Grant Programs Directorate 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
Washington, DC 20472 


Grant Programs Directorate Information Bulletin 
No. 300, November 21, 2008 


TO: 
All State Contacts 
All Core City/Core County Contacts 

FROM: 
W. Ross Ashley, III 
Assistant Administrator, Grant Programs Directorate 
Federal Emergency Management Agency 

SUBJECT: 
Announcement of the Grant Programs Directorate (GPD) Strategic Plan 

Since the inception of the Grants Programs Directorate (GPD) on April 1, 2007, GPD has 
worked diligently to establish a formal organization structure and to develop processes and 
procedures in-line with the strategic goals of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA). As the one-stop-shop for grants management, GPD is responsible for both the business 
management of all FEMA grant programs and the programmatic management of the suite of 
preparedness programs. 

Earlier this year, GPD staff and management developed the Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals and 
Objectives for our Directorate with the aim of providing a greater understanding of GPD’s role 
in FEMA and our strategic direction for the future. This is the basis of the GPD Strategic Plan, 
which was then drafted, vetted, and approved by FEMA senior management. Throughout the 
process, GPD received many comments and recommendations that have provided the Directorate 
with good ideas to consider as we work to implement the Strategic Plan. Those ideas include: 

• 
Using the Grant Program Task Force to guide strategy and development and 
implementation; 
• 
Working to increase and streamline communications from HQ to the FEMA Regions 
concerning grants-related issues; and 
• 
Increasing coordination between the Grant Management Division (GMD), Grant 
Development and Administration Division (GD&A), and the FEMA Regions. 
In case you are interested, GPD's Strategic Plan is now featured on FEMA’s website at the 
following URL: 

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/grants_stratplan.pdf 

Additionally, a short, bi-fold outreach brochure has been developed and entitled, “The Grant 
Program Directorate Strategic Plan in Brief 2009 – 2011”, which may be accessed at 

www.fema.gov 


http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/plan_in_brief.pdf. This document highlights GPD’s 
strategic goals and how they link to FEMA’s overall goals. 

Please be advised that a limited number of hard copies of the complete plan will be available in 
the near future. GPD is currently working with FEMA Publications to print a large quantity of 
the Plan-in-Brief, which should be available next month for the GPD National Conference on 
December 16-17, 2008. 

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of FEMA grant programs.