A clear and well-documented understanding of the organisation is a foundational requirement of ISO 22301 and a critical first step in building an effective Business Continuity Management System (BCMS).
This chapter provides an overview of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), its purpose, operating environment, and key characteristics that influence business continuity planning.
By establishing organisational context, NYP can ensure that its BCMS is aligned with institutional priorities, stakeholder expectations, and the realities of its operating landscape.
This chapter, Understanding Your Organisation: Nanyang Polytechnic, is designed to provide readers with a foundational perspective on why a thorough understanding of the organisation is critical for effective Business Continuity Management (BCM).
Before developing strategies or implementing continuity plans, it is essential to clearly grasp the institution’s mission, structure, key activities, stakeholders, and the internal and external factors that influence operations.
By framing this context, readers can appreciate how organisational priorities, dependencies, and risks shape the design and focus of a BCM programme.
The objective of this chapter is to guide readers in identifying what makes NYP unique, what functions are critical to its operations, and how its environment affects resilience planning.
By the end of the chapter, readers are expected to understand the rationale for analysing organisational context, defining scope, and recognising stakeholder expectations—knowledge that enables informed decision-making, prioritisation of continuity efforts, and alignment of BCM initiatives with NYP’s mission.
This insight ensures that subsequent BCM activities are relevant, practical, and capable of maintaining institutional operations during disruptions.
Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) is a publicly funded tertiary education institution in Singapore, established to provide practice-oriented education and training that supports national workforce development and industry needs.
NYP delivers full-time diploma programmes, continuing education and training, and industry-relevant applied learning across multiple academic schools and specialist centres.
As an educational institution, NYP’s core mission centres on teaching and learning, student development, applied research, and industry collaboration.
These functions are supported by a wide range of administrative, academic, digital, and campus services that collectively enable the institution to operate effectively on a day-to-day basis.
NYP’s purpose and strategic direction directly influence the scope and objectives of its BCMS.
The institution is committed to:
Business continuity arrangements must therefore prioritise the sustained delivery of teaching and learning, the safety and well-being of students and staff, the protection of institutional reputation, and compliance with regulatory and governance requirements.
NYP operates within a structured governance framework typical of public-sector educational institutions.
This includes senior leadership, academic schools, professional and administrative departments, and specialised units responsible for areas such as information technology, facilities management, student services, finance, and human resources.
From a business continuity perspective, this structure necessitates clear roles, responsibilities, and escalation pathways.
Effective BCMS implementation requires coordination across academic and administrative units, with defined accountability for preparedness, response, and recovery activities.
The identification of NYP’s key activities is essential to understanding what must be protected and prioritised during disruptions. These activities include, but are not limited to:
Disruption to any of these activities can have cascading effects on students, staff, stakeholders, and public confidence, reinforcing the need for structured continuity planning.
In line with ISO 22301, NYP must identify relevant interested parties and understand their needs and expectations. These typically include:
Each group has specific expectations regarding safety, service availability, information accuracy, and timely communication during disruptive incidents.
These expectations shape BCMS objectives, recovery priorities, and communication strategies.
NYP operates in a dynamic environment influenced by both internal and external factors. Internally, factors such as organisational culture, resource availability, digital maturity, and staff competencies affect resilience.
Externally, NYP must consider risks arising from public health events, cyber threats, infrastructure failures, climate-related incidents, regulatory changes, and broader socio-economic developments.
Understanding this context enables NYP to design a BCMS that is realistic, risk-informed, and proportionate to the institution’s exposure and obligations.
Based on its organisational context, NYP defines the scope of its BCMS to cover critical academic, administrative, and support functions necessary to achieve its mission. The scope should clearly articulate:
A well-defined scope ensures clarity, consistency, and alignment with ISO 22301 requirements.
Understanding Nanyang Polytechnic as an organisation is central to building institutional resilience. By examining its mission, structure, activities, stakeholders, and operating environment, NYP establishes a strong foundation for an effective Business Continuity Management System.
This organisational understanding informs subsequent chapters of this eBook, where continuity strategies, impact analyses, and implementation approaches are developed to ensure NYP can continue to fulfil its educational mandate, even in the face of disruption.
Strengthening Institutional Resilience: Business Continuity Management at Nanyang Polytechnic |
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| eBook 1: Understanding Your Organisation: Ministry of Manpower Singapore | |||||
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