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The Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) provides funding to eligible state and local governments to close known preparedness capability gaps, encourage innovative regional solutions to issues related to catastrophic incidents, and build on existing regional preparedness efforts. This document outlines key changes for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 RCPGP.
Core Capability Focus Areas
RCPGP applicants were previously required to develop and deliver one planning project that addressed specific capability gaps based on Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) results. The planning projects focused on housing, community resilience, and long-term vulnerability reduction, and included strategic priorities emphasizing equity, climate resilience, readiness, and housing for disadvantaged communities. To reduce the complexity and burdens associated with developing the RCPGP application, applicants are now permitted to select just one of the three focus areas (housing, community resilience, OR long-term vulnerability reduction) on which to concentrate their project proposal.
Community Disaster Resilience Zones
New for FY 2024, applicants are encouraged to consider the needs of Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CDRZ) when developing their project proposals. On September 6, 2023, FEMA announced the initial designation of 483 census tracts as CDRZ. In accordance with the CDRZ Act of 2022, communities within the designated zones are eligible for increased federal support to become more resilient to natural hazards and extreme weather worsened by climate change. To that end, applicants should consult the online CDRZ tool to identify CDRZ within their jurisdictions and consider how the identified vulnerabilities and needs of those communities can be addressed within their proposed projects.
Performance Measures
Recognizing that capability needs can vary significantly across different jurisdictions and there may be better ways to measure the effectiveness of a project against a specific core capability, applicants are permitted to develop their own performance measures to suit the unique capability evaluation needs of the covered communities. FEMA will compare the community’s current baseline capability level of the Housing, Community Resilience, and/or Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction core capabilities against the capability level as reported at the end of the grant. Therefore, the only requirement is that the customized performance measure enable a quantitative comparison of the applicable capability both before and after completion of the funded project.
FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO) System
RCPGP applicants must apply to the RCPGP on the new FEMA GO platform. The previous Non-Disaster Grants (ND Grants) platform will become a legacy system for grant programs from FY 2023 and earlier. For more information about FEMA GO, please review Section D of the RCPGP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO) | FEMA.gov for additional guidance and tools.