intelligence, analysis, maps, and related information needed for users to be thoroughly briefed on an event.

Briefings

Special Event Briefs summarize the most salient information about an event and are intended to provide the essential contextual and predictive information regarding a large scale or otherwise prominent event. Special Event Briefings are always associated with an NC4 Risk Center Special Event, represented by burgundy-colored links under the Analysis section of the Navigation Panel.

Situation Reports (SitReps)

SitReps provide timely, in-depth, contextual information around the development covered. SitReps provide information that may impact organizational strategic planning, assets, supply chain resiliency, and traveler and corporate security. The reports synthesize and quickly present the latest developments of both tactical and strategic importance surrounding the topic.

General Information

General information is a collection of externally-sourced documents and websites related to the topic. The intent of providing this information is to improve the user’s efficiency by having relevant information on the topic available in one place. Not having to scour the Internet for information can be a huge time savings when time is of the essence and decisions to mitigate risks to the organization need to be made with confidence.

Incident Explorer

Similar to the Real-time Incident Explorer, the Incident Explorer tab enables you to see in list fashion the real-time, active incidents and advisories relevant to the topic. Read more on using the NC4 Risk Center - Using the Incident Explorer.

Incidents/Advisories Map

Similar to the Impact Map, the Incidents/Advisories Map tab geographically displays the active incidents and advisories relevant to the topic.

You can create alert profiles called Special Event Profiles that will trigger alerts for Real-time incidents only as they relate to a Special Event topic, such as a hurricane, a major terrorist attack, or other significant event for which a Special Event has been created. Create these profiles in the Create a Profile tab under each burgundy Special Event link in the Navigation Panel.

Create a Profile

The Create a Profile tab provides the means for creating a profile specifically for the Special Event or Periodical Report.

1. Complete the fields on the Overall Settings tab, as shown here.
   
   
   Creating Alert Profiles for Special Events
2. Enter an appropriate Profile Name.
3. Enter a Short Description of the profile that will clarify its specific purpose.
4. Click on the appropriate Send Notifications for radio button to indicate your preference for receiving incident alerts from NC4.
   • All – you will receive every alert about each incident that meet the criteria of the Alert Profile. This includes the initial alert, all subsequent updates, and the final alert. This is the most commonly selected.
   • Initial/Closed – you will receive only the first (initial) and final (closed) alerts for incidents that meet the criteria of the Alert Profile.
   • Initial Only – you will receive only the first (initial) alert for incidents that meet the criteria of the Alert Profile
5. Click on the appropriate Profile Activation radio button.
   • Activate – indicates that the profile is active and will trigger alerts to the users assigned to the profile based on the criteria specified.
   • Deactivate – indicates the profile is inactive and will not trigger any alerts. You may choose to deactivate a profile while you are setting it up or making changes so that no alerts are sent until you are ready.
   • Schedule – indicates the profile is only activated for the time period specified in the Activation and Expiration Date fields. These fields are inaccessible (as gray background text) until the Schedule radio button is selected
     Select the Activation and Expiration dates for the profile by clicking the calendar boxes. The profile will become active and will expire at 12:00am/midnight on the day entered. While the profile is in the scheduled state, the Scheduled Profile icon is displayed. When the Expiration Date is reached, the profile will automatically switch to Deactivated and display the Deactivated icon. However, the last Activation and Expiration Dates will remain for your reference until the profile is rescheduled.
6. Check all of the appropriate Incident Categories from the list.
7. Click Save.

Administrators have the ability to create profiles for specific Organizations (Sub-organizations), define access levels for the profile(s), and add users and/or groups to the profile(s). Please refer to Appendix A: Configuration and Administration.

My Profiles

The My Profiles tab provides the means for viewing the profiles you have created specifically for the Special Event and Periodical Reports. Click the linked Profile Name to open the Alert Profile for updating. Refer to the article on NC4 Risk Center - Introduction to Alert Profiles - Settings for detailed instructions.