2022–2026

FEMA Strategic Plan

Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves
2 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Table of Contents

3 Letter from the Administrator

4 About FEMA

6 Current Landscape

7 Introduction

8 Goals and Objectives

9 Goal 1: Instill Equity as a Foundation of

Emergency Management

14 Goal 2: Lead Whole of Community in

Climate Resilience

19 Goal 3: Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and

Prepared Nation

26 Appendix 1: Performance Measures

32 Appendix 2: Learning Agenda
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 3

Letter from the Administrator

I am proud to share with you the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan — a bold approach to building the FEMA our 

nation needs and deserves.

The field of emergency management is at a pivotal moment. We are seeing tremendous change in the 

landscape of risk and in our professional roles. While our mission of helping people before, during, and after 

disasters has not changed, our operating environment has. Ten years ago, we managed an average of 108 

disasters a year. Today, we are managing 311 — including the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have taken on this growing mission because it is in our DNA as emergency managers to help people. And 

it is a point of pride for FEMA to deliver its mission while embodying our core values of compassion, fairness, 

integrity, and respect.

However, much remains to be done. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of disasters. 

Meanwhile, structural inequities in our society compound the impacts of disasters for historically underserved 

communities. Left unaddressed, these challenges pose unacceptable risks to the nation — and to us as 

emergency managers.

This Strategic Plan identifies three ambitious goals we must achieve to address these challenges and to ensure 

we continue to be the FEMA our nation needs and deserves.

First, we must instill equity as a foundation of emergency management. Systems that foster inequality serve 

no one, especially in times of crisis. We must recognize that disasters affect individuals and communities 

differently, commit ourselves to reducing barriers to access, and deliver equitable outcomes for all whom we 

serve.

Second, we must lead the whole of community in climate resilience. We must recognize that we are facing a 

climate crisis and educate ourselves and the nation about the impacts our changing climate pose to the field 

of emergency management. We must integrate planning for future conditions, move away from incremental 

mitigation measures, and focus on large projects that 

protect infrastructure and community systems.

Third, we must promote and sustain a ready FEMA 

and prepared nation. We must recognize that the 

demands on emergency managers will only continue 

to increase. We must lean into this as a shared 

responsibility to prepare the nation’s emergency 

managers and ready ourselves and the larger federal 

government to meet an expanding mission.

We have so many opportunities in front of us — to 

reimagine our systems, evolve our work, and build 

up our teams. After the last few years — after all that 

we have been through and achieved as emergency 

managers — the way forward is clear: we will continue 

to do what we do best, lean on our experience and 

expertise, and step into the future, define it, and lead 

the way. Deanne Criswell

FEMA Administrator

“Meeting people where 

they are.”
4 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

About FEMA

On April 1, 1979, President Carter established the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

with the dual functions of civil defense and emergency management. The agency’s authorities were 

further defined and expanded by a series of legislative actions. The Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Amendments of 1988 amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 and renamed it the Robert 

T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act). The Stafford Act established

the current statutory framework for disaster response and recovery through presidential disaster

declarations. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President W. Bush signed the

Homeland Security Act (2002), uniting FEMA with 21 other organizations under the newly created

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Over the next two decades, Congress passed a series

of legislation following significant disaster events that further shaped the agency — the Post-Katrina

Emergency Management Reform Act (2006), the Sandy Reform Act (2012), and the Disaster Recovery

Reform Act (2018).

Today, FEMA is called upon to help its partners understand and reduce their disaster risk, to lead 

the coordination of federal response efforts to stabilize communities after a disaster, and to provide 

support for individuals and communities to build back and become more resilient than before. The 

agency leads the nation by building collaborative partnerships, delivering federal assistance, and 

providing resources to help individuals and communities review, build, and continuously improve their 

own capabilities.
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 5

FEMA Mission

FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. Over 20,000 agency 

employees form a team of dedicated emergency management leaders. These leaders work 

collaboratively to share experiences and resources, building the FEMA the nation needs 

and deserves. They draw upon the strengths and expertise of stakeholders from all levels of 

government — tribal nations, territories, individuals, communities, the private sector, and nonprofit 

organizations — to guide how FEMA accomplishes its mission. Whether it is before a flood, amid 

hurricane season, or after a wildfire damages a community, FEMA is committed to helping people.

FEMA Core Values

FEMA’s core values of compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect are at the heart of what the 

agency and its employees stand for and represent. These values form the solid foundation of who 

FEMA is, what the agency believes, and how it approaches serving the nation. These core values 

apply to FEMA’s interactions with survivors, colleagues, and stakeholders every single day.

FEMA
6 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Current Landscape

To ensure that the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan) postures the agency to meet 

the immediate and future needs of the nation, it is critical to understand the challenges and 

opportunities the emergency management community may face over the next decade. October 

2022 will mark a decade since Hurricane Sandy, which resulted in legislative reforms that spurred 

FEMA to drastically improve the efficiency and quality of disaster assistance. As COVID-19 and 

climate change continue to reshape society, FEMA must look beyond disasters for lessons learned 

to assess future risks as catalysts for change. To inform the Strategic Plan, the agency conducted 

an environmental scan of internal and external evidence to assess its operating environment, 

identify key issues, and determine capability gaps that could impact the future of both FEMA and 

the nation.

Stakeholder Engagement

Creating a comprehensive strategic plan required input from a diverse range of stakeholders. 

These viewpoints helped to articulate the most critical challenges facing the agency and the 

broader emergency management community, and inform the goals and objectives they will pursue 

together over the next five years. Input was collected from the public through a Climate and Equity 

Request for Information as well as at various FEMA events designed to discuss FEMA’s efforts and 

elicit feedback. Through a series of conversations and workshops, FEMA connected with over 

1,000 members of the agency’s workforce and senior leadership, and more than 400 external 

partners spanning all sectors, levels of government, and a wide range of disciplines — including 

federal and territorial partners, state and local governments, over 50 tribal nations, private and 

nonprofit partners, and the academic community.

50+ 

Tribes

1,000+ 

FEMA 

Employees

400+ 

Partners
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 7

Introduction

The Strategic Plan positions the agency to respond to a changing landscape in which the 

emergency management community must embrace its expanding role. To meet this challenge, 

the Strategic Plan outlines three bold and ambitious goals. The three objectives under each 

goal outline how FEMA will support its workforce, better position communities, and leverage its 

programs and processes to advance the emergency management field.

Emergency management is centered around people — 

those who work with FEMA and those who are served by 

the agency. The first objective in each goal focuses on the 

emergency management workforce, ensuring they are ready 

to support those served. The second objective highlights 

how the agency can better support communities through 

FEMA programs. The third and final objective centers 

around how FEMA policies, tools and programs, as well as 

collaboration with partners, can be leveraged to increase 

whole community outcomes in emergency management.

The goals and objectives laid out in the Strategic Plan will 

enable success for the agency, the emergency management field, and those who are served.

A Whole Community approach

attempts to engage the full 

capacity of the private and 

nonprofit sectors — including 

businesses, faith-based and 

disability organizations, 

and the American public 

— in conjunction with the 

participation of state, local, 

tribal, territorial, and federal 

governmental partners.
8 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Instill Equity as a 

Foundation of Emergency 

Management

1.1 Cultivate a FEMA that prioritizes 

and harnesses a diverse workforce

1.2 Remove barriers to FEMA 

programs through a people first 

approach

1.3 Achieve equitable outcomes for 

those we serve

Goal 2: Lead Whole of 

Community in Climate 

Resilience

2.1 Increase climate literacy among 

the emergency management 

community

2.2 Build a climate resilient nation

2.3 Empower risk-informed decision 

making

Goal 3: Promote and Sustain a 

Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation

3.1 Strengthen the emergency 

management workforce

3.2 Posture FEMA to meet current and 

emergent threats

3.3 Unify coordination and delivery of 

federal assistance
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 9

Goal 1 

Instill Equity as 

a Foundation of 

Emergency Management

Disasters impact people and communities 

differently. Every disaster occurs within a unique 

context based on a community’s geographic, 

demographic, political, historical, and cultural 

characteristics. These unique contexts require 

tailored solutions that are designed to meet 

their unique needs. Underserved communities, 

as well as specific identity groups, often suffer 

disproportionately from disasters. As a result, 

disasters worsen inequities already present in 

society. This cycle compounds the challenges 

faced by these communities and increases their 

risk to future disasters.

By instilling equity as a foundation of emergency 

management and striving to meet the unique 

needs of underserved communities, the 

emergency management community can work to 

break this cycle and build a more resilient nation. 

The importance of equity in emergency 

management is not a new concept. The Stafford 

Act requires FEMA assistance be delivered in an 

equitable manner without discrimination on the 

grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, 

age, disability, language accessibility, or economic 

status. However, this cannot be done through a 

one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, FEMA must be 

aware of, and responsive to, the needs of different 

individuals and communities to ensure that the 

benefits of FEMA programs are available. 

The nation needs all communities to be resilient. 

Proactively prioritizing actions that advance equity 

for communities and identifying groups that have 

historically been underserved or disproportionately 

affected by disasters is critical for their resilience. 

Through the objectives identified below, FEMA 

will continue its efforts to integrate equity as a 

foundation of its culture through transformational 

change within our workforce, across our programs, 

and throughout the emergency management 

community.

Executive Order 13985 (Jan. 20, 2021) 

defines equity as “the consistent and 

systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment 

of all individuals, including individuals 

who belong to underserved communities 

that have been denied such treatment, 

such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and 

Native American persons, Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders and other persons of 

color; members of religious minorities; 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with 

disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; 

and persons otherwise adversely affected by 

persistent poverty or inequality.”

Additionally, “underserved communities

refers to populations sharing a particular 

characteristic, as well as geographic 

communities, that have been systematically 

denied a full opportunity to participate in 

aspects of economic, social, and civic life.”
10 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Objective 1.1

Cultivate a FEMA That Prioritizes and Harnesses 

a Diverse Workforce

FEMA is better able to serve the needs of diverse 

communities when its leadership and staff reflect 

the communities it serves. Diversity, equity, and 

inclusion cannot be optional; they must be core 

components of how the agency conducts itself 

internally and executes its mission.

FEMA is committed to ensuring that its 

employees increasingly reflect the diversity 

of the nation. The agency will continue to build 

a workforce that includes the many identities, 

races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, ages, 

cultures, and beliefs of the people it serves. It will 

actively recruit individuals from underrepresented 

communities. The agency will also invest in 

professional development for all FEMA employees 

to foster an environment in which individuals feel 

safe, valued, and empowered.

While this work starts with ensuring 

representation, it does not end there. FEMA 

must make space within its workplace to invite 

and elevate diverse voices, and to foster mutual 

understanding and respect for the perspectives 

and experiences brought by each employee. This 

requires that FEMA’s leadership and workforce 

demonstrate an increased commitment to 

integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in 

delivering the agency’s mission. FEMA must draw 

upon its staff’s diversity and range of experiences 

to consistently inform programming, policy, and 

decision-making. 

Through investment in diversity and inclusion 

efforts — including Employee Resource Groups 

and multicultural training — FEMA can increase 

its employees’ involvement and participation 

in cultivating a culture of inclusion. Additionally, 

leaders and managers must be leveraged to 

promote equity practices, transparency, and 

accountability across the agency.

Equity in Action

Objective 1.1 builds off FEMA’s current 

diversity and inclusion initiatives, including:

● Partnering with Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and 

the American Indian Higher Education 

Consortium of Tribal Colleges and 

Universities to create hiring pipelines into 

the field of emergency management.

● Supporting staff-led FEMA Employee 

Resource Groups.

● Implementing a workplace cultural 

improvement action plan.

“The role and responsibility of emergency managers requires sensitivity to the 

needs of all disaster survivors and equitable and fair distribution of assistance 

to all those affected — especially those disproportionally impacted.” 

– Sima Merick, Director, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, 

and immediate past President, National Emergency Management Association
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 11

Objective 1.2 

Remove Barriers to FEMA Programs Through a 

People First Approach

FEMA exists to help people before, during, and 

after their worst days. To do this effectively, the 

agency’s policies and programs must be guided 

by the needs of the people it serves. FEMA must 

never lose sight of the people or communities 

for whom programs are intended. Deliberately 

shaping FEMA’s work to meet the needs of those 

individuals and communities must be a top 

priority. This people first approach builds on the 

2018-2022 FEMA Strategic Plan and, by making 

programs simpler, more accessible, and more 

user-friendly, benefits everyone.

A community’s history, culture, racial composition, 

and economic status influence its ability to access 

federal services. Operating through a people first 

approach requires that FEMA resources can 

be accessed and leveraged by underserved 

communities in ways that meet their needs.

Some communities lack emergency managers, 

staff, or strategic partners to help navigate federal 

programs. For example, some individuals and 

communities may have difficulty understanding 

FEMA’s programs or participating in training 

and planning opportunities due to language 

accessibility, literacy, technical expertise, or 

disability challenges. Removing barriers to access 

starts with understanding and addressing the 

specific needs of communities.

This understanding comes from working directly 

and consistently with underserved communities 

to learn about their priorities, needs, and barriers.

FEMA must proactively and continuously engage 

state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, 

local community leaders, and other community 

representatives to gain insight into how FEMA 

programs can better serve them. This level 

of stakeholder engagement, combined with 

Equity in Action

Following Executive Order 13985 FEMA 

evaluated the equity of its programs and 

implemented changes to ensure assistance 

is accessible to people and communities 

served, including:

● Accepting more forms of documentation 

to prove ownership and occupancy for 

homeowners and renters, reducing the 

administrative burden on low-income 

and rural applicants.

● Prioritizing efforts for FEMA 

caseworkers to contact applicants 

deemed ineligible due to occupancy or 

ownership verification, so they can help 

them navigate the application process.

● Changing how we calculate the 

threshold for property losses to qualify 

for Direct Housing assistance. 
12 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

technical assistance, can enhance a community’s 

participation in disaster mitigation, preparedness, 

response, and recovery activities.

But engagement is not enough. FEMA decisions 

about policy and program implementation must 

be routinely informed by how they will impact 

underserved communities, and contributing 

to a rich culture of continuous improvement 

and people-centered, culturally appropriate 

service. The success of the FEMA Integration 

Teams (FIT) — FEMA staff embedded with state 

and local partners — has demonstrated that by 

working alongside partners, the agency can build 

partner capacity while also enhancing FEMA’s 

understanding of how to better tailor programs to 

meet partner needs. 

To implement a people first approach, FEMA 

and our partners must have the capabilities 

and tools to advance equity in the agency’s 

work. In order to better serve people, every FEMA 

employee must be respectful, compassionate, 

and knowledgeable about the realities and 

experiences of underserved communities. 

Furthermore, the pursuit of equity is a 

responsibility FEMA shares with partners. FEMA 

must both learn from partners who are pioneering 

equity-based solutions and ensure that its 

partners are implementing the agency’s programs 

equitably.

Equity in Action

The Center for Domestic Preparedness is 

partnering with the health care coalition 

in the Caribbean to address specific gaps 

and high-risk areas within the health care 

sector. This initiative allows continued 

growth and partnership to bring Puerto 

Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands students 

to the campus for resident training 

opportunities.

FEMA
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 13

Objective 1.3

Achieve Equitable Outcomes for Those We Serve

A people first approach removes barriers to 

access and is beneficial to everyone. On its 

own, however, this approach is not sufficient 

to break the cycle of disasters, worsening 

societal inequities and exposing underserved 

communities to increased risk. There are 

systemic differences in society that access 

alone cannot fix. Underserved communities 

experience differences in how prepared 

they are to respond to disasters, how well 

their homes have been adapted to mitigate 

against local hazards, and how quickly their 

communities are able to resume social and 

economic life after a major event. FEMA must 

direct its resources to eliminate disparities 

in these outcomes. FEMA assistance is not 

designed to solve societal inequities.

However, by intentionally directing resources to 

communities most in need, FEMA will be able 

to counteract systemic disaster inequities. This 

does not mean that resources will be directed 

away from others in need of assistance. On 

the contrary, FEMA can work toward improving 

outcomes that benefit all communities.

Addressing disparities requires that FEMA 

first understand where they exist. To this end, 

FEMA must routinely evaluate its programs 

and policies for disparities in outcomes. This 

starts with deliberately defining what success 

looks like for the user of each program in a 

manner that can be consistently measured. 

Finally, to guide program delivery, the emergency 

management community must better understand 

the factors that affect a community’s resilience 

and vulnerability to disasters. To do any of this, 

FEMA must develop the capacity and capability to 

conduct ongoing equity-based evaluations across 

its programs, as well as partner with external 

organizations experienced in this work.

Equity in Action

FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure 

and Communities and Flood Mitigation 

Assistance programs are participating in 

a pilot of the White House’s Justice40 

Initiative to advance environmental justice. 

Under this initiative, a minimum of 40% of 

certain federal benefits will be prioritized to 

disadvantaged communities.

“Equity must be baked into the front end of the federal declaration process, not 

an afterthought. Critical to the process is for decision makers to be intentional in 

all phases of the disaster management cycle to minimize discriminatory actions to 

prevent undesired outcomes that plague underserved and 

marginalized communities.” 

– Warren D. Miller, Equity Subcommittee Vice Chair, FEMA National Advisory Council, 

and Board of Directors, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
14 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Goal 2

Lead Whole of 

Community in Climate 

Resilience

Climate change represents a profound crisis 

for the nation, making natural disasters more 

frequent, more intense, and more destructive. In 

2020 alone, there were 22 weather and climate 

disaster events, with total losses exceeding 

$1 billion across the U.S. In comparison, the 

previous record set in both 2011 and 2017 was 

16 disasters.i

 The growing severity of disasters 

increases the time it takes for communities 

to recover — a process that can be further 

complicated by repeat events in areas already 

struggling to bounce back. These cascading 

and compounding impacts, propelled by climate 

change, pose the greatest risk to our communal 

and nationwide resilience.

The emergency management field must anticipate 

the increasing demands generated by more 

extreme and frequent disasters — from wildfires 

and coastal storms to inland flooding. Additionally, 

emergency managers must learn to manage and 

support climate-related emergencies such as 

drought and extreme heat. 

To help confront these threats, FEMA will enhance 

the nation’s ability to anticipate, prepare for, and 

adapt to future climate conditions. This starts with 

fostering a common understanding of how climate 

change will reshape emergency management, 

and includes building better resources and 

tools to drive FEMA’s understanding of future 

risk and enhance the agency’s ability to act. 

With the support of these tools, FEMA can 

engage the agency’s state, local, tribal, territory, 

private sector, and nonprofit partners in 

developing climate resilience through systemsbased, community-wide investments in climate 

adaptation.

Natural disasters often disproportionately affect 

people in underserved communities where 

weakened infrastructure, fewer resources, and 

less support to invest in hazard mitigation can 

compound a disaster’s impact. Therefore, equity 

and environmental justice considerations must be 

cornerstones of how the nation builds resilience. 

FEMA must make targeted efforts to increase 

resilience for underserved individuals and 

communities.

Through close collaboration with federal, 

state, local, tribal, and territory governments, 

community-based organizations, and the private 

sector, FEMA will take a people first approach 

to increase climate literacy, develop tools, 

and allocate resources informed by future risk 

estimates to target investments to create a 

more equitable and resilient nation. The agency 

will demonstrate its commitment to climate 

change mitigation strategies within its facilities.

“FEMA is no longer looking at itself as just a response agency but a true resilience agency.”

– Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Advisor
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 15

Objective 2.1 

Increase Climate Literacy Among the Emergency 

Management Community 

Climate change is the greatest challenge 

facing emergency managers today — and it will 

continue to shape the next several decades. 

To meet this challenge, the emergency 

management community must understand 

how climate change impacts the profession. 

Climate science literacy is an understanding 

of one’s influence on climate, and of climate’s 

influence on individuals and society. Increasing 

climate literacy of emergency managers and 

communities will improve disaster outcomes 

and long-term climate resilience through an 

increasingly shared understanding of climate 

risks and impactful mitigation opportunities. 

This requires that FEMA build a foundational 

understanding of climate science, the 

impacts of climate change, and effective 

climate adaptation strategies.

FEMA will grow a climate-literate workforce 

through integration of climate science 

into policy, programs, partnerships, field 

operations, and training. FEMA’s educational 

institutions train over 2.5 million students 

each year, and provide a platform for 

integrating climate adaptation competencies 

into preexisting curricula. By developing the 

agency’s own expertise and building strong 

relationships with agencies and organizations, 

FEMA can enhance the depth of climate 

science resources. For example, enhancing 

existing relationships with agencies such 

as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) and the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will 

become essential to FEMA’s efforts to increase 

resilience to climate change.

Taking these steps will allow FEMA to build 

the foundation necessary to support 

the development of a broad nationwide 

understanding of how people affect climate and 

how climate affects communities. Individuals and 

communities must be empowered with knowledge 

about the benefits of climate adaptation 

resources available to them to reduce the risk 

of climate-related disasters. To enhance public 

understanding of climate adaptation, FEMA will 

Climate Adaptation 

in Action

Fire departments across the country are 

increasingly being called upon to respond 

to wildland urban interface fires (WUI). 

More than 46 million residences in 70,000 

communities in the U.S. are at risk for 

these fires.

FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration 

National Fire Academy provides 

training and its National Fire 

Programs has data, prevention, 

and research initiatives to create, 

sustain, and support a fireadapted community, land-use 

planning, code adoption, and 

evacuation planning.
16 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

build on previous experience and current progress 

to develop trainings, resources, and partnerships 

focused on future risk.

When individuals and communities are climate 

literate, they are better positioned to take 

necessary steps to apply that knowledge to 

build resilient communities. However, full 

understanding of climate change also includes 

understanding why some communities are 

disproportionately impacted by climate-fueled 

disasters. FEMA will work to ensure the whole 

community develops a shared understanding of 

equity and environmental justice in the context 

of climate resiliency. By incorporating these 

considerations into mitigation and recovery 

programs, and other resilience efforts, FEMA 

can ensure that resources appropriately support 

communities with disproportionate risk.

Climate Adaptation 

in Action

FEMA already works to provide many state, 

local, tribal, and territorial partners with 

tools to assist with building resilience, 

such as the Risk Analysis and Planning Tool 

(RAPT),Threat and Hazard Identification 

and Risk Assessment (THIRA), and 

Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) 

processes.

FEMA also provides 

public tools such as 

the FEMA Vulnerability 

Index and the Open 

FEMA platform, which 

allow stakeholders 

to access and utilize 

information specific to 

their community.

“Response lead-timelines from federal, state, and local governments, 

emergency management, and first responders are being tested year 

over year, making it increasingly important to facilitate an increased 

understanding of the intersection of climate science, the impacts of climate 

change, and effective adaptation strategies to empower risk-informed 

decision-making and build national resilience to the impacts.”

– Ken Graham, Director, National Hurricane Center, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 17

Objective 2.2 

Build a Climate Resilient Nation

Climate change has both acute and chronic 

impacts — communities must be resilient 

against threats as varied as extreme flooding, 

drought, hurricanes, and wildfires. FEMA 

is committed to leveraging grant programs 

to target investments that will enable 

communities to directly address their own 

threats from climate change.

Many communities are faced with aging 

infrastructure, which can increase risk from 

major disasters. As the frequency of these 

disasters accelerates, the agency must 

increase climate adaptation investments across 

the nation. FEMA has already taken steps 

for this through Hazard Mitigation Assistance 

such as the Building Resilient Infrastructure 

and Communities (BRIC) grant program, which 

prioritizes significant or innovative infrastructure 

projects.

To have the greatest impact, FEMA encourages 

smart investments in system-based, community 

-wide projects to protect those at the most 

severe and persistent risk. For example, helping 

a community adopt and enforce disaster 

resistant building codes improves the resilience 

of the whole community. Research has shown 

that every dollar invested in building to the 

latest codes and standards results in $11 

of future avoided losses.ii Therefore, advancing 

disaster resistant building codes through FEMA 

policies, programs, guidance, communications, 

and partnerships with state and local code 

officials are critical steps toward achieving a 

resilient nation. So that FEMA climate resilience 

investments move the nation closer to equity, the 

agency is also committed to using comprehensive 

risk and community data to ensure underserved 

and vulnerable communities are prioritized. 

FEMA can better target investments to the 

most transformational projects when FEMA 

and its partners better understand unique risks 

posed by climate change.

Climate Adaptation 

in Action

In 2021, FEMA helped communities 

increase resilience to climate change by:

● Providing an additional $3.46 billion in 

Hazard Mitigation grant funding to the 

59 major disaster declarations issued 

due to COVID-19.

● Providing $1 billion in Building 

Resilient Infrastructure and 

Communities (BRIC) funding for 

hazard mitigation projects — twice 

what was available in the first year of 

the BRIC program.

“The impacts of the climate emergency on both our national and 

collective global security are vast.”

– Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
18 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Objective 2.3 

Empower Risk-Informed Decision Making

The future disaster environment will not resemble 

that of the past, or even what is experienced 

today. To build long-term resilience, communities 

must understand their future risk — and have 

the resources and capacity to reduce that risk. 

Currently, a community’s disaster risk is typically 

based on past disaster activity. Due to the 

changing climate, this historical data is no longer 

indicative of future conditions. The availability 

of, access to, and understanding of future 

conditions data and modeling within FEMA 

must be expanded. This will mean leveraging 

the advanced climate forecasting capabilities 

of federal agencies to inform the agency’s 

understanding of risk. FEMA will collaborate 

with these agencies to ensure the information is 

provided to communities in plain language and 

digestible formats.

FEMA must also ensure that future conditions 

data, tools, and guidance are incorporated 

into localized risk assessment and planning 

processes. For example, we know that coastal 

communities will face the increasing risk of sealevel rise, and those in deserts and some urban 

areas will experience increased impacts of heat 

and drought — while the whole nation will see an 

increase in severe storms.

Even within the same geographic area, different 

communities will face differing levels of risk due 

to their unique demographic, economic, and 

physical characteristics. It is important for FEMA 

and the emergency management community to 

develop capacity to access and interpret accurate 

information about this localized risk, specifically in 

light of future conditions. 

Partnerships will be a key tool in increasing 

access to future conditions data. Collaboration 

across all parts of communities, at all levels, 

will be necessary to develop comprehensive 

information about local infrastructure, land use, 

building code standards, and other factors to 

enable better risk-informed decision making. 

This information will help communities better 

understand their own risks and identify the 

most appropriate resilience actions. Data 

tools, guidance, and public messaging should be 

developed to ensure highly technical information 

is explained in easily understood, relatable ways. 

This will enable individuals and communities to 

better understand technical information to inform 

decision making.

Climate Adaptation 

in Action

FEMA is updating the National Flood 

Insurance Program’s (NFIP) risk rating 

methodology through the implementation 

of a new pricing methodology called Risk 

Rating 2.0. This methodology leverages 

industry best practices and cutting-edge 

technology — enabling FEMA to deliver 

rates that are actuarily sound, equitable and 

easier to understand, and that better reflect 

a property’s flood risk.
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 19

Goal 3

Promote and Sustain a 

Ready FEMA and 

Prepared Nation

The 2017 hurricanes and wildfires marked a 

change in disaster operations tempo. Compared 

to the year preceding 2017, for the past four 

years, FEMA has had more than twice as many 

staff deployed every day. By November of 2020, 

FEMA was managing six times as many Stafford 

Act Events (166 emergency and major disaster 

declarations vs. 26), and responses to fire 

incidents were up 120% across the nation. This 

increase in frequency, severity, and complexity 

has heightened demands on FEMA and on the 

larger emergency management community.

To adapt to the trend, FEMA must expand its 

approach to agency readiness and to national 

preparedness. The only way to achieve this 

is to increase the nation’s overall emergency 

management capabilities at all levels of 

government, as well as the private sector, the 

nonprofit sector, and among individuals. By 

incorporating risks posed by future conditions 

and non-Stafford Act incidents into FEMA’s 

readiness planning, the agency can identify the 

capabilities required to meet the challenges of 

today and emergent risks we will face a decade 

from now. The National Capability Targets provide 

a shared vision of the staff, expertise, tools, and 

resources required to build a prepared nation. 

Aligning FEMA’s readiness to these targets will 

ensure the agency can continuously support 

the needs and priorities identified by whole 

community partners, in addition to continuity 

of government across all hazards.

The nation’s ability to address emergent threats 

is rooted in the strength of FEMA’s emergency 

management workforce, partnerships, and 

interconnectivity. Emergency managers are 

leaders within their communities, uniquely 

positioned because of their skillsets and ability 

to coordinate across diverse sectors and 

situations. COVID-19 has taught us that we must 

The National Capability Targets describe the 

level of capability the nation as a whole — 

including all levels of government, private 

and nonprofit sectors — would need to 

address the nation’s most catastrophic threats 

and hazards.
20 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

expand capabilities and cultivate expertise from 

multiple disciplines to meet new complexities 

and operational demands. Concurrently, FEMA 

must engage more effectively with partners in 

all phases of emergency management to ensure 

readiness is aligned to meet needs. Within the 

federal government, this engagement includes 

promoting better integration and coordination 

across agencies to enable the government 

to adapt to emergent threats and to help 

individuals and communities better leverage 

federal programs.

“We consider all agencies of the federal government integral in upholding 

the trust and treaty obligations of the United States. It is important that 

with each agency we have ongoing, bilateral educational efforts. This ongoing 

dialogue is to further the agency’s understanding of the sovereign nature of 

tribes and the agency’s trust and treaty obligations for tribes, how best to 

engage with tribes, and conversely for the tribes to understand the agency’s 

mission and how best to partner with the agency for 

the benefit of our tribal communities.”

 – Chief Lynn Malerba, Mohegan Tribe
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 21

Objective 3.1 

Strengthen the Emergency Management Workforce

As disasters become more frequent, severe, 

and complex, the demands placed upon the 

emergency management community have 

increased dramatically. To enable shared 

responsibility for effective disaster management 

across the nation, FEMA must do more to 

enhance emergency management community 

capacity. Through revised training initiatives, 

the agency will support the development of a 

whole community comprehensive emergency 

management workforce, postured to respond 

to any incident at any level. This includes 

expanding training to individuals and community 

groups that help their communities respond 

to and recover from disasters, but who may 

not identify as emergency managers. Investing 

in readiness at all levels enables emergency 

managers to leverage state, local, tribal, territorial, 

and national resources as they coordinate within 

their community to create a more efficient, 

effective, and unified response. 

The growth of the emergency management 

community necessitates a clear definition of the 

competencies required to become a qualified 

emergency manager. Like other professions, 

emergency management must standardize its 

career paths. FEMA’s educational institutions 

will lead the effort to advance the emergency 

management profession by supporting curricula 

for federal comprehensive emergency 

management training, education, and 

professional development, accessible to whole 

community partners. This means bringing 

training to students wherever they are in the 

nation.

To effectively staff the 

increasing number of 

emergencies that require 

federal support, FEMA 

must both adjust its force 

structure and adapt to 

the changing needs of its 

workforce. This means 

building a resilient and 

diverse workforce that 

Readiness and 

Preparedness in Action

Through the Emergency Management 

Institute (EMI) Anywhere initiative and 

the Center for Domestic Preparedness 

(CDP) Virtual Instructor Lead Training 

(VILT), FEMA is working to make 

training available to emergency managers 

anywhere they are, any time in their 

careers. EMI and CDP are modernizing 

their operational design to become the 

nation’s emergency management college. 

This initiative will ensure the nation’s 

federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, NGO, 

and private sector emergency managers 

can meet the risks posed by the increasing 

hazard, and obtain the training required 

to become certified within the National 

Qualification System (NQS).

FEMA
22 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

prioritizes career growth and development 

opportunities with pathways that support 

recruitment, promotion, and retention. Through 

these efforts FEMA can become the agency of 

choice for individuals seeking to serve positions 

that help people and communities.

FEMA

“The role and responsibility of emergency managers is evolving and changing 

and must strive to meet the needs of all disaster survivors.”

– Mark Sloan, Coordinator, Harris County (Texas) Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 

and Chair, Big City Emergency Managers
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 23

Objective 3.2 

Posture FEMA to Meet Current and Emergent Threats

A year-round disaster tempo challenges FEMA’s 

operational capacity and exacerbates existing 

challenges — such as workforce burnout and 

the agency’s ability to deliver its full range of 

services. These challenges were especially 

evident throughout the COVID-19 pandemic 

response, which saw staffing numbers peak in 

the winter and spring of 2021 to volumes typically 

seen only during active hurricane seasons, and 

required the National Response Coordination 

Center to activate for more than 500 days — far 

surpassing the previous peak of 79 days for the 

2017 hurricane season. The pandemic response 

highlighted the evolving nature of threats that 

FEMA is now called to organize, coordinate, and 

manage across a larger spectrum of sectors.

As the scope of FEMA’s mission expands, the 

agency must envision, plan, and prepare for 

incidents that do not fall into typical Stafford Act 

disaster categories. FEMA must be able to quickly 

assess, adapt, and surge. This effort includes 

bolstering capacity in its incident management 

and incident support workforce, continuity 

communications, and logistics. 

Because FEMA’s disaster missions are dependent 

on mission enablers — such as procurement, 

security, and human capital specialists — 

these functions must grow in concert with 

any growth of the incident management and 

incident support workforce. FEMA readiness 

must include having the human capital and 

security specialists necessary to hire and 

support the agency’s disaster workforce, having 

procurement specialists to execute the contracts 

and mission assignments that enable the 

government to mobilize assistance, possessing 

the IT infrastructure and tools to support data 

and information sharing, ensuring civil rights are 

protected in all activities, having the facilities 

necessary to train the workforce and manage 

operations, and focusing on employee health and 

wellness emphasizing personal resilience.

Recognizing the need to pursue readiness in 

a realistic, flexible way, FEMA must strive at all 

levels of the agency to effectively meet disaster 

operational requirements while maintaining 

critical steady-state functions. This posture 

requires the agency to develop a framework that 

continually assesses FEMA’s readiness and 

provides a systematic approach for prioritizing 

resources and mitigating risks to critical functions 

during large or long duration events.

Readiness and 

Preparedness in Action

In 2020 FEMA began a multi-year 

initiative to develop an agency Readiness 

Framework to unify the way the agency 

defines and evaluates readiness across 

all mission areas. This Framework will 

standardize how we define readiness, 

align FEMA doctrine and policy with 

readiness concepts, and link readiness 

measures to solutions that drive decision 

making and resource allocation.
24 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

It is not enough for FEMA to be able to effectively 

deliver assistance. As we aim to meet partners 

where they are, FEMA must transform how 

the agency delivers support so that partners 

can increase their capacity. This means 

working directly with whole community partners 

to strengthen FEMA’s understanding of their 

capabilities and tailor engagements to enhance 

their ability to drive their own mitigation, 

preparedness, response, and recovery. Through 

positioning FEMA’s programs, policies, and 

partnerships to promote the reduction of whole 

community gaps across all mission areas, the 

agency increases their ability to manage future 

events and decreases their need for federal 

support. This shared understanding of capability 

requirements between whole community 

partners and all levels of government enables 

the prioritization of federal resources to mitigate 

critical national capability gaps.

“The emergency management workforce is evolving as rapidly as the 

environment they are asked to prepare for and respond to. Leading 

organizations, professional associations, and the training and education 

enterprise all must accelerate their efforts to meet the needs of its people 

where they will be, not where they have been. As threats, and opportunities, 

present themselves in an accelerating environment, we have to increase our 

ability to define and solve novel problem sets.”

– Glen Woodbury, Director, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, Naval Postgraduate School
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 25

Objective 3.3 

Unify Coordination and Delivery of Federal Assistance

Disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, 

and recovery are not the responsibility of just 

one agency. Rather, these functions are a shared 

responsibility requiring coordination of federal 

agencies, private and social sectors, state, local, 

tribal, and territorial governments, and other 

partners. FEMA is uniquely postured to lead 

the federal government in integrating delivery 

of federal resources through leveraging both 

nationwide initiatives through the Emergency 

Support, Recovery Support, and Mitigation 

Support Functional Leadership groups.

Federal support to communities begins with 

how FEMA helps them prepare before a disaster 

occurs. Numerous federal partners provide 

training and technical assistance to communities 

aimed at increasing resilience. Through better 

coordination of pre-disaster programs, FEMA can 

help communities identify, prioritize, and plan to 

address their specific community-based threats, 

identify hazards and risks, and mitigate capability 

gaps. Together federal assistance can be targeted 

to address areas of greatest national risk and 

increase support to the most at-risk communities.

Focusing on people first means that federal 

programs should be easy for individuals and 

communities to access and navigate in order to 

meet their unique needs. For example, under 

the National Response Framework, FEMA 

collaborates with the Small Business Association 

(SBA) and the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) to provide initial recovery 

assistance to individuals. Building on previous 

efforts to reduce FEMA’s complexity, FEMA will 

collaborate with federal partners to streamline 

the disaster survivor and grantee experiences. 

When individuals and communities can easily 

navigate federal disaster programs, the burden 

on those individuals and communities is 

greatly reduced.

For individuals and communities, the time after 

a disaster is challenging as they work to figure 

out how to meet their immediate and longterm recovery needs. The vast range of federal 

programs can make identifying resources that 

address their specific circumstances timeconsuming and confusing. FEMA will reduce this 

burden by partnering with agencies to better 

sequence federal disaster recovery programs 

from the perspective of the end users. This 

includes identifying and reducing potential gaps in 

recovery programs and better enabling individuals 

and communities to use federal support to drive 

their own recovery.

Readiness and 

Preparedness in Action

In coordination with the interagency 

partners, FEMA developed COVID-19 

Resource Roadmaps to help communities 

navigate COVID-19 pandemic recovery. 

Each Roadmap identifies potential 

solutions and describes how federal 

funding and technical assistance can help 

communities with pandemic recovery.
26 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Appendix 1: 

Performance Measures

Goal 1: Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management

Objective 1.1 Cultivate a FEMA that prioritizes and harnesses a diverse workforce

Measure: Percent of FEMA’s workforce reflecting the diversity of the nation

FEMA’s commitment to ensuring its leadership and workforce reflect the diversity of the nation will 

be captured through this measure. Specific diversity factors will be determined to compare FEMA’s 

workforce with the representation of the nation.

Measure: Percent of staff who see diversity, equity and inclusion valued in their work and the 

decision-making processes.

Using the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, FEMA will examine the results of several questions 

related to diversity, equity, and inclusion to determine if FEMA’s workforce demonstrates an 

increased commitment to integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in delivering the 

agency’s mission.

Objective 1.2 Remove barriers to FEMA programs through a people first approach

Measure: Percent of FEMA programs with feedback loops that integrate input from communities

FEMA will use this measure to track progress made toward incorporating feedback received from 

communities into programs. Feedback could be incorporated through guidance, policy, service 

delivery, and program design. FEMA recognizes the need to ensure programs continually review and 

respond to feedback, and this measure will track the commitment to this priority.

Measure: Percent of FEMA’s programs that require implementing partners to advance equity in 

their programs.

Ensuring the equitable achievement of program outcomes is the responsibility of everyone. This 

measure will enable FEMA to monitor progress made toward the outcome of partners having the 

capability and tools required to advance equity into their programs.

Objective 1.3 Achieve equitable outcomes for those we serve

Measure: Percent of FEMA’s programs that evaluate and report on outcomes

FEMA will use this measure to track progress toward evaluating and reporting outcomes for each 

program.
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 27

Goal 2: Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience

Objective 2.1 Increase climate literacy among the emergency 

management community

Measure: Percent of participants who report being better prepared to address the impacts of 

climate change after receiving trainings that incorporate climate adaptation information

This measure will assess if participants in FEMA trainings report being better prepared to address 

the impacts of climate change after attending training that has incorporated climate adaptation 

information.

Measure: Percent of exercise sponsors who report that their organizations are better prepared 

to address the impacts of climate change after participating in exercises that incorporate 

climate change adaptation information

This measure will assess if sponsors of exercises believe their organizations are better prepared to 

address the impact of climate change after participating in FEMA exercises that have incorporated 

climate change adaptation information.

Measure: Percent of individuals and households who have received climate information that 

report taking climate adaptation actions

This measure will assess if individuals and communities at risk for climate impacts have increased 

knowledge and application of climate adaption. This measure will evaluate the number of adults 

who responded affirmatively to the National Household Survey regarding questions assessing 

whether they had taken more than one preparedness action in the past year.

Measure: Percent of states, territories, tribal nations and local jurisdictions who have received 

climate information that report taking climate adaptation actions

This measure reports the percent of states, territories, tribal nations, and local jurisdictions that 

respond affirmatively that they have taken climate adaptation actions after receiving climate 

information.

Objective 2.2 Build a climate resilient nation

Measure: Total investment in mitigation and recovery projects that address future conditions 

and climate change risk

This measure reports the amount of investment in mitigation through FEMA programs and those of 

other federal agency partners.

Measure: Number of properties with flood insurance coverage

This measure will assess the increase in climate adaption investments by tracking the number of
28 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

properties with flood insurance coverage reported to FEMA by private insurance companies and 

flood insurance partners.

Measure: Percent of communities adopting risk mitigation actions

This measure reports the percent of communities that have adopted risk mitigation actions on an 

annual basis.

Measure: Benefit to cost ratio of the Hazard Mitigation Grants

This measure reports the estimated annual benefit to cost ratio of grants provided by the FEMA 

Hazard Mitigation Assistance program to lessen the impact of disasters. The program works with 

state, tribal, territorial, and local governments engaged in hazard mitigation planning to identify 

natural hazards that impact them, identify strategies and activities to reduce any losses from 

those hazards, and establish a coordinated approach to implementing the plan.

Measure: Percent of communities in high earthquake, flood, and wind-prone areas adopting 

disaster-resistant building codes

This measure assesses if communities have improved climate risk management by reporting 

the number of communities in high earthquake, flood, and wind-prone areas adopting disasterresistant building codes. Adopting disaster-resistant building codes helps strengthen mitigation 

nationwide to reduce the nation’s vulnerability to disasters.

Measure: Percent of total floodplain mileage mapped with improved engineering standards

This measure reports on the percentage of the total mileage charted in Flood Risk Insurance 

Maps, for which the program has completed a technical review required every five years by statute.

Objective 2.3 Empower risk-informed decision making

Measure: Percent of U.S population (excluding territories) covered by planned mitigation 

strategies

This measure determines the percent of U.S. population (excluding territories) covered by approved 

or approvable local Hazard Mitigation Plans. FEMA helps communities reduce risk through sound 

land-use planning principles (such as planned mitigation strategies), floodplain management 

practices, and financial assistance.
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 29

Goal 3 Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation

Objective 3.1 Strengthen the emergency management workforce

Measure: Percent of emergency manager qualification systems adopting new standards 

This measure will track the number of qualification systems within FEMA and nationally that have 

adopted new baseline standards for emergency managers.

Measure: Percent of promotions within FEMA utilizing career path opportunities 

This measure will track the percentage of promotions from within the agency. FEMA will focus on 

promoting within the workforce through established career paths. 

Measure: Percent of workforce retention due to career paths 

This measure will monitor the retention rate of the workforce attributable to career paths, as this 

will enable attainment of the IM workforce readiness targets.

Measure: Percent of FEMA personnel qualified under new baseline emergency 

manager standards

This measure will track the number of FEMA personnel qualified as emergency managers under 

the newly developed baseline standards. 

Measure: Number of authorities having jurisdiction that implement and maintain a cadre of 

personnel qualified in accordance with National Qualification System guidelines

This measure captures the number of authorities having jurisdiction with personnel qualified in 

accordance with National Qualification System guidelines.

Measure: Percent of authorities having jurisdiction with qualified personnel under new baseline 

emergency manager standards

This measure tracks the percent of authorities having jurisdiction that have qualified emergency 

managers under the new baseline standard for emergency managers. The purpose of this 

measure is to qualify and maintain a cadre of personnel using the new baseline standards. 

Objective 3.2 Posture FEMA to meet current and emergent threats

Measure: Composite FEMA Readiness Indicator

This measure will capture FEMA’s Readiness across all mission areas, including 

mission-enabling functions.

Measure: Composite logistics readiness rate for moving, staging, and delivering commodities 

and equipment for catastrophic disasters
30 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

This measure captures FEMA’s logistics readiness for responding to a catastrophic disaster 

based on the catastrophic requirements of a Cascadia-like incident. This measure captures the 

performance of six components of logistics: contracts, personnel, training, outside of continental 

U.S. (OCONUS) inventory, continental U.S. (CONUS) inventory, and equipment.

Measure: Percent of Incident Management workforce readiness targets achieved

This measure captures FEMA’s IM workforce readiness toward established workforce planning 

factors required to manage the expected disaster activity across the nation. The measure reports 

on two factors: 1) the number of IM workforce on board or hired, and 2) associated percentages of 

required trainings and tasks completed by positions.

Measure: Number of emergency management capabilities where communities are achieving 

less than 30% of the national capability targets

This measure captures the number of emergency management capabilities where communities 

are achieving less than 30% of the national capability targets as identified in the National 

Preparedness Report.

Measure: Average community capability compared to community goals

This measure helps to determine if FEMA programs, policies, and partnerships promote the 

reduction of whole community gaps across all mission areas. This measure averages community 

capability targets compared to community capability goals.

Objective 3.3 Unify coordination and delivery of federal assistance

Measure: Percent of applicants satisfied with simplicity of the Public Assistance process

This measure gauges the percent of applicants for Public Assistance (PA) grant programs that are 

satisfied with the simplicity of the process throughout the recovery lifecycle. Simplicity is measured 

through an initial customer survey and later assessment on the several dimensions of PA service 

delivery. 

Measure: Percent of applicants satisfied with simplicity of the Individuals and Households 

Program

This measure provides FEMA’s program managers with disaster survivors’ impressions about 

the simplicity of the procedures required to receive disaster relief from the Individuals and 

Households Program (IHP). The program collects survivors’ impressions of their interactions with 

IHP using standard surveys regarding five aspects of the program: 1) financial assistance arriving 

in a reasonable amount of time, 2) overall inspection experience, 3) simplicity of completing an 

application, 4) providing easy to understand disaster assistance information, and 5) financial 

assistance helping to meet disaster related needs.
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 31

Measure: Reduce gaps in service among federal post-disaster recovery programs

This measure captures the length of the gap in service among federal post-disaster recovery 

programs. This will help determine the coordination occurring between federal agencies to enable 

the continuity of service for individuals and communities.
32 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Appendix 2: 

Learning Agenda

Purpose

The Learning Agenda is a five-year systematic plan for evidence building in support of the 2022- 

2026 FEMA Strategic Plan. FEMA has identified evidence gaps in achieving the agency’s strategic 

goals and will address these through the research questions and data projects listed below.

Principles

FEMA has developed this Learning Agenda in accordance with the requirements and best 

practices of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act). In 

addition to creating and publishing this Learning Agenda, FEMA is implementing the Evidence Act 

as a component of DHS and will apply the following principles to guide its learning and evidencebuilding, as outlined in “FEMA Directive 202-000-1, Evaluation and Evidence-Building”:

A. Relevance and Utility: Evaluations and evidence-building address questions that are 

important and provide findings that are actionable and available in time for use. Evaluation 

and evidence-building findings inform and are integrated into the agency’s activities, such 

as budgeting, program improvement, management, accountability, and the development of 

programs, policies, and regulatory actions.

B. Rigor: FEMA conducts evaluations and evidence-building to the highest standards. Those 

who conduct program evaluations and policy analysis have appropriate expertise for the 

designs and methods undertaken, designs and methods are appropriate for the question(s) 

asked, documentation of evaluation and evidence-building processes and findings are clear 

and accurate, and the limitations of findings are transparent

C. Transparency: FEMA is committed to ensuring that the agency’s leadership and staff, 

collaborators, policymakers, researchers, and the public at large are able to learn from 

our work.

D. Independence and Objectivity: Evaluations and evidence-building activities are conducted 

with an appropriate level of independence from program, policy, regulation, and stakeholder 

activities. Those who conduct such work demonstrate objectivity, impartiality, and 

professional judgement throughout the evaluation process.

E. Ethics: Evaluations and evidence-building meet the highest ethical standards and safeguard 

the dignity, rights, safety and privacy of participants, stakeholders, and affected entities.
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 33

Evidence-Building Priorities

The Learning Agenda is aligned to the goals of the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan. The research 

questions and data projects listed below represent those that most directly influence the 

successful and efficient achievement of these goals. This work will enhance programmatic and 

operational effectiveness across FEMA, enabling an agency-wide approach to achieving its wideranging strategic objectives.

Goal 1: Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management

Research Questions

1. How do we measure the culture of FEMA’s workforce (i.e., presence of FEMA’s core 

values of compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect)? Is the measurement of FEMA’s 

core values related to the diversity of the workforce?

2. Is there a relationship between the amount of investment and assistance a community 

receives from FEMA prior to a disaster and the likelihood that the community will 

access FEMA programs post-disaster?

3. Is there a relationship between the number of challenges faced by individuals eligible 

for FEMA assistance and race, ethnicity, sex, or disability status of those applicants?

4. Are there disparities in outcomes for communities across FEMA programs, and what is 

the best way to measure this?

5. Is FEMA’s Individual Assistance for Housing Assistance funding distributed differentially 

by race, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and disability status for major disaster 

declarations? Are there differences in who is deemed eligible? Are there differences in 

the amount received? Are there differences in who applies for assistance? Are some 

groups not applying for assistance even when they are eligible? Are there differences 

for renters versus owners? Are there differences in results for Tribes?
34 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan

Goal 2: Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience

Research Questions:

1. To what extent is the newly developed Building Resilient Infrastructure and 

Communities (BRIC) grant achieving its desired outcomes?

2. Has Public Assistance achieved its intended outcome of increasing mitigation funding 

(is there a difference in the percentage of projects with mitigation dollars awarded)? If 

so, did it increase community resilience to future disasters?

3. Beyond financial costs, what is the best way to measure loss avoidance and the 

efficacy of risk reductions? What indicator(s) would best quantify the reduction of risk 

and lives and resources saved?

4. Is there a relationship between communities’ use of future conditions data and loss 

avoidance?

Data Projects:

1. Index or indicators identifying climate-vulnerable populations

2. Future conditions data (climate change projections)

Goal 3: Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation

Research Questions:

1. What is the best method (or set of methods) to index or normalize major disaster 

declarations to be able to compare FEMA’s disaster response and recovery programs 

across disasters?

Data Projects:

1. Administrative data set of the nation’s emergency managers
Building the FEMA our Nation Needs and Deserves 35

Next Steps

As FEMA continues to adapt to emerging priorities, the Learning Agenda will reflect accordingly 

those changes and new challenges. Over the next five years, this research document will be 

updated and modified to incorporate the shifting environment in which FEMA finds itself and in 

response to the key questions it answers to enhance its programs, policies, and regulations.

This Learning Agenda will set the framework for addressing and resolving evidence gaps, while 

providing the agency flexibility to adjust course over time.

i. Enloe, J. (2021, October 8). Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental 

Information (NCEI). Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/. 

ii. National Institute of Building Science. (2021, October 8). National Institute of Building Sciences Issues Interim Report on the Value of Mitigation. Natural Hazard 

Mitigation Saves: 2018 Interim Report. Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.nibs.org/news/national-institute-building-sciences-issues-interimreport-value-mitigation. 
Building the FEMA our 

Nation Needs and Deserves
EQUITY

CLIMATE 

RESILIENCE

READINESS

EQUITY

CLIMATE 

RESILIENCE

READINESS
Learn more at fema.gov/strategic-plan