Multi-Organizational Collaborative Public Safety and Security Planning for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games Introduction: The Problem Space

Abstract Security planning for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games involved a complex series of interrelationships between federal, provincial, and municipal governments as well as with the Vancouver Organizing Committee and private sector partners. Situated on the coast of British Columbia, the Games venues were located in multiple jurisdictions and within a complex environment. Security operations required the collaboration of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Forces, local police services, Emergency Management British Columbia, and many other public safety and security organizations. In planning, these partners prepared for accidental, malicious or natural threats and risks, including terrorist acts, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive hazards, crowd safety issues, health-related events, critical infrastructure failure, and natural disasters. An after event review initially set out to study five main critical issues for whole-ofgovernment collaborative planning and operations: clarity of organizational mandates, information sharing practices, critical infrastructure protection, governance (or command and control) and knowledge transfer from previous or towards future similar events. During the review, other critical topics emerged, many of which have since been identified in similar multi-organizational studies. These included challenges and successes in areas such as: integrated planning and exercising; information sharing; full spectrum public safety and security planning; and the role of culture and personalities. The security planning and operations experience provided a tremendous opportunity for Canadian organizations to build on existing plans, processes and relationships. More significantly, it brought the preparedness level of the country and awareness of multiorganizational cooperative postures to a higher level. This paper outlines factors which contributed to establishing those cooperative relationships for successful public safety and security preparedness