FEMA's annual COOP exercise assessment finds that 58 percent of participating federal agencies failed at least one critical continuity function during mandatory tabletop exercises.
FEMA's FY2025 Annual COOP Exercise Assessment found that 58 percent of the 142 participating federal agencies failed at least one critical continuity function during mandatory tabletop exercises — an increase from 43 percent in FY2024. Digital system recovery was identified as the most common failure point, cited in 71 percent of failing agencies.
While most agencies have updated their COOP plans to reference cloud-based backup systems, few have actually tested those systems under realistic disruption scenarios. Tabletop exercises revealed that backup activation procedures were often undocumented and responsible personnel were unaware of their roles.
Succession of authority failures represented the second most common COOP failure, with 34 percent of failing agencies unable to demonstrate clear decision-making authority lines when the Principal Authority position was removed from the exercise scenario.
FEMA recommends that agencies conduct full COOP activations — not just tabletop exercises — at least annually, with realistic scenario complexity that includes simultaneous IT system failures, facility unavailability, and key personnel unavailability.
GovAcademy's Continuity of Operations Planning course (GA-023) covers FEMA-compliant COOP plan development, essential function identification, devolution authority documentation, and tabletop exercise design. The course has been updated with the FY2025 assessment findings as case study material.
The Government Budgeting for Digital Programs course (GA-024) addresses a related finding: several agencies attributed COOP capability gaps to inadequate funding for resilience investments.
FEMA has made COOP exercise performance data publicly available on a new dashboard, creating institutional accountability for agencies with poor exercise records.