| Critical infrastructure (CI) are the keystone of a society's well functioning. For over 15 years, their operation and their protection have been the subject of several works and studies. In recent years, there has been an evolution in the researches regarding CI that led from a vision focusing on the protection of these infrastructures towards a vision focusing on their resilience. Resilience can be defined as the ability of a system to maintain or restore an acceptable level of operation or functioning. In the case of CI, acceptable performance is very important considering their interdependencies and their importance for the functioning of all parts of the society (economic, social, health, environment, population, etc.).;This thesis presents an approach to assess the potential resilience of CI. The objective is to assess the potential of resilience of CI to understand how this can affect their ability to maintain or restore an acceptable level of functioning. Another objective of this process is to ensure its complementarity with other methods of assessment.;The approach suggested in this document guides managers of CI in the elaboration of portraits of their system, their vulnerabilities and their capabilities. From these portraits, three types of evaluation are possible: a state of knowledge regarding the system, an analysis of the coherence (or consistency) and a performance analysis.;In this work, the coherence analysis is an innovation. Coherence between the different elements of the process is essential to ensure that an acceptable level of functioning of the system (or performance) is maintained or restored. The coherence analysis can also be integrated into other methods of evaluation in order to reinforce the results they produce. The first validation results of this analysis are conclusive. Without the notion of coherence, it becomes difficult to evaluate the potential of resilience of a CI. The context of interdependences requires that different elements (actions, plans, procedures, etc.) are consistent between them to avoid problems during an intervention and the implementation of these elements.;Various other applications are possible for this approach. Many organizations operate in a context with many internal interdependencies or evolve in an interdependent environment. These types of organizations could apply this method in order to reinforce the assessments they make. |
