Conducting an appreciation
Page updated: 27 November 2020
'Conducting an appreciation' means examining all the known factors of a situation to determine possible courses of action.
Conduct an appreciation before taking action
Depending on the situation, conducting an appreciation can range from a few minutes of thinking to hours of careful consideration. It’s essential to conduct an appreciation before taking action and committing resources to an operation.
Conducting an appreciation has four stages
1. Determine the aim
Write down your aim in one clear, concise sentence. Use a verb (action word) to start. For example, 'Find the missing person and move them to a safe place.'
Make sure the aim includes any special requirements of the particular situation (for example, time limits if searching for children or other vulnerable people). Keep referring to the aim as you conduct the rest of the appreciation.
2. Examine the relevant factors
Factors are pieces of information that help you determine some possible courses of action to achieve the aim. Not all factors will be relevant, and some will be more relevant than others. Carefully examine each factor to decide whether it’s relevant and how important it is. Ask yourself ‘So what?’ about each factor to reach a logical conclusion.
Example - Some possible factors
Factor: The Incident Management Team must be operational by 0600 hours.
So what? It takes 90 minutes to get the team operational once at the Incident Control Point.
Conclusion: Must be on site no later than 0430 hours.
Factor: The Incident Management Team must be on site by 0430 hours.
So what? It will take 45 minutes to travel there by road from the base.
Conclusion: Must leave the base no later than 0345 hours.
Factor: The Incident Management Team must leave the base no later than 0345 hours.
So what? It takes 15 minutes to load stores before leaving base.
Conclusion: Loading must start no later than 0330 hours.
Factor: A military NH90 helicopter is now available for transport from the base.
So what? It takes just 10 minutes to fly the Incident Management Team from the base to the Incident Control Point.
Conclusion: Loading must start no later than 0420 hours.
3. Determine all possible courses of action
Possible courses of action are all the possible solutions you’ve determined by considering the factors. Each possible course of action might work, but analyse each one further to show the advantages and disadvantages.
Example - Some possible course of action available for travelling to the incident Control Point
Course 1 — Travel by road to the Incident Control Point
Advantages
- Leaving the base is not disruptive to neighbours because the vehicles aren’t noisy like the helicopter
- The vehicles will be available at the Incident Control Point for operational purposes
Disadvantages
- The team may not all arrive at the same time
- The team will have less rest before deployment
- The helicopter won’t be immediately available for deployment at the Incident Control Point
Course 2 — Travel by helicopter to the Incident Control Point
Advantages
- The team will all arrive at the same time
- The team will gain an extra 30 minutes of rest before deployment
- The helicopter will be at the Incident Control Point for immediate deployment
Disadvantages
- The noise of the helicopter during departure may cause complaints from neighbours
- No vehicles will be available for operational use at the Incident Control Point
- Once you’ve considered each possible course of action, select the one that seems most likely to lead to a successful outcome
4. Formulate a plan
After selecting the best possible course of action, formulate a plan.
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Incident Action Plan (Initial)Date: 1/08/14 Type: pdf Size: 193 KB