Appendix A Scope and Methodology
Our objectives were to evaluate the Board's policies and procedures for responding to unexpected emergency events and to assess communication protocols for processing and disseminating information to Board staff during such emergencies. To accomplish our objectives, we completed the following steps:
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We reviewed relevant Board documents, including the OEP, the Board's Continuity of Operations Plan, Safety Bureau evaluations of evacuation drills, written employee comments provided after emergency events, and other relevant materials.
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We conducted interviews with Board employees who were responsible for implementing the Board's OEP, including officers and employees in the LEU, Internal Communications, the Intelligence Coordination and Continuity Programs, and Employee Relations.
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We developed interview questions and interviewed officials of the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco, Chicago, and Minneapolis, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the Washington, DC, area.
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We reviewed applicable sections of the Federal Continuity Directive 1; the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency's An IG's Guide to Evaluating Agency Emergency Preparedness, the Federal Protective Service's Secure Facilities, Safe Occupants, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers.
We also created and sent surveys to all floor wardens listed on the Board's Emergency Preparedness website to determine the floor wardens' level of training and emergency preparedness. For additional details on this survey, see appendix B.
We conducted our fieldwork from April 2012 to January 2013. We performed our review in accordance with the Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation issued by the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
