A fundamental strategic objective of all organizations is long-term survival and economic success. An enterprise wide Business Crisis and Continuity Management (BCCM) program can provide the focus and guidance for the decisions and actions necessary for an organization to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to, resume, recover, restore and transition from a disruptive (crisis) event in a manner consistent with its strategic objectives. Central to such a program is a clearly defined and accepted framework of the various functions supporting BCCM, their integration and the appropriate level competency, leadership and authority to accomplish that integration. This paper presents a framework and lays out the research methodology to validate the framework and determine the core competencies required of BCCM leadership to meet their responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner.