FY 2010 Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program (IECGP) Fact Sheet

Overview
As appropriated by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111-83), the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program (IECGP) provided funding to improve interoperable emergency communications capabilities across State, territories, local and tribal governments and to support the implementation of the Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan (SCIP). All activities proposed under IECGP were required to be integral to interoperable emergency communications, aligned with the goals, objectives, and/or initiatives identified in the State’s approved SCIP or SCIP Implementation Report, and aligned to the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP).
IECGP provides funding for governance, planning, training, and exercise funding to States, territories, and local and tribal governments to carry out initiatives to improve interoperable emergency communications, including communications in collective response to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

Funding
In FY 2010, the total amount of funds distributed under IECGP was $48,000,000. FY 2010 IECGP funds were allocated based on risk and each State received a minimum allocation under IECGP using the thresholds established in the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Act). All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico received a minimum of 0.45 percent of the total funds allocated, per the 9/11 Act. Four territories (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) received a minimum allocation of 0.08 percent of the total funds allocated.

Eligibility
All 56 States and territories were eligible to apply for FY 2010 IECGP funds. The State Administrative Agency (SAA) was the only agency eligible to apply for FY 2010 IECGP funds and is responsible for obligating the funds to the approriate local units of government or other designated recipients.

Allowable Costs
For FY 2010, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Grant Programs Directorate (GPD) and the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) identified the following priorities for funding that were deemed integral to interoperable communications as defined in the NECP:
* Priority Group One: Gaps in Leadership and Governance and Common Operational Planning and Protocols
* Priority Group Two: Emergency Responder Skills and Capabilities Development through Training and Exercises

Specific investments made in support of the funding priorities fell into one of the following five allowable cost categories: planning, training, exercise, personnel activities, and equipment. Interoperable emergency communications equipment acquisition was an allowable category for FY 2010 IECGP. However, the SAA and Statewide Interoperable Coordinator/SCIP point of contact were required to certify in the Investment Justification that the State, territory, and/or pass-through recipients had fulfilled the objectives of Priority Groups One and Two.

Application Process and Evaluation Criteria
Applications underwent a two-step review process: Federal and programmatic review. This process ensured that all proposed projects were compliant with FY 2010 program requirements and objectives. The Federal reviewers were from within both FEMA and OEC. FEMA and OEC selected the interoperable communications and grants management subject matter experts whose perspectives would most benefit the overall program. The Federal reviewers assessed the quality of the Investment Justifications based on whether or not the applicant sufficiently met each of the criteria requested in the Investment Justification. During the programmatic review, FEMA’s GPD conducted a programmatic review to verify that all required documents, including standard forms, had been submitted and that the applicants’ budget information adhered to program guidance. GPD, along with subject matter experts from OEC, made final decisions on approvals and special conditions based on the recommendations of the Federal reviewers. GPD approved and awarded IECGP funds based on the above criteria, and the applicants received correspondence from GPD on the status of their submitted Investment Justification.



“FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.”
 


“FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.”