Preparedness Grants Case Studies

The FEMA preparedness grant case studies seek to understand how FEMA non-disaster preparedness grant funds are used to increase capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from natural disasters and adversarial events.

Preparedness grant case studies are part of FEMA’s broader work to understand the role of grant-funded investments in improving grantee outcomes. These efforts are organized under the Grant Effectiveness Strategic Vision 2.0, which guides grant effectiveness evaluations and includes a formal research agenda and data management integration line of effort. The described projects focus on improving data quality, measurement, analysis, and communication associated with grant outcomes.

Temporary shelter used to increase healthcare capacity in Newark, New Jersey

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Virtual Case Study: Jersey City–Newark, New Jersey

FEMA conducted a virtual case study to understand the role preparedness grants have had on the region’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

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In August 2021, FEMA conducted a grant effectiveness case study with New York City to understand how FEMA preparedness grant funding helped prepare the city’s mass fatality management (MFM) system for the significant increase in deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic. FEMA conducted this case study virtually with representatives from NYC’s MFM system, including NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM) and the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). 
In 2022, FEMA‘s National Preparedness Assessment Division conducted a grant effectiveness case study with the Blue Lake Rancheria to better understand the effects of preparedness grant funding investments made by the tribe. To conduct this case study, FEMA personnel held a virtual interview with Blue Lake Rancheria’s Office of Emergency Services in September 2022. During the case study, participants discussed the tribe’s use of preparedness grant dollars to invest in community resilience, investment and allocation strategies, and recommendations for improving FEMA’s administration of its preparedness grant programs.
Challenge How do we build climate-resilient communities while also advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality?
In October 2019, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a grant effectiveness case study with the state of Hawaii to understand how state and local jurisdictions use preparedness grants to increase their emergency preparedness and counterterrorism capabilities. FEMA examined how Hawaii used grant funds to close capability gaps and the impact those investments had on the state’s response to Hurricane Lane, severe flooding, and the Kilauea volcanic eruption and earthquakes, all of which occurred in 2018.
In May 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a preparedness grants effectiveness virtual case study with the State of Georgia. The purpose of this case study was to understand the role of FEMA preparedness grants in Georgia’s coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine rollout. This case study used data gathered from one interview with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS). It also drew from information that Georgia emergency management personnel provided through the Biannual Strategy Implementation Report (BSIR) and the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)/Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR).
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