Recovery and revitalization activities for some biological incidents will be so complex that existing plans may require additional stakeholder engagement to achieve recovery outcomes. Post-incident recovery planning supports a post-incident decision-making process to adapt and implement pre-incident priorities and policies. This post-incident planning allows SLTT leaders and community stakeholders to make complex, community-wide decisions for integration of public, private, and non-governmental efforts across core capabilities; set recovery goals and priorities at the community level; and manage recovery and resource allocation locally. The planning process aids community leaders in setting and communicating benchmarks to measure progress toward a community-defined successful outcome, especially in the context of long-term recovery.
In addition, long-term recovery for biological incidents presents opportunities to incorporate lessons learned from previous outbreaks or infection waves within the same incident (e.g., integration of improved communication for risk of transmission, disclosure of implementation of crisis standards of care, etc. during the COVID-19 pandemic). Lessons learned should be considered when planning to improve future response and recovery needs.