Please note: The goal of dPlan is to produce a plan that is comprehensive. Collecting and entering the necessary data to produce an effective disaster plan requires a significant investment of time.

Since the information required for dPlan is extensive, you should plan for multiple sessions of data entry. You will need to collect information and come back to the template a number of times before your disaster plan is completed. Information can be saved during each session. To simplify data collection, you can go to the Main Menu to print out the Data Collection Forms.

The Basics of Using dPlan

You will be entering data into a series of Web pages, which are grouped into seven sections in the Main Menu: Institutional Information, Prevention, Response and Recovery, Supplies and Services, Scope and Goals, Staff Training, and Distribution/Review/Updating. As you move through the pages, brief background information and/or links to other resources are provided to assist you in making decisions about various aspects of disaster planning. After you have input all appropriate data, the data will be incorporated with standard text to generate your disaster plan (which will appear as a PDF file).

Work through the pages in sequence, if possible, beginning with Institutional Information. But you can also use the Main Menu to move back and forth between pages as needed. As you choose each main section in the menu, it will expand to show the sub-pages relating to that section. The Check My Progress feature (on each page and in the Main Menu) allows you to keep track of which pages have been completed.

The Print section of the Main Menu provides the option of previewing and/or printing a portion of your plan to see how the data you entered, incorporated with the text, will appear in your printed disaster plan. Once you’ve completed all of your data entry, go to Print to view and/or print your entire disaster plan.

Click on Demo to learn more about dPlan.