Program Manager Resource Guide
Background & Authorities
About NETAP Trainings
How to Request
Courses
Contacts
The National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP) is designed to help state, local, territorial and tribal governments obtain the knowledge, tools and support that they need to plan and implement effective earthquake mitigation strategies. The program provides instructor-led training courses.
Recorded Trainings
Recorded trainings are available on YouTube for selected NETAP programs.
NETAP Resource Guide For Earthquake Program Managers
FEMA developed the National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP) as a mechanism for delivering direct assistance to the public to increase their knowledge and ability to analyze their risk, make a plan and take actions aimed at reducing their earthquake risk and supporting overall community resilience. NETAP is a program managed by FEMA to rapidly deploy training to organizations and communities. The NETAP Resource Guide for Earthquake Program Managers provides information on how states and territories can request NETAP assistance.
Background And Authorities
In accordance with the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Public Law 95–124), as amended in 2004 (Public Law 108-360) and as required by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–307), it is FEMA’s responsibility to support “the implementation of a comprehensive earthquake education and public awareness program, including development of materials and their wide dissemination to all appropriate audiences and support public access to locality-specific information that may assist the public in preparing for, mitigating against, responding to and recovering from earthquakes and related disasters.” FEMA developed the National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP) as a mechanism for delivering direct assistance to the public to increase their ability to analyze risks, make plans and take actions aimed at reducing seismic risks and supporting overall community resilience. The program is one element of FEMA’s ongoing participation in NEHRP.
What are NETAP Trainings?
NETAP provides trainings and associated materials on topics related to earthquake risk reduction. The trainings, which span from a few hours to two days in duration, are intended for a wide variety of participants with diverse professional backgrounds. NETAP trainings are offered via one of two delivery methods: in-person or web-based.
NETAP pays for the salary and expenses of an approved instructor and for any educational materials used by the training participants and instructor. The state, territorial, or local government requesting the training, in cooperation with any partnering organizations, is responsible for recruitment and registration of students.
For in-person trainings, the requesting organization is also responsible for local logistical requirements (e.g., meeting space, audio/visual equipment, refreshments). The 2023 training season is scheduled to run from February to July. Trainings in August, September, October, and November are available upon special request.
See the schedule, register for trainings, and access publicity materials at the ATC's website.
How To Request NETAP Training
1. Identify Need and Request Training
Applicants are required to complete the NETAP Training Request Form, identifying the specific trainings requested, preferred training dates, training location, anticipated number of participants, and the primary point(s) of contact. The State/Territory Earthquake Program Manager or other state/territory official with responsibility for earthquake mitigation identifies the need for trainings. In some cases, this need may be identified in consultation with local organizations, such as county emergency services or nonprofits focused on earthquake risk reduction.
2. Request Sent to NETAP Contractor
The State/Territory Earthquake Program Manager submits the request to the NETAP Contractor (the Applied Technology Council, ATC) to evaluate the request. State/Territory Earthquake Program Managers are advised to work with their Regional Earthquake Program Managers in developing their training requests.
3. Review and Coordinate
The NETAP Contractor, in collaboration with the FEMA NETAP Manager, reviews the training request. Further discussion may be needed with the requestor to clarify anything that is unclear or to provide guidance on technical information about the available trainings.
4. Qualified Training Approved
Based on the review and coordination process, a final decision is made by the FEMA NETAP Manager based on program funding and priorities, target outcomes and benefits of the request, and other relevant factors, such as local earthquake risk and capacity of the requesting organization to execute the proposal in partnership with FEMA.
5. Training Delivery
If approved, the NETAP Contractor deploys approved contract resources in collaboration with the FEMA Regional and State/Territory Earthquake Program Managers (and the requesting organization, if it is not the state/territory).
6. Performance Reporting
After each NETAP training, evaluation forms are gathered, and the results are reviewed. After an in-person NETAP training, the requesting organization reports the number of participants and provides a copy of the sign-in sheet to the NETAP Contractor. After a web-based NETAP training, the NETAP Contractor provides the list of participants to the requesting organization.
7. Certificate of Participation
For in-person trainings, the requesting organization may request Certificates of Participation for training participants. For web-based trainings, Certificates of Participation are sent automatically to training participants.
Training Courses
NETAP provides trainings and associated materials on topics related to earthquake risk reduction. The trainings, which span from a few hours to two days in duration, are intended for a wide variety of participants with diverse professional backgrounds.
View the Training Courses