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The state security system is not only about central decisions and reserves, but above all about the efficient cooperation of many levels – from local structures to state institutions and the private sector.  The workshops of the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves during POLSECURE demonstrated how this mechanism works in practice and where the limits of individual participants' responsibility in the system lie.

The meeting was chaired by RARS representatives: Agnieszka Bogucka, director of the Food Reserves Office, and Jacek Czech, director of the Digital Technology and Communications Office.  Ewa Nowakowska, head of the ICT Support Department of the Digital Technology and Communications Office, Marcin Sawicki, director of the RARS  Fuel Office, and Wojciech Stępień, director of the Crisis Management and Civil Protection Office, also shared their knowledge.

The key topic of the workshop was the role of business in building a strategic reserves system. RARS representatives emphasised that cooperation with industry must be based on specifics – data on production and logistics capacities and resource availability.

 “We want as many companies as possible to be in the database. Because one supplier does not provide security.”
— Jacek Czech

In practice, this means building a broad partner base and diversifying supplies, which increases the resilience of the entire system.

One of the key conclusions is also the need for a clear division of roles.  The security system in Poland is multi-level and is primarily based on the activities of local structures – local governments and services operating closest to the citizens.

“Safety starts locally  - the state intervenes when the possibilities of local government are exhausted. Citizens must be prepared to survive the first 72 hours without support – local governments act first, and only then are state resources, including RARS, activated.”
— Wojciech Stepien

This perspective shows how important it is to prepare all elements of the system – from citizens, through local governments, to central institutions.

The workshops showed that an effective system of strategic reserves is not only about state resources but, above all, about cooperation among many entities – from administration and services, through local governments, to the private sector. The workshops were attended by representatives of companies participating in this year's edition of the POLSECURE Trade Fair and STRATEXPO – Exhibition of Civil Protection and Strategic Reserves, who, after the official part, continued discussions and networking, developing threads of cooperation with the Agency.

(BB)