D3P would like to invite you to our Battlestaff Bootcamp--a one day training event that will teach you how to turn your election staff into a versatile, operational task force prepared to manage and mitigate the spectrum of crises you face from the digital to the physical. Regardless of how much money or resourcing you have, operationalizing your staff is possible and we are excited to show you how. We will challenge you to look at operational management differently. Our training will draw upon best practices from the military and private sector through instruction and hands-on training simulations. Battlestaff Bootcamp teaches operational management practices applicable to state and county level election leaders and emphasizes how critical integration and coordination is critical to defending the election process. We invite each state to send four participants--two state level and two county level election directors.
Battlestaff Bootcamp will challenge state and local election officials to look at their management practices through a new operational lens and identify ways to improve existing structures and processes. Through these new methods, election directors will increase situational awareness and optimize decision-making, making them better equipped to prepare for and respond to the spectrum of threats (digital and otherwise) that the election process faces. The training will focus on improving four main areas of staff operations:
1. The physical set up of an Election Operations Center.
2. How to organize election staff to manage the Election Operations Center to include key roles and responsibilities that go beyond normal daily activity.
3. The communication and data flows critical to managing time-sensitive election operations, including an incident tracking system and incident trend analysis.
4. Methods to reduce human error and increase overall staff efficiencies by implementing standardized processes.
The training event will begin in the morning with a tabletop exercise simulating the months leading up to and during the voting period. The simulation will highlight how shortfalls in operational management and preparation can increase risk to the elections process--it’s integrity and the public’s confidence in it. Following the simulation, participants will engage in an after action review to identify points of vulnerability and learn how to successfully combat them. In the afternoon, D3P will provide instruction on how to implement new approaches back in your state/county. A guide book will accompany the training.
For those interested in arriving early, we invite you to attend a coordinated monuments tour of downtown Washington D.C. on Sunday afternoon. Just like elections, this will happen rain or shine.
Please RSVP no later than November 18, 2019 using the link above or by emailing a completed registration form (PDF) to Cait Conley (caitlin@d3p.org) and Maya Nandakumar (maya@d3p.org). We look forward to seeing you in December!
