Crisis communications operating model: Prepare, respond, recover

Introduction

In an era of fast-moving information, effective emergency communication is a fundamental characteristic of a successful central government response. Volatile operational landscapes require government communicators to act rapidly, delivering clear, accurate and actionable information to the public and key stakeholders. Crucially, maintaining an authoritative voice minimises the spread of harmful misinformation that can otherwise jeopardise immediate response efforts and long-term recovery.

To ensure communication leads are integrated into central decision-making, this operating model formalises the structures, roles and responsibilities of Government Communications as a functional profession, and the Government Communication Service (GCS) Crisis Team. It directly complements the UK Government Resilience Framework (December 2022), aligning the communication function across three core phases of emergency management:

Prepare: Strengthening national resilience by identifying risks, aligning with central planning units, and building a “whole of society” preparedness approach.
Respond: Operating under a tiered Concept of Operations (CONOPs) to seamlessly scale tactical and strategic messaging alongside No10 and Lead Government Departments (LGDs).
Recover: Building long-term capabilities, evaluating real-time campaign impacts via the PRIMER framework, and embedding institutional lessons into our teams.

The PRIMER framework

Our strategic responses are anchored by the PRIMER framework, which guides how we plan, develop, and implement crisis communications:

Plan: Maintain and regularly update robust communications contingency plans.
Rehearse: Test responses in advance with cross-government partners to build strong operational relationships.
Implement: Establish the right infrastructure from the outset for immediate, high-quality delivery.
Maintain: Support team welfare and sustain communications quality over prolonged periods.
Evaluate: Use the Evaluation Cycle to measure public understanding in real time and refine messaging.
Recover: Rebuild public trust and confidence while capturing formal operational learnings.

Core structural commitments

This operating model bridges the gap between messaging and central policy by introducing six key commitments to support Number 10 and the UK’s crisis management infrastructure:

Clear accountability: Defines the exact responsibilities of Directors of Communication (DoCs) and Government Communications during an emergency, including reporting lines to No10.
Structural integration: Embeds communication strategies directly into central resilience structures, including the Resilience Directorate within the Cabinet Office’s Economic and Domestic Secretariat (EDS), as well as the COBR Unit.
Cross-government surge: Establishes a specialised community of over 100 cross-government crisis communicators ready to deploy rapidly to high-pressure areas.
Operational readiness: Optimises central procurement, finance, and logistics frameworks to remove administrative barriers during a live response.
Expertise and training: Delivers an updated, comprehensive learning and development curriculum built on modern behavioural science.
Adaptive frameworks: Maintains a flexible, living operating structure that evolves alongside real-world insights and post-crisis evaluations.

By aligning our communication battle rhythm directly with central crisis management structures, this model ensures that the communication function maintains a critical seat at the table when and where it matters most.

Summary of operating model

Prepare: Strengthening resilience

The GCS Crisis Team supports the delivery of the UK Government Resilience Framework by managing central oversight and cross-government coordination.

Cross-government working group: Convening a resilience communications working group to align departmental campaigns and support local networks, working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), local authorities, and Local Resilience Forums (LRFs).
Contingency plan scrutiny: Reviewing, testing, and providing central oversight for Lead Government Departments’ (LGDs) communication contingency plans.
Horizon scanning: Creating risk briefings and horizon scans on emerging threats for Directors of Communication (DoCs), in partnership with the COBR Unit.
Commercial readiness: Updating central procurement frameworks and logistics to eliminate operational barriers before a crisis hits.

Respond: The crisis concept of operations (CONOPs) Matrix

The Government Communication Service Crisis Team does not react the exact same way to every emergency. The size of the response team, the operational budget, and who holds final sign-off over messaging will dynamically scale based on the nature of the crisis.

To manage this under pressure, the operational response scales across three distinct activation levels, determined entirely by the severity and scope of the incident.

Activation level	Trigger scenario and examples	Command and process	Team and core deliverables
Level 1: Significant	Scenario: Limited or localised emergency Examples: Severe weather, localised flooding, rail accidents, avian flu outbreaks	COBR is typically not convened The Lead Government Department (LGD) DoC commands the response, with strategic oversight and sign-off from No10	People: GCS Crisis Team provides ad-hoc expert support to the LGD and monitors concurrent risks Products: Core comms plan, ministerial Q and As, rolling briefing notes
Level 2: Serious	Scenario: Widespread, prolonged impact crossing multiple departmental boundaries Examples: Terrorist attacks, major industrial action, serious overseas emergencies	COBR and small Ministerial Groups (SMG) convened No10 DoC provides political and strategic direction Cabinet Office DoC leads tactical cross-government coordination	People: GCS Crisis Team supports cross-government alignment and DoCs can request Surge Team deployment Products: Cross-government playbook, core strategy and narrative, polling and sentiment insights, No10 briefings
Level 3: Catastrophic	Scenario: Systemic emergency reaching deeply into all areas of UK society and the economy Examples: Deadly pandemic, conventional and biological attack on the UK, nationwide power failure	COBR permanently convened. No10 DoC commands the strategic response. Permanent Secretary for Government Communications takes direct operational command of cross-government delivery.	People: Central GCS Crisis Team and Cabinet Office teams merge into a unified cross-government crisis communications hub to direct government resources Products: National marketing campaigns, comprehensive multimedia approach, daily insight tracking, stakeholder and press operations

Recover: Capability building

Post-crisis, the GCS Crisis Team focuses on capturing institutional memory and professionalising the cross-government communication network.

The crisis comms community: Building and managing a specialised network of 100 trained professionals ready to surge into central cells during Level 2 and 3 emergencies.
Professional development: Delivering an advanced crisis curriculum, including specialised masterclasses, tabletop simulation exercises, and site visits.
Framework refreshes: Upkeep of the Government Communications Crisis Comms Digital Course (opens the Learning Hub in new tab) and updating the PRIMER framework to reflect real-world lessons from recent operations.
Joint exercises: Integrating GCS teams directly into wider Cabinet Office Resilience Directorate exercises and the COBR Unit’s Crisis Management Excellence Programme.

Prepare: Strengthening our resilience

Effective emergency planning relies on building resilience – the ability to withstand or quickly recover from difficult situations, and to address challenges before they manifest. True resilience is a “whole of society” endeavour. Because central government cannot handle serious emergencies alone, it relies on local systems, communities, and individuals to take action. Clear communication to businesses, local organisations, voluntary groups, and the public is a fundamental element of this preparedness strategy.

Integrating communication specialists directly into contingency planning heavily reduces the likelihood and impact of a crisis. The GCS Crisis Team coordinates this cross-government input at pace and works closely with central units to provide:

Central alignment: Maintains direct operational links with the Cabinet Office Resilience Directorate, the COBR Unit, and the National Security Communications Team (NSCT).
Strategic oversight: Coordinates various strands of cross-government resilience communications to ensure they support the broader national framework.
Committee representation: Ensures a GCS representative joins the NSC(R)s and the Resilience Steering Group.

Departmental Crisis Champions

To establish clear ownership of risk and ensure smooth communication flows across government boundaries:

Network appointment: Directors of Communication (DoCs) appoint dedicated Crisis Communication Champions in each government department.
Operational integration: Champions act as the core point of contact for crisis planning, integrating directly into existing policy and operations crisis cadres.
Risk evaluation: The GCS Crisis Team regularly convenes this champion network to review emerging risks, plans, and necessary resilience communications.

Removing operational barriers

To guarantee immediate operational readiness during an active crisis response, the GCS Crisis Team pre-emptively manages administrative logistics:

Commercial infrastructure: Reviews and updates central procurement frameworks to guarantee they are fit for purpose, enabling Other Government Departments (OGDs) to rapidly draw on active contracts if required.
Logistical access: Secures advance central agreements for emergency access to physical office spaces, telephone infrastructure, IT systems and secure buildings.

Risk ownership and contingency planning

The UK employs a Lead Government Department (LGD) model, where a single department or arm’s length body owns each acute risk identified by the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). LGDs work across sectors to manage risks throughout their lifecycle, supported by Cabinet Office coordination and No10 strategic direction.

Communication leads are integrated alongside policy and operations colleagues throughout this process:

Plan development: Every LGD communication team is responsible for building a robust communication plan covering all parts of their owned risks.
Testing and exercises: LGD comms teams lead and participate in resilience planning exercises to practice the planned response, with support from the GCS Crisis Team and NSCT where relevant.
Central quality assurance: The GCS Crisis Team works alongside LGDs and the Resilience Directorate to evaluate contingency readiness and commission missing communication inputs where necessary.

Information flows and horizon scanning

In alignment with the UK’s Joint Interoperability Doctrine (JESIP), a shared understanding of risk is vital for effective mitigation. The GCS Crisis Team ensures communication professionals across all departments and devolved governments have real-time visibility of emerging threats.

The team monitors central civil contingency tools – including the COBR Unit’s six-month Forward Look and the weekly Overwatch Register:

Communication analysis: GCS applies an expert communications perspective to these horizon-scanning products, evaluating where current risks require proactive communications support.
The comms horizon scan: Findings are translated into a regular communications horizon scan distributed directly to No10 and departmental DoCs, and presented at monthly DoC meetings.

Personalised and accessible messaging

Supporting the core principles of the national resilience framework, the communication community is committed to evolving its public-facing approach. Messaging surrounding potential risks must actively be designed to be personalised, relevant, actionable and easily accessible to all audiences.

Respond: Crisis Comms Concept of Operations (CONOPs)

The Civil Contingencies Committee (COBR) – sitting within the Cabinet Office’s National Security Secretariat – is the primary crisis management function of the UK Government, coordinating across departments and agencies to lead the response to acute emergencies.

To ensure communication leaders effectively advise and support ministers, the GCS directly aligns its operations with the COBR Unit. Under this framework, No10 Communication provides overarching strategic and political direction across all crisis categories, collaborating closely with central GCS teams and departmental Directors of Communication.

Emergency activation levels

Crises that only require a local response are managed directly by emergency services and Local Resilience Forums (LRFs). For these localised events, GCS does not stand up a formal central response, though it may provide ad-hoc support to the relevant Lead Government Department (LGD).

For emergencies requiring direct central government engagement, GCS mirrors the UK Central Government Emergency Response CONOPs across three distinct activation levels. The specific level stood up is determined by COBR Unit advice, alongside the operational judgment of departmental DoCs and the Permanent Secretary Director of Government Communications.

(Note: The full operational breakdown for Level 1 (Significant), Level 2 (Serious), and Level 3 (Catastrophic) emergencies can be reviewed in the interactive Crisis Concept of Operations Matrix above.)

Core operational principles

When executing a live crisis response, all cross-government communication teams must apply these core operational principles.

LGD-Led ownership: Wherever possible, operational crisis management responsibilities remain with the designated Lead Government Department rather than being absorbed into the Cabinet Office. This includes leading the coordination with other affected departments.
Operational flexibility: Because emergencies are unpredictable and can directly threaten communication channels, response structures must remain flexible to adapt to live circumstances while embedding past lessons learned.
Cultivated expertise: Effective communication relies on subject matter expertise, specialist skills, and proper security clearances. The GCS Crisis Team pre-emptively fosters these expert networks and cross-government relationships during non-crisis periods.
Joint interoperability: Teams must immediately establish unified baseline operating parameters, defining mutual priorities, resource limitations, capabilities, and cross-government battle rhythms.

People-first wellbeing

Given the intense demands of sustained emergency environments, protecting the mental health and resilience of our staff is a foundational priority. The GCS Crisis Team coordinates with COBR, the Resilience Directorate, and HR departments to embed a supportive infrastructure, including:

Targeted training: Facilitating proactive wellbeing and mental health training for deployed crisis teams.
Support accessibility: Ensuring dedicated counselling and support services are immediately available to personnel during high-pressure activations.
Institutional best practice: Continuously updating welfare protocols based on insights from departments that frequently manage high-frequency emergency responses.

Transitioning to the recovery phase

The recovery phase officially begins once COBR determines that the immediate crisis has stabilised. Recovery operations focus on rebuilding and restoring structures, and can occur at local, regional, or national levels.

Because the nature of the challenge changes during stabilisation, the department best suited to lead recovery may differ from the initial response lead. COBR officially designates the LGD for recovery, triggering a formal handover process:

Operational handover: The GCS Crisis Team works alongside the initial response department, the National Security Communications Team (NSCT), and Cabinet Office Communications to formally transfer communication handling to the new recovery LGD.
Managing lasting consequences: Recent history shows that emergency communication frameworks can last well over a year to handle prolonged fallout. The GCS Crisis Team continuously coordinates with COBR to evaluate live resource needs, systematically scaling down the central response hub and returning long-term consequence management entirely to the permanent LGD structures as the crisis recedes.

Crisis Hub: Command structure and resourcing

During high-level emergency activations, the central communication response transforms into a unified, cross-government hub. This section breaks down the active command hierarchy (Gold and Silver), the core responsibilities of each operational cell, and the projected staffing levels required to maintain rolling 24/7 operations.

No10 Communication (Strategic and Political Command)

Direct according to Prime Minister priorities. Oversight of all aspects of response. Manage daily lobby and televised press conference team.

Comms GOLD Operational Command

Critical point for escalation and decision maker for communications response
Ministerial facing engagement and representation
Leads engagement with No10 and Special Advisors
Level 2: DoC Cabinet Office
Level 3: Permanent Secretary Director of Government Communications

Comms SILVER Operational Command

Acts as senior operational lead
Chairs daily huddles and cross government meetings to set priorities
Approves communications
Works with ministerial private offices to establish official priorities and acts as the senior operational lead
Initial resource to come from: GCS Crisis Team
x2 people (shift pattern)

Other government departments

Responsible for their subject matter areas
Participate in daily huddles to align work and priorities

Strategy team

Support implementation of contingency plans and link into central policy and operational teams
Create communications plans using OASIS framework
Lead cross Whitehall and devolved government coordination: cross Whitehall playbook and narrative, information flows, forward look
Updates: Commonly Recognised Information Picture (CRIPs), Prime Minister updates, ad hoc communications inputs
Initial resource to come from: GCS Crisis Team, GCS Strategy and Campaigns Team, National Security Communications Team (NSCT), Government Communication Service International (GCSI) and Cabinet Office Press
Level 2: x6 people (shift pattern)
Level 3: x12 people (shift pattern)

Marketing team

Develop and manage paid for media approach (including creative briefing, agency management, spending controls)
Align cross government marketing
Initial resource to come from: GCS Strategy and Campaigns Team, GREAT Team
Level 2: x3 people (shift pattern)
Level 3: x6 people (shift pattern)

Media and press team

Press handling: Media enquiries, support to departmental press offices, reactive lines, journalist list and media rounds
Media monitoring and Sitreps
Ministerial activity: Interviews, announcements, digital content
Background briefings: Organise with departments, prepare ministerial briefing packs, logistics and tech
Support No10 televised briefings, lobby, media monitoring and SitReps,
External affairs: Stakeholder identification and engagement
Duty cover
Initial resource to come from: CO Press and Media Monitoring Unit
Level 2: x26 people (shift pattern)
Level 3: x54 people (shift pattern)

Insight and evaluation team

Insight and analysis: Public sentiment analysis, media and online conversation analysis, collate and distribute x-HMG analysis
Counter-disinformation: Monitoring and analysis of false narratives, support to and coordination of x-HMG c-disinformation functions
Behavioural science advice and input into approaches
Initial resource to come from: GCS Applied Data and Insight Team, GCSI
Level 2: x3 people
Level 3: x6 people

Digital team

Social media products and ministerial communications
GOV.UK page updates
Support to departments’ digital teams
Initial resource to come from: Cabinet Office Press No10 Digital
Level 2: x6 people (shift pattern)
Level 3: x12 people (shift pattern)

Project Management Office (PMO), resourcing and administration

Manage resourcing
Manage equipment, seating and office location
Monitor group mailbox, finance, food allowance, travel, accommodation
Initial resource to come from: GCS Operations, Private Office and Governance Team, GCS Functional Standards Team, Capability and Efficiency Team
Level 2: x2 people
Level 3: x5 people

Recover: Capability building

Post-crisis recovery focuses on a structured process of evaluation, learning, and sharing. To ensure Government Communications continuously adapts, lessons learned from active responses are directly embedded back into our practices, structures, and professional development networks to prepare for future emergencies.

Crisis communication community

The GCS Crisis Team maintains and professionalises a dedicated network of up to 100 cross-government communication professionals. This cohort serves as the backbone of the government’s crisis capability, operating within their home departments during peacetime and acting as a specialised surge force for the central hub during high-level emergency activations.

Diverse skillsets: Membership spans all communication disciplines to ensure a full suite of operational capabilities is instantly available.
Security clearance alignment: The network intentionally intersects with the national security communications community to maintain a critical mass of personnel holding the clearances required for sensitive or foreign policy crises.
Cross-border and local relations: The GCS Crisis Team, alongside MHCLG, actively builds person-to-person relationships with Local Resilience Forum (LRF) communication leads, while partnering with Territorial Offices to integrate crisis communicators within the Devolved Administrations.

Formal crisis learning and development

To maintain a high standard of operational readiness, the GCS Crisis Team delivers a comprehensive, tiered crisis communication curriculum combining internal and external training pipelines:

The Crisis Management Excellence Programme: Surge team members participate in the central COBR Unit training program to master the core principles, legislation, and structures of UK emergency management. The GCS Crisis Team actively co-designs the communication-specific modules for this course.
Digital and specialised pathways: The Government Communications crisis comms course (opens in a new tab) is continuously updated alongside the GCS Functional Standards Team and opened to the wider surge cohort. External training allocations – such as the Emergency Planning College’s certified gold, silver, and bronze crisis communication courses -are systematically shared across the network.
Operational simulations: The GCS Crisis Team hosts a rolling calendar of interactive masterclasses, policy subject-matter-expert briefings, and live tabletop simulation exercises to keep skills sharp and evaluate whether frameworks like PRIMER require updates based on recent real-world fallout.

Retaining knowledge and lessons learnt

Capturing formal learnings prevents the loss of critical operational insights when crisis cells scale down:

Structured debriefs: Formal exit interviews are systematically conducted with communications leads immediately following major operations to document and protect institutional memory.
External Advisory Board: A dedicated board of external, industry-leading crisis communication experts is convened quarterly to critically review the Government Communications resilience programme and advise on modern best practices.
Codifying the framework: Learnings are continuously used to refine central policy, with the GCS Crisis Team working alongside the COBR Unit to permanently embed these communication structures into the overarching UK Central Government Emergency Response CONOPs.