Business continuity certification options

Two organizations offer Business continuity certification that are recognized worldwide: the Disaster Recovery Institute International, or DRI International (also known as DRII), and the Business Continuity Institute, or BCI. DRI International is active in North America and Asia, and BCI is active in Europe and Asia. Both organizations have begun to work together to continue to develop and refine worldwide professional practices.

DRII provides four business continuity certification levels:

• Associate Business Continuity Planner, or ABCP

• Certified Functional Continuity Professional, or CFCP

• Certified Business Continuity Professional, or CBCP

• Master Business Continuity Professional, or MBCP

Here is an overview of the requirements for achieving each level of DRII certification:

1. The Associate Business Continuity Planner (ABCP); certification is achieved by passing a certificationexam with a score of 75 percent or better and submitting an application for certification. This application must be approved by DRI International to achieve ABCP certification.

2. The Certified Functional Continuity Professional (CFCP) certification; the newest of the four certification levels is achieved by passing the certification exam with a score of 75 percent or better and submitting an application documenting at least two years of experience in three of the 10 categories of DRII professional practices. The application must include references, and it must be approved by the DRII Certification Commission to achieve CFCP certification.

3. The Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) certification; is achieved by passing the certification exam with a score of 80 percent or better and submitting an application documenting at least two years of experience in five of the 10 categories of DRII professional practices. Again, the application must include references, and it must be approved by the DRII Certification Commission to achieve CBCP certification.

4. The Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP) certification; the fourth level, is achieved by passing the certification exam with a score of 85 percent or better, submitting an application documenting at least five years of experience in seven of the 10 categories of DRII professional practices, and passing a case study examination or conducting a pre-approved directed Masters-level Research Project. The application must include references, and it must be approved by the Certification Commission to achieve MBCP certification.

The BCI offers four market-recognized certification levels – Associate, Specialist, Member and Fellow. Each certification level is based on a combination of scored assessment and/or structured interview.

For additional information, see each organization’s website: www.drii.org and www.thebci.org. Business continuity certification could be useful for BCM team