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Presidential Policy Directive 8

National Preparedness

National Preparedness is aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of the Nation by preparing for the full range of 21st century risks that threaten national security, including weapons of mass destruction, cyber attacks, terrorism, pandemics, transnational threats and catastrophic natural disasters.

National preparedness is a shared responsibility. As such, the PPD is designed to facilitate an integrated, all-of-nation/whole community, capabilities-based approach to preparedness. Involving federal partners, state, local and tribal leaders, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, faith based and community organizations ─ and most importantly the general public – is vital to keeping people and communities safe and preventing the loss of life and property when disasters strike.

Implementation of the PPD requires extensive outreach, collaboration and input from stakeholders at all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors and also from the public.

FEMA will coordinate closely with our partners throughout the homeland security and emergency management community, the private and non-profit sectors and with the public to implement the requirements included in PPD-8.
Implementation Priorities

PPD-8 sets a strategic vision for national preparedness using a comprehensive approach to preparedness. These include:

Latest Updates - National Preparedness Report


Update - May 3rd, 2012: FEMA and its partners released the 2012 National Preparedness Report (NPR) identifying significant progress the nation has made in areas of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. Overall the Report found that the nation has increased its collective preparedness, not only from external threats, but also for natural and technological hazards.


Update - February 3, 2012: Share Your Ideas on the Mitigation Guiding Principles
We are seeking your input as we write a set of principles that will guide the National Mitigation Framework. These principles capture basic mitigation values, and will help shape framework development and implementation.

To share your ideas and input, visit fema.ideascale.com. Click Presidential Policy Directive 8 and look for the “Mitigation” topic. There, you will find a link to the draft principles and space to provide your comments and ideas. We appreciate your help!


Update – December 22, 2011: Share Your Ideas to Help Strengthen the Nation

We are launching an ongoing dialogue and are asking for your input as we develop the next documents to meet the milestones required by the policy directive. This forum provides an opportunity to provide input into the development of several activities over the coming months. This can include your general views on preparedness, such as a successful approaches that your community or organization has used to assess preparedness; examples of how you, your business, or community as a whole collaborates with local law enforcement officials and federal authorities to help identify potential threats or prevent incidents; and stories of how local government and private sector stakeholders interact in your community to support emergency response needs during disasters. These are just a few of the many topics we will be discussing.

Visit fema.ideascale.com and click on the link for ‘Presidential Policy Directive 8’ to provide your ideas. You also may view, comment and vote on other people’s ideas.


Update – December 6, 2011: National Preparedness System Description 

The National Preparedness System Description is the second deliverable required under Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8: National Preparedness. The National Preparedness System Description concisely describes current efforts and how we will build on those efforts, many of which are established in the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act and other statutes, to build, sustain and deliver the core capabilities needed to achieve the National Preparedness Goal.

Specifically, it identifies six components to improve national preparedness for a wide range of threats and hazards, such as acts of terrorism, cyber attacks, pandemics and catastrophic natural disasters. The system description explains how as a nation we will build on current efforts, many of which are already established in the law and have been in use for many years. These six components include:

National Preparedness System Description (PDF 239KB)


Update - September 30, 2011: National Preparedness Goal, First Edition

The National Preparedness Goal is the first deliverable required under Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8: National Preparedness. The National Preparedness Goal sets the vision for preparedness nationwide and identifies the core capabilities and capability targets necessary to achieve that vision across the five mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery.

The first edition of the National Preparedness Goal builds extensively on prior work of various stakeholder groups from around the nation, draws upon lessons learned from past large-scale and catastrophic events and represents input from preparedness partners from all levels of government, non-profit organizations, the private sector and individuals.


Update - September 23, 2011: Final Disaster Recovery Framework Released

Today, the White House announced the final National Disaster Framework on its blog. The National Disaster Reovery Framework is the first framework published under the Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8: on National Preparedness, summarizing the way ahead for disaster recovery.

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How You Can Contribute

Everyone has a role in national preparedness. FEMA is dedicated to working with all members of our emergency management team to build a stronger national preparedness system that leverages all elements of our society – federal, state and local governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, faith-based and community partnerships and individuals – to meet the security, preparedness and resilience needs of our communities. Some ways to contribute to national preparedness include:

Additional information on contributing to these efforts will be provided as it becomes available.

Resources

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National Preparedness Goal

The Directive calls for development and maintenance of a National Preparedness Goal defining the core capabilities necessary to prepare for the specific types of incidents posing the greatest risk to the security of the Nation. The Goal will establish concrete, measurable, prioritized objectives to mitigate specific threats and vulnerabilities – including regional variations of risk – and emphasize actions intended to achieve an integrated, layered, accessible and all-of-Nation/whole community preparedness approach while optimizing the use of available resources.

The Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with other executive departments and agencies, and in consultation with state, local, tribal and territorial governments, the private and non-profit sectors and the general public, is charged with developing and submitting the first edition of the National Preparedness Goal due September 25, 2011. The Goal shall be reviewed regularly to evaluate consistency with applicable policies, evolving conditions and the National Incident Management System.

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National Preparedness System

The Directive requires a description of the National Preparedness System – an integrated set of guidance, programs and processes, enabling the Nation to meet the National Preparedness Goal – due November 24, 2011. Designed to guide domestic efforts of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors and the public, the National Preparedness System includes guidance for planning, organization, equipment, training and exercises needed to build and maintain domestic capabilities in support of the National Preparedness Goal.

The System will include a series of integrated national planning frameworks covering prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery and be built upon scalable, flexible and adaptable coordinating structures. These frameworks are intended to align key roles and responsibilities to deliver capabilities and provide a unified, integrated, accessible system with common terminology due June 30, 2012. The National Preparedness System includes interagency and departmental operational plans that support each national planning framework with corresponding planning guidance for state, local, tribal and territorial governments.

Other key aspects of the National Preparedness System described in the Directive include:

The Directive also calls for a comprehensive approach to assess national preparedness. The approach involves measuring operational readiness against target capability levels identified in the Goal.

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Campaign to Build and Sustain Preparedness

The Department of Homeland Security is tasked with coordinating a comprehensive campaign to build and sustain preparedness nationwide. The campaign will enhance national resilience, federal financial assistance, federal preparedness efforts, and national research and development through proactive public outreach and community-based and private sector programs. The campaign will also tap into existing preparedness efforts across all levels of government and the private and non-profit sectors for a unified approach.

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Contact Us

To send us your questions or comments, please e-mail: PPD8-Engagement@fema.gov. We will reply to your message as soon as possible.

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Last Modified: Thursday, 10-May-2012 18:02:00 EDT