7/23/08 EIIP Virtual Forum Transcript: Target Capabilities List Implementation Project Amy Sebring: Good morning/afternoon everyone. On behalf of Avagene and myself, welcome to the Virtual Forum! We are pleased you could join us today, including our first-timers. We want you to feel comfortable about participating, and we will be giving instructions as we go along. Amy Sebring: Our topic today is "The Target Capabilities List (TCL) Implementation Project: Assessing Our Nation's Preparedness." Since version 2.0 was published last September, FEMA has been working toward implementation and has involved stakeholders in a process to develop Target Capability Frameworks. Amy Sebring: If you have not already done so, you can hear a brief intro to the topic on our Preview Podcast by Dennis Schrader, Deputy Administrator for FEMA's National Preparedness Directorate, which is linked from our home page. Amy Sebring: Also, there is a related poll/survey question on our home page, "Moving toward a national benchmark for preparedness is: a) a critical advancement, b) challenging but attainable, c) unrealistic." Please take a moment after our session to respond if you have not voted already, and review the results to date. Amy Sebring: I will introduce our guests in just a moment, but first, for the benefit of our first-timers, we will go over the order of business. We will begin with a presentation and then we will proceed to your questions and comments. Amy Sebring: We will provide further instructions just before we begin the Q&A section. You may want to begin composing during the presentation, but we ask you NOT to submit your question or comment until we get to that part of the program, since it is possible that your question will be addressed later in the presentation. Amy Sebring: A formatted transcript of today's session will be available by later this afternoon -- just check back on our home page or the background page (refresh the page if needed). Amy Sebring: Please take a moment after the session to rate this session in terms of usefulness of the information and/or write a short review or post a comment. I will mention more about that in our closing. Amy Sebring: We will be using a few 'slides' today. When you see the blue URL you can click on it and it should load in another window. It is possible that if you have pop up blocking enabled that it could cut you off by loading in the login page.... Amy Sebring: so it is a good idea to disable your pop up blocker, or open another browser window and make it active, or wait until after the session to view the slides. They are linked from the background page. Amy Sebring: Finally, please do not send private messages to our speaker or the Moderator, as we will be busy with the presentation. If you need assistance, you may send a private message to Avagene. Amy Sebring: Now to introduce our guests. Bob Sullivan supports the development of preparedness policies and target capabilities in FEMA's National Preparedness Directorate. He's been with FEMA since 1997, initially in Region 1, ... Amy Sebring: and has worked as both a hazard mitigation specialist and project manager. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Northeast States Emergency Consortium, a non-profit disaster education and mitigation organization. Amy Sebring: Ed Dolan is the Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response in DHS' Office of Policy Development. He's been actively involved in national homeland security policy, including ... Amy Sebring: implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 "National Preparedness" (HSPD-8). He is also a New York State Emergency Medical Technician instructor and has more than 20 years of experience as a volunteer fire fighter. Amy Sebring: Please see the Background Page for additional biographical details. Welcome to you both gentlemen, and thank you for being with us today. I now turn the floor over to Mr. Sullivan to start us off please. Bob Sullivan: Thank you. We appreciate this opportunity to discuss the Target Capability Implementation project. Bob Sullivan: There are three fundamental questions for the emergency preparedness community: How prepared are we? How prepared do we need to be? What should we do to close the gaps? Bob Sullivan: Officials at all levels of government and the public as well want to know whether we're ready - whether we have the capabilities - to handle the next big disaster. Bob Sullivan: In order to answer these questions successfully, we need to maintain a dialogue with our local, tribal, State, and Federal colleagues and develop a framework for clearly and objectively measuring preparedness. Bob Sullivan: To set the stage, the policy context for this project is Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 "National Preparedness" (HSPD-8). The purpose of HSPD-8 is to "establish policies to strengthen the preparedness of the United States to prevent and respond to threatened or actual domestic terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies." Bob Sullivan: Last year, DHS issued the National Preparedness Guidelines in response to HSPD-8. Among others things, the Guidelines help establish a system and metrics for assessing national preparedness. The Guidelines include the TCL (v2.0), which provides planning guidance on 37 capabilities. Bob Sullivan: This Project is a consolidated effort to implement HSPD-8 and the National Preparedness Guidelines. The Target Capability Frameworks are being built off the foundation of the TCL released in September 2007. Bob Sullivan: I should add that recent legislation, namely the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) and the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, called on DHS/FEMA to consolidate and improve our processes for defining and assessing preparedness. Bob Sullivan: One other background point: when we refer to capabilities, we mean capabilities needed to prevent, protect against, respond to, or recover from major events. Bob Sullivan: This is about establishing targets for events that may require coordination and resource-sharing across multiple jurisdictions or regions of the country, and with the private and non-profit sectors as well. Bob Sullivan: Now, the project. FEMA is working with the homeland security and emergency management communities to develop an easy-to-use, objective approach for measuring capabilities. Together, we have begun creating a series of Target Capability Frameworks that can be used by States, local jurisdictions, and tribal governments to determine whether they need a given capability to be prepared for acts of terrorism and large scale disasters, and if so, what their performance level should be. Bob Sullivan: The end result will be the development of a single, integrated methodology and tool to facilitate capability planning, assessment, and reporting that will be integrated with building block programs across the preparedness lifecycle (plans, teams, equipment, exercises, and training). Bob Sullivan: Now, let me give you a high-level view of what these Target Capability Frameworks are. They are real easy to use, and each has three basic charts. Bob Sullivan: The first chart addresses Performance Classes. This chart organizes jurisdictions into classes based on various risk factors, such as size and population density. This avoids a "one size fits all" approach. Not every jurisdiction needs the same capabilities. Amy, please display the first chart. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/TCL/slide01.htm Bob Sullivan: Now, let's move onto the second chart, Performance Objectives. This chart specifies five or six very specific objectives for each performance class. The objectives are outcome-focused and measurable. Bob Sullivan: The idea is that a user should be readily able to identify how much of the capability they should be able to access given the specific circumstances of their jurisdiction. Amy, please show us the second chart. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/TCL/slide02.htm Bob Sullivan: Now let's look at Resource Requirements. The Resource Requirements chart identifies resources needed to achieve the performance objective. Resource Requirements are tied to preparedness lifecycle and should be the "string" that ties all the elements of preparedness planning, personnel, training, equipment, and performance together. Amy, the last chart please. Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/TCL/slide03.htm Amy Sebring: (Again, you can come back to these from the transcript to look over later.) Bob Sullivan: Over time, we hope these Target Capability Frameworks will become our national benchmark for preparedness ... a common approach that any State or jurisdiction could use - in a matter of minutes, really - to determine whether they are able to perform a given capability at a certain level of performance. Bob Sullivan: The Frameworks will also provide a clearer picture of what States and jurisdictions need to do - individually and collectively - to prepare for acts of terrorism and major disasters. They will lead to a greater ability across agencies, disciplines, and levels of government to coordinate, call upon, and deliver resources in all phases of disaster. Bob Sullivan: It is our intention that the Frameworks will also be used to reduce administrative reporting burdens on the States by instituting a single system for meeting reporting requirements. Bob Sullivan: This is a long-term effort. Right now we're working with local, State, Tribal, and Federal professionals across homeland security, emergency management, first response, law enforcement communities, and subject matter experts around the country at Technical Working Group Sessions to develop the Target Capability Frameworks for six capabilities: Bob Sullivan: Animal Health Emergencies, Emergency Operations Center Management, Intelligence, Mass Transit Protection, On-Site Incident Management, and WMD/HazMat Rescue and Decontamination. Bob Sullivan: We are holding multiple sessions for each capability that will be completed in August. So far, the participants recognize the importance - and the challenges - associated with the project. They also want us to bring our preparedness tools together, and provide a common, objective "benchmark" for addressing preparedness. Bob Sullivan: We recognize that the development of these Frameworks isn't going to happen overnight - significant work remains. Bob Sullivan: For the near term, we will complete the initial six Frameworks and conduct a national review of the Target Capability. We are planning to release the initial six Target Capability Frameworks in FY09. Bob Sullivan: We'll develop additional Target Capability Frameworks in subsequent years, culminating in TCL v3.0 in 2010. Ultimately, we hope to release a single, integrated methodology and tool to facilitate the capability planning, assessment, and reporting process. Bob Sullivan: Before we take your questions, we want to emphasize the important role all levels of government play in these efforts. More than 1,500 stakeholders participated in the development of the TCL v2.0, and DHS/FEMA will continue to engage Federal, State, local, and tribal homeland security and emergency management professionals in all aspects of the project. Bob Sullivan: Our commitment moving forward is to continue to engage first response, emergency management, and homeland security communities. We will work closely with you, keep you and other leaders of our industry informed, and use a multi-faceted adjudication process in FEMA regions to elicit feedback and recommendations during our national review. Bob Sullivan: We would now like to hear your questions and feedback. We now turn the floor back over to our Moderator. Amy Sebring: Thank you very much Bob. Now, to proceed to your questions or comments. We are using the Moderation feature today. When you click on Send (or hit the Enter key), your question or comment will not go directly to the screen... Amy Sebring: Instead, it goes to a Moderator's Admin Panel, to be released into the chat at the appropriate time. We will take the questions or comments in the order submitted. Please be patient as it may take some time to get to yours, if there are several ahead of you. Amy Sebring: Please do NOT submit multi-part questions or very lengthy comments. Instead, if you have a second question or a follow up question, please compose and submit it separately. Amy Sebring: We are ready to begin now, and you can enter your question or comment anytime you are ready. We especially want to hear your comments about this approach, and any experience you may have had with implementing TCLs in your area, or participating as a stakeholder. Tyler Fortier: Will you incorporate COOP? Amy Sebring: (COOP=Continuity of Operations Planning) Bob Sullivan: We are not currently reviewing continuity of operations capabilities and would defer to FEMA's Office of National Continuity Programs on future integration and reviews. Ric Skinner: Regarding the TC "Communications Interoperablity" -- to what extent is non-voice interoperability -- that is data and information being given serious consideration? Bob Sullivan: Thanks. As of right now... Bob Sullivan: our efforts in this project are focused on the six... Bob Sullivan: TC: animal health, intelligence, wmd/hazmat... Bob Sullivan: eoc management, incident command, and mass transit protection... Bob Sullivan: We hope to engage... Bob Sullivan: the communications community on... Bob Sullivan: future reviews of the communications related TCs. Vicki Morris: How is this initiative different than the one that was worked on called National Preparedness System, which dealt with a tool to join all reporting together, also incorporating the TCL's? Bob Sullivan: Thanks Vicki. We hope that... Bob Sullivan: the lessons learned from the development of the NPS and the TCL v2.0... Bob Sullivan: will be the foundation for this effort... Bob Sullivan: FEMA is working to integrate the best elements of each system and create a single, comprehensive capability assessment system to enhance collaborative planning and coordination across all levels of government Bob Sullivan: Jurisdictions will be able to produce reports... Bob Sullivan: to inform their strategies and improve investment planning, and the Nation will be able to generate national preparedness data, as required by Congress. Tim Riecker: In New York State (taken as a best practice from our partners in a couple of other states), we're using some of the TCLs as the foundation for an emergency management training needs assessment. I'm looking forward to the results of your project and the impact it will have on future needs assessment efforts we put out. Do you have any insight or guidance so far based on the work completed or your vision moving forward? Bob Sullivan: Thanks. Many communities and jurisdictions... Bob Sullivan: throughout the country are using the TCL v 2.0... Bob Sullivan: and our intention is not to replace that document... Bob Sullivan: but to build off of it... Bob Sullivan: Our vision is creating... Bob Sullivan: a "front end" for the TCs... Bob Sullivan: that will provide an easy-to-use framework... Bob Sullivan: that provides objective performance measures for each TC. Bob Robinson: Is local or state participation going to be tied anyway into federal grant processes? Bob Sullivan: As of right now... Bob Sullivan: there will be no change in FY09 guidance based on the TCL project. However, FEMA is in the process of determining the potential impact of this effort on the Homeland Security... Bob Sullivan: Grant Program (HSGP) and other Federal sources of preparedness grant funding... Bob Sullivan: As part of that process, FEMA's National Preparedness Directorate will work closely with Grants Program Directorate to determine how the TCL project will impact Federal preparedness grants... Bob Sullivan: administered by FEMA, and how future grant guidance will include information about the new capability frameworks. Vicki Morris: What amount of time do you see jurisdictions having to spend on this initiative as their plates are full already? Bob Sullivan: The process for developing the frameworks... Bob Sullivan: is centered around collaboration with stakeholders... Bob Sullivan: We are currently engaged in Technical Working Groups at the Regional level. These TWGs... Bob Sullivan: are attempting to build out draft frameworks.... Bob Sullivan: which will then be provided to the emergency... Bob Sullivan: ...management community for comment and feedback. Amy Sebring: Bob, I think Vicki is referring to further down the line ... Amy Sebring: once the Frameworks are issued for use, and a local jurisdiction tries to implement. Bob Sullivan: When the frameworks are fielded... Bob Sullivan: we hope that they will greatly simplify decision making... Bob Sullivan: resource decisions... Bob Sullivan: and the administrative assessment burdens of the various... Bob Sullivan: preparedness assessments currently in the field. Robie Robinson: Why are we re-inventing the wheel when we already have EMAP created, vetted, and in place to benchmark and measure the preparedness of jurisdictions? EMAP has already benchmarked all states, is in the middle of a second round of all states and has been applied to local and regional jurisdictions as well. Bob Sullivan: EMAP and other critical... Bob Sullivan: emergency management benchmarks, standards and guidance are key to this process... Bob Sullivan: We envision the TCs as being the "string"... Bob Sullivan: that ties the policies, guidance, and standards of preparedness... Bob Sullivan: together. Steve Spies: How does this effort plan to integrate the NIC resource typing? Bob Sullivan: NIC resource typing... Bob Sullivan: will be fully integrated into the effort... Bob Sullivan: Resource typing will inform elements of what we refer to as the resource requirements component of the framework... Bob Sullivan: Getting back to the "string"... Bob Sullivan: analogy, resource requirements will... Bob Sullivan: incorporate all elements of the preparedness life cycle... Bob Sullivan: planning, personnel, training, equipment and performance. Liz Manion: To ensure I understand, the draft TC Frameworks for 6 TCLs will be ready for comment in August and ready for release in 2009 --- do you have a more specific date/month for that? It appears that one of the outcomes is to make the TCL/frameworks scalable for whatever jurisdiction will be using these --- very useful. Bob Sullivan: It is our intention to provide these for review late in the summer... Bob Sullivan: depending on the final outcome of the TWG process.... Bob Sullivan: And you raise an issue of scalability... Bob Sullivan: one of the key enhancements that we see... Bob Sullivan: is the introduction of performance classes... Bob Sullivan: into the framework... Bob Sullivan: this is in response to feedback... Bob Sullivan: that we have received that the TCs provided a... Bob Sullivan: "one size fits all" approach... Bob Sullivan: and that we needed to develop the TCs to address the differences... Bob Sullivan: between "how much" of each capability... Bob Sullivan: jurisdictions need to be able to access. Amy Sebring: So you cannot say yet, when in 2009? Is there a target (pardon the expression) date range such as the Fall? Bob Sullivan: It is our hope that we will have the six ready for review... Bob Sullivan: in the Fall. Amy Sebring: Speaking of performance classes, I have a question .... Amy Sebring: there is no Federal level performance class? Amy Sebring: I believe this was brought up in recent GAO testimony, the need for a federal level. Bob Sullivan: I'll ask my colleague Ed Dolan... Bob Sullivan: from DHS Policy to field this question. Amy Sebring: (Yes, Ed was delayed a bit in joining us. We were not ignoring him.) Ed Dolan: Yes, we will have federal classes, or objectives, depending on the capability. Amy Sebring: Ok, thanks. A related question ... Shelley Lee: Is it known yet whether the new TCLv2.0 will expand the # of DAE's deployed by FEMA or the mission of those DAE's at declared disaster sites? Amy Sebring: Bob, can you take this one please? Bob Sullivan: Thanks. One of the goals of this project... Bob Sullivan: is to focus the performance objectives on measurable outcomes... Bob Sullivan: So instead of counting the number of resources required... Bob Sullivan: to perform a capability, we would instead ask, "Can you... Bob Sullivan: achieve the desired outcome?"... Bob Sullivan: We want to focus... Bob Sullivan: on seeing if we can focus measures on those... Bob Sullivan: "critical few" objectives that have to be preformed to... Bob Sullivan: deliver the capability. Ric Skinner: How dos the HLS Comprehensive Assessment Model (HLS-CAM) factor into TCL efforts? Amy Sebring: Ed, will you address this one please? Ed Dolan: The idea is that there will be many, many ways to meet the performance objectives. Ed Dolan: We dont' want to be prescriptive and say you have to meet a capability any one way, but to provide lots of options for thoughtful folks to meet a given end, but to stress the importance of meeting an objectively measurable outcome. Ed Dolan: We don't want to require that people use a specific tool; rather that they can apply lots of tools to this. [Question was lost from the transcript. Essentially it was asked whether FEMA TCL Implementation Project was coordinating with other FEMA programs to reduce redundancy of state and local reporting requirements.] Amy Sebring: Bob? Bob Sullivan: Yes. And thanks for this question... Bob Sullivan: one of the central goals of this project... Bob Sullivan: is to establish these frameworks as a way... Bob Sullivan: to reduce the number of current assessment in the field... Bob Sullivan: Using the TCs to capture the information being collected in assessments like... Bob Sullivan: the State Preparedness Report and NIMSCAST... Bob Sullivan: So the answer is absolutely yes... Bob Sullivan: we are working closely with all elements of FEMA to find... Bob Sullivan: and flesh out those common areas so we can move... Bob Sullivan: towards a combined methodology and assessment. Shelley Lee: Will volunteer groups such as Citizen Corps, US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Air Guard, etc. have a bigger role in the move toward achieving new TCL's? Amy Sebring: Ed do you want to take this one? Ed Dolan: Sure, the idea is to identify those things that we need combined efforts to achieve..... Ed Dolan: so, depending on the capability, we may need volunteer groups, Coast Guard, whoever.... Ed Dolan: The point is that there are lots of different ways of pulling together different groups to provide resources.... Ed Dolan: and it will be easier for them if we distill down what we're trying to do to a few common objectives. Frannie Edwards: The TCL 2.0 still does not acknowledge any mitigation step, only prevention. The list still appears to be focused on WMD. Will you ever add a natural hazards aspect, since hurricanes, wildfires, floods are seasonal and annual, and earthquakes are significant events? I thought this was a post- Katrina goal. Ed Dolan: Yes, we need to acknowledge natural hazard requirements... Ed Dolan: which is how we've evolved to a single all-hazards approach... Ed Dolan: We've learned over and over that we can't know the next big thing, so if we have the right capabilities... Ed Dolan: we can respond effectively regardless of the scenario - so communities in areas that need more evacuation, or public alert and warning, or mass care capabilities... Ed Dolan: can plan and prepare more effectively if we only stress the need to have the vital few capabilities that are the highest priorities. Amy Sebring: Bob, since due to your background, hazard mitigation must be near and dear to your heart... Amy Sebring: would you like to add a few words specifically on that theme? Bob Sullivan: It very much is... Bob Sullivan: and we are going to be working on development of these capabilities... Bob Sullivan: throughout the entire emergency management and preparedness communities... Bob Sullivan: The feedback on the capabilities that we get across the mission... Bob Sullivan: areas is the key to making the TCs... Bob Sullivan: the "string" that can bring emergency management elements together. Amy Sebring: As a final question to both of you, I would like you to address a little more about the participation of the Working Groups -- how that has been going, what kind of comments you are getting, etc. Ed would you like to start please? Ed Dolan: Sure. We're getting very good feedback from the working groups… Ed Dolan: The idea is to build toward a shared consensus, and the way we get to a consensus is to get a wide variety of inputs......... Ed Dolan: and the groups have absolutely been doing that - and as a result we think we'll put together drafts that reflect the thinking of lots of different experts, from many different perspectives. Amy Sebring: Great. Bob, anything further? Bob Sullivan: Initial feedback from the nine TWG sessions conducted so far indicates that State, local, and tribal participants support Bob Sullivan: the concept of frameworks and are eager to continue to participate in the development process... Bob Sullivan: There is a large amount... Bob Sullivan: of interest and an acknowledgement... Bob Sullivan: at all levels that state and local feedback from the start... Bob Sullivan: is the key to the success of the effort... Bob Sullivan: We have also heard support for the idea of a more concise,... Bob Sullivan: tiered set of objectives for each capability... Bob Sullivan: If I can, I'd like to reemphasize... Bob Sullivan: that this is really still the start of this process... Bob Sullivan: Now that we have begun to develop these frameworks... Bob Sullivan: and engaged with our partners on building them... Bob Sullivan: we will start expanding to additional capabilities... Bob Sullivan: moving toward a release of v3.0 in 2010. So it is crucial... Bob Sullivan: that the lines of dialogue on the development of these frameworks remains open. Amy Sebring: That's all we have time for today. Thank you very much Bob and Ed for an excellent job and we appreciate your time and effort and sharing this information. Thanks also to Amy Stephens and Ann McCartan with Booz Allen for assisting with setting up the program... Amy Sebring: And thanks to all our participants for great questions and comments. Please stand by just a moment while we make a couple of quick announcements... Amy Sebring: Again, the formatted transcript will be available later today. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to get notices of future sessions and availability of transcripts, just go to our home page to Subscribe. Amy Sebring: Before we adjourn, please take a moment now, or after you review the transcript to Rate today's session and/or write a review or post your comments. You can access the form either from today's Background Page or from our home page. Amy Sebring: If you do not have time to write a short review or comment, then please just take a moment to do the rating. It should take less than a minute, and will assist future visitors to our site to find useful information. Amy Sebring: Our next session will be August 13th when our topic will be Public Assistance Cost Recovery. Amy Sebring: We would also like to get your feedback about topics for future Forum programs, and if you have any suggestions, please stay a moment after we adjourn to let us know. Amy Sebring: Thanks to everyone for participating today. We stand adjourned but before you go, please help me show our appreciation to Bob and Ed for an excellent job.