Important Dates & Deadlines Tribal Consultation to Tribal Policy Deadline Interim National Cyber Incident Response Plan Update National Engagement Period Deadline Advanced Public Information Officer Training Application Deadline Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Application Deadline Draft Interagency Concept for Community Resilience Indicators and National-Level Progress Measures Deadline

Emergency Management Institute Offers Long Term Power Outage Virtual Tabletop Exercise

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Virtual Tabletop Exercise (VTTX) program will offer a long term power outage scenario November 29 and 30 and December 1. The VTTX was designed to help communities specifically look at a long-term power outage in their community. Session content is the same each day and participants would attend only one session.

The VTTX involves key personnel discussing simulated scenarios in an informal setting and can be used to assess plans, policies, training, and procedures.

EMI conducts a monthly series of VTTXs using a Video Teleconference (VTC) platform to reach community-based training audiences around the country providing a virtual forum for disaster training.  The design of the VTTX is for a group of ten or more representatives from state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency communities of practice and is intended to provide an opportunity for responders across the Nation to simultaneously participate in a hazard-specific facilitated discussion. Participants will need to connect via a site equipped with the appropriate VTC capability (not Adobe Connect or Face Time-based), but alternate ways to participate are also available upon request.

The VTTX occurs 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET. To participate, send an email to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-7645. Also, send a courtesy copy email to the Integrated Emergency Management Branch at fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-1381. The application deadline is October 31. Additional information is available at https://training.fema.gov/programs/emivttx.aspx.

Reminder of Upcoming Deadlines

Tribal Consultation to Update the FEMA Tribal Policy

FEMA is updating its Tribal Policy that guides how the agency implements a framework for nation-to-nation relations with federally recognized tribal governments, recognizing tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and our trust responsibility. This updated policy will supersede the current FEMA Tribal Policy, issued in 2013, which expires on December 30. The goal is to update the policy to reflect current authorities, address key policy questions, and improve the Agency’s nation-to-nation relationship with tribal governments to ensure we work together to build, sustain, and improve every tribal governments’ capacity to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against all hazards.

This consultation period will facilitate tribal leaders’ or their designee’s feedback during the policy update process. FEMA has been engaging officials through face-to-face meetings, national and regional association conferences, conference calls, and webinars to seek input on questions highlighted in the FEMA Tribal Policy: Key Concepts document. Tribal officials’ suggestions and comments will inform further development and refinement of FEMA’s Tribal Policy.

Tribal officials can submit comments on the FEMA Tribal Policy until October 28, 2016, through:

• E-mail to tribalconsultation@fema.dhs.gov, or

• Mail to ATTN: Margeau Valteau, Office of External Affairs (OEA), DHS/FEMA, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20472-3605.

Visit FEMA’s Tribal Affairs web page for more information on the tribal consultation period for this policy and to view the Key Concepts document.

DHS Seeks Public Feedback for Draft Interim National Cyber Incident Response Plan Update

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is soliciting public feedback for the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP). The current draft NCIRP formalizes cyber incident response practices developed over the past few years and further clarifies organizational roles, responsibilities, and actions to prepare for, respond to, and coordinate the recovery from a cyber incident. The plan also creates a stronger alignment between National Preparedness System, specifically the core capabilities within the National Preparedness Goal, the National Response Framework, and the National Incident Management System.

National engagement provides an opportunity for interested parties to comment and provide feedback on the NCIRP to ensure it continues to reflect the collective expertise and experience of the whole community in response to cyber incidents. The draft plan is available for review and feedback at https://www.us-cert.gov/ncirp. Webinars are also available. Please use the submission form to provide any comments and recommendations and email them to FEMA-NCIRP-engagement@fema.dhs.gov by 5 p.m. EDT October 31, 2016. More information is available on the DHS blog.

EMI Offers Advanced Public Information Officer Training

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute is offering the Advanced Public Information Officer (PIO) course on November 28 – December 2, 2016. The course, held at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, provides participants with the skills to establish, manage, and work in a Joint Information Center (JIC).

Students will practice developing strategic messaging in support of incident action plans and manage a JIC. Individuals who took the course prior to 2011 are eligible to retake the training course since it was updated during the past two years. A full list of course prerequisites is available online.

The application deadline is November 4, 2016. If interested, contact Phil Politano, Training Specialist - Course Manager, at Philip.Politano@fema.dhs.gov or (301) 447-1343. For information on prerequisites and course schedules, go to http://training.fema.gov/programs/pio/.

Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

FEMA announced the annual funding opportunity for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). The Fiscal Year 2016 AFG program will award $310.5 million to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters against fire-related deaths and hazards. FEMA awards AFG funding to fire departments, nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations, and state fire-training academies. In addition, FEMA awards funding to other nonprofit organizations recognized for their experience and expertise with respect to fire prevention, fire safety programs and activities, and firefighter research and development programs.

Since 2002, FEMA has awarded $6.8 billion in fire grants to more than 62,300 recipients. Historically, 84 percent of awards go towards purchasing personal protective equipment, vehicles, and other operational equipment.

The application period is open through November 18, 2016. The grant guidance is posted at www.grants.gov and here. Applicants who need additional information may contact firegrants@fema.gov or call 866-274-0960.

Draft Disaster Resilience Indicators Concept Deadline Extended

The deadline has been extended until December 15, 2016, to submit inputs and feedback to the Mitigation Federal Leadership Group (MitFLG) Disaster Resilience Indicators Subcommittee’s “Draft Interagency Concept for Community Resilience Indicators and National-Level Progress Measures." Stakeholders can submit comments and feedback to FEMA-CommunityResilience@fema.dhs.gov.

The document is the result of a year-long effort to identify potential indicators of community resilience capacity building that align with the Mitigation and Recovery Core Capabilities under the National Preparedness Goal. Learn more details about this initiative through FEMA and NOAA partnership here.

Integrating Emergency Management into Institutions of Higher Education

EMI will conduct the "Integrating Emergency Management Education into Your Institution" course to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities with either establishing or enhancing their emergency management curricula.

The course addresses issues unique to these institutions and begins the process of identifying and overcoming institutional roadblocks of emergency management-related offerings. The intended audience includes department chairs in disciplines such as sociology, geography, public administration, and psychology from minority and minority serving institutions of higher education. The course goal is to achieve a more diverse population of emergency management professionals who reflect the communities in which they live and work.

The course will be taught on the following dates:

- February 27-28, 2017, for Hispanic Serving Institutions

- March 27-28, 2017, for Tribal Colleges and Universities

- April 19-20, 2017, for Historically Black Colleges and Universities

All sessions of the course will be taught at the Emergency Management Institute, National Emergency Training Center (NETC) at Emmisburg, Maryland. The application deadline is no later than eight weeks prior to the start of the course. Enrollment is limited to the first 20 applicants. To apply, complete a FEMA Form 119-25-1, General Admissions Application, with student signature and signature of supervisor or sponsoring agency official.  Mail, scan, or fax the application to: NETC, Admissions Office Room I-216, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727-8998; Phone:  (301) 447-1035 Fax:  (301) 447-1658; Email:  netcadmissions@fema.dhs.gov.

For more information, contact Lillian Virgil at Lillian.virgil@fema.dhs.gov.