FEMA aims to identify successes and opportunities for reducing barriers to accessing Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funding for state, local, tribal and territorial governments. As part of the program’s continuous improvement efforts, every three years FEMA conducts a comprehensive stakeholder engagement effort to gather ideas and recommendations for how BRIC can be responsive to the complex resilience needs at all levels of government.
Summary of 2023 Stakeholder Engagement Effort
FEMA provided an opportunity for stakeholders to share their thoughts and experiences with FEMA following the initial launch of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program in fiscal year 2020. A second engagement effort was conducted in the summer of 2023, which included an online survey, dedicated feedback inbox, and targeted focus groups. The three-month survey period ended on Aug. 31, 2023.
This effort aimed to identify successes and opportunities for reducing barriers to access BRIC funding for state, local, tribal and territorial partners.
We want to thank those who took the time to provide FEMA with information to help inform updates to BRIC. FEMA plans to publish and share a final summary from the 2023 effort in the fall of 2024, to help inform program design for future grant cycles.
We hope that the feedback collected through this effort will inform continuous improvement of the BRIC program and benefit process improvements across FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs.
FEMA will request feedback to the BRIC grant program in 2026. In the meantime, please direct feedback by email.
Summary of 2020 Stakeholder Engagement Effort
To support the development of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, FEMA engaged in a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process in 2019 that leveraged an online crowd-sourcing platform, virtual and in-person listening sessions. FEMA heard from federal, state, tribal, and territorial stakeholders, as well as local partners, and members of the general public about the challenges they face in implementing mitigation projects and recommendations for how BRIC can be responsive to their mitigation needs at all levels of government.
In total, FEMA received 75 formal letters and approximately 5,000 comments with feedback from engagements and emails. The stakeholder feedback was compiled into a 72-page summary that provides information about the concerns expressed by stakeholders and their recommendations to address those concerns.