What is the primary purpose of Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) for a health department?

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Continuity of Operations Planning is about keeping essential health department functions running when disruptions occur, such as natural disasters, power outages, or cyber incidents. The aim is to prevent interruptions to critical public health work—like disease surveillance, outbreak response, immunization services, and vital communications with partners—from derailing. COOP achieves this by identifying which functions are mission-critical, designating who has authority to act if leadership is displaced, establishing alternate facilities and backup data and communications, and planning how operations will be maintained and then restored. This focus on preserving core services during disruptions is what makes it the primary purpose. The other options describe activities that occur in different contexts (expanding partnerships, obtaining more funding, or shutting down nonessential services), which are not the central goal of COOP.