Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) third edition

The Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) 3rd edition represents New Zealand’s official framework to achieve effective co-ordinated incident management across responding agencies.

CIMS describes how New Zealand agencies and organisations coordinate, command, and control incident response of any scale, how the response can be structured, and the relationships between the respective CIMS functions and between the levels of response. Enhancements from previous editions introduced by the 3rd edition include (among others):

Strengthening the core foundations that CIMS is based upon, through emphasising:
- A strong community focus,
- Flexibility in application so that it can be used for small to large responses, and from Incident level through to National level, and
- Unity of effort, i.e. organisations working together towards common objectives.
Highlighting the importance of the inclusion of iwi/Māori in response and recovery.
Introducing a holistic consequence assessment approach to ensure all consequences (including those not immediately evident) are considered in any response and recovery.
Expanding on the CIMS supporting protocols and systems by the introduction of an ‘Incident Classification’ system, expanding on the description of ‘Governance’, and introducing a ‘Strategic Communications’ role.
More fulsome descriptions of the CIMS Functions, the inclusion of Recovery (in response), and expanding on previous appendices.

This new video based on CIMS 3^rd Edition provides an overview of the framework that agencies and organisations in Aotearoa use to manage responses to incidents and emergency events. It touches on CIMS principles and characteristics, roles, structures and functions and includes interviews with people from across the country who use CIMS.

Watching this video will help you to understand New Zealand’s emergency response framework and how it is applied.

This video can be used:

During agency/organisation induction programmes
As a pre-training resource for learners who will be attending training
As part of a just-in-time training package or induction during responses
As a refresher for staff who have attended introductory training in the past.

Video: Introduction to CIMS

The CIMS Role Cards cover key CIMS roles/functions at incident, local, regional and national response levels. The cards have been developed for the emergency management sector by the National Security Workforce, in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and sector representatives.

The purpose of the CIMS Role Cards is to:

promote consistency and understanding across the sector through providing functional clarity and a common language
reduce the workload within agencies and duplication across agencies
support staff development and response performance.

Audience and use:

The Role Cards are available for national use in readiness and response. It is important to note that the cards are ‘tools’; they are designed to supplement training already received, not replace training.

We recommend that every coordination centre has the appropriate set laminated and on hand to use during responses.

Adaptation of cards:

We encourage organisations to adhere to the CIMS Role Cards as much as possible to promote consistency across the sector and ensure ease of use of the cards during multi-agency responses.

The cards can be adapted by agencies who require a reduced version for use in the field or to suit their own internal environment in single agency responses.

CIMS 3rd edition figures

The following diagrams are taken from CIMS 3rd edition. Click on the image for the full size version.

Download editable .vsd files of figures 15-20 (.zip 216kb)

figure 1 doctrine training incidents — figure 1: doctrine training incidents

figure 2 command control — figure 2: command control

figure 3 incident management facilities — figure 3: incident management facilities

figure 4 response levels — figure 4: response levels

figure 5 relationships at response levels — figure 5: relationships at response levels

figure 6 incident classification — figure 6: incident classification

figure 7 controllers at response levels — figure 7: controllers at response levels

figure 14 welfare cycle — figure 14: welfare cycle

figure 15 incident level response vehicle accident — figure 15: incident level response vehicle accident

figure 16 incident level response business disruption — figure 16: incident level response business disruption

figure 17 incident level reponse multi organisation — figure 17: incident level response multi organisation

figure 18 local regional level response — figure 18: local regional level response

figure 19 national level response — figure 19: national level response

figure 20 full cims hierarchy — figure 20: full CIMS hierarchy

figure 21 intelligence cycle — figure 21: intelligence cycle

figure 22 planning p — figure 22: planning p

Regulating in a Crisis videos

Emergencies happen. And the consequences are often as complex as they are critical. This three part series is for regulators. What do you need to do after reducing risk, to be ready for, respond to, and recover from any emergency event?

You may not think you are a crisis regulator. These three short films might surprise you with the news that you are! The network and cast of characters in the drama of the crisis needing regulation runs wide. Cross government collaboration, stakeholder relationships and planning are all key.

Find out more in the films made by the Government Regulatory Practice Initiative (G-REG) and the National Emergency Management Agency with colleagues across local and central government.