Building PrivatePublic Partnerships

July 2021
Building Private-Public Partnerships

This document contains references to non-federal resources. Linking to such sources does not 

constitute an endorsement by FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, or any of its 

employees of the information or products presented. 

Cover Images

Left: The handshake image represents partnership. 

Top right: The image highlights a private-public partnership (P3), the Nebraska Preparedness 

Partnership (NPP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 2014 by a group of businesses and 

key state agencies. In 2018, FEMA Region 7 sponsored this P3 workshop in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bottom right: This image represents one of many resilience-building actions a P3 can support. This 

example is a nature-based solution, possibly for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities 

(BRIC). 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1

1.1. Purpose ................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Target Audience ...................................................................................................................... 2

1.3. Background ............................................................................................................................. 2

2. Building Resilience through Private-Public Partnerships ................................................... 5

2.1. Participants ............................................................................................................................. 6

2.1.1. Government ..................................................................................................................... 6

2.1.2. Business & Industry ........................................................................................................ 7

2.1.3. Key Community Leaders................................................................................................. 8

2.2. Benefits of Private-Public Partnerships ................................................................................... 8

3. Private-Public Partnership Process .................................................................................. 10

3.1. Plan ...................................................................................................................................... 12

3.1.1. Initiate Planning............................................................................................................ 12

3.1.2. Identify Partners ........................................................................................................... 13

3.1.3. Plan Stakeholder Engagement .................................................................................... 15

3.2. Engage .................................................................................................................................. 15

3.2.1. Initiate Outreach ........................................................................................................... 15

3.2.2. Define Purpose and Benefits of the Partnership ....................................................... 17

Business Case............................................................................................................................17

Value Proposition .......................................................................................................................17

Opportunities for Partnership Members ...................................................................................18

Benefits.......................................................................................................................................18

3.2.3. Develop and Adopt Terms of Engagement ................................................................. 19

Mission and Scope.....................................................................................................................19

Purpose, Goals and Benefits .....................................................................................................19

Key Stakeholders .......................................................................................................................19

Formal Membership Agreement................................................................................................19

Financial Considerations ...........................................................................................................20

Legal and Ethical Considerations..............................................................................................21

3.3. Integrate ............................................................................................................................... 22
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3.3.1. Assess Shared Risks .................................................................................................... 22

3.3.2. Build Jurisdictional Resilience ..................................................................................... 24

Community Lifelines, Supply Chain and Economic Resilience ................................................25

Connecting Emergency Management and Economic Development .......................................25

Strengthen Jurisdictional Resilience Capacities and Capabilities...........................................27

3.3.3. Build Response and Recovery Capacity ...................................................................... 29

Establishing a Business Emergency Operations Center..........................................................31

Joint Training and Exercises ......................................................................................................33

3.3.4. Integrate Response and Recovery Operations ........................................................... 34

Activation Basics for Industry and Government .......................................................................34

Common Operational Activities ................................................................................................. 35

Cross-Sector Collaboration ........................................................................................................36

Information & Analysis Requirements ......................................................................................38

3.4. Assess and Refine ................................................................................................................ 40

3.4.1. Conduct Stakeholder Analysis ..................................................................................... 40

3.4.2. Evaluate Partnership Activities .................................................................................... 40

3.4.3. Measure Progress ........................................................................................................ 41

4. Nebraska Case Study: Partnerships in Action ................................................................. 43

4.1. Nebraska Preparedness Partnership ................................................................................... 43

4.2. 2019 Flood ........................................................................................................................... 43

4.2.1. The Situation................................................................................................................. 43

4.2.2. The Challenge ............................................................................................................... 44

4.2.3. The Solution .................................................................................................................. 44

4.3. Mentions in Media ................................................................................................................ 47

5. Houston Case Study: Resilience to Response ................................................................. 48

5.1. The COVID-19 Response ...................................................................................................... 48

5.1.1. Expanded Services ....................................................................................................... 48

5.1.2. Information Sharing ..................................................................................................... 49

5.1.3. Collaborative Assessment ........................................................................................... 49

5.1.4. Mobile Food Pantry ...................................................................................................... 50

5.2. Mentions in Media ................................................................................................................ 50
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Appendix A: Sample Qualitative and Quantitative Targets ..................................................... 51

Appendix B: Example Private-Public Partnership Startup Checklist ....................................... 53

Appendix C: Tools and Information to Develop an Economic Profile ...................................... 60

Appendix D: National Partnership Networks ........................................................................... 64

Appendix E: National Associations .......................................................................................... 65

Appendix F: Sample Private-Public Partnership Charter ......................................................... 66

Appendix G: Sample Private-Public Partnership Membership Agreement ............................. 67

Appendix H: Sample Private-Public Partnership Coordinator Position Description ................ 68

Appendix I: Intellectual Property ............................................................................................. 71

Appendix J: Private-Public Partnership Engagement Examples ............................................. 72

Appendix K: Private-Public Partnership Information Sharing Continuum............................... 86

Appendix L: Acronym List ........................................................................................................ 87
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1. Introduction 

A private-public partnership1 (P3) is any type of mutually beneficial cooperative arrangement, 

informal or formal, between two or more organizations of private industry and the public sector to 

enhance the life safety, economic security and resilience of jurisdictions. To highlight the value of the 

private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders, this guide

deliberately uses “private-public partnership.” Without mutual benefit and effort on both sides, the 

partnership will not succeed. 

Activities to establish, support and maintain P3s already exist; however, most jurisdictions are not 

actively or consciously leveraging their full potential. The focus of this document is to build P3s that 

provide shared benefit across jurisdictions. 

1.1. Purpose

This guide provides recommendations and resources for a jurisdiction to establish and maintain a P3 

to help coordinate mitigation, response and recovery planning and preparedness. For this guide, the 

term “jurisdiction” begins at the local level – a county, city, town, combination of jurisdictions, 

multiple counties or sub-state regions such as a Council of Governments or Homeland Security 

Region – as well as a state, tribe or territory. “Jurisdiction” also includes the private sector and any 

other NGO with responsibilities or interests in disaster management and resilience.2,3

Collaboration helps both public and private sector community stakeholders at all levels increase 

resilience. The models in this guide highlight interdependencies among businesses, industries, 

community organizations and government agencies. The models apply to both rural and urban 

jurisdictions. The recommendations help jurisdictions develop, manage and scale P3s to strengthen 

health and safety, economic security and community resilience. At the core, a P3 connects people, 

builds relationships and breaks down barriers so that representatives from private, nongovernmental

and public organizations know each other prior to an incident affecting their jurisdiction. 

1 The term "partnership" does not mean a legal business arrangement where two or more parties form a profit-sharing 

enterprise. A P3 is any type of collaboration between private and public organizations to coordinate prior to, during and 

after a disaster affecting their jurisdiction.

2 “Jurisdiction” as used in this guide aligns with the definition in the Emergency Management Accreditation Program 

Standard (2019). 

3 This document contains references to non-federal resources. Linking to such sources does not constitute an endorsement 

by FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, or any of its employees of the information or products presented.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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The guide helps to:

 Promote why, what and how to build relationships, communicate and share information among 

private sector, nongovernmental and state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) public sector 

emergency management partners;4

 Engage P3s in resilience-building and response-oriented actions based on community lifelines,5

supply chains and related economic activity;

 Build resilience by integrating the private sector, research, key NGOs and whole community 

stakeholders into mitigation planning and actions;

 Involve local businesses in emergency operations planning and response; and

 Integrate disaster recovery planning with economic planning and development.

1.2. Target Audience

This guide is for both public and private sector emergency managers at all levels in a given 

jurisdiction. This includes whole community stakeholders,6 such as private sector organizations or 

entities that help plan and build resilience, coordinate mitigation, or plan and prepare for response 

and recovery within their area of operations.7 Any jurisdiction or private entity can use this guide. 

1.3. Background

“The private sector plays a vital role in emergency management and incident response, and 

should be incorporated into all aspects of NIMS. Utilities, industries, corporations, businesses, 

and professional and trade associations typically are involved in critical aspects of emergency 

response and incident management.”

— National Incident Management System, 2017

4 Public sector emergency management partners include any public sector entity with a stake in community preparedness,

including but not limited to public schools, public hospitals, public transportation, public health or public works, in addition 

to the public first responder (police, fire and Emergency Medical Services [EMS]) community. 

5 For more information on Community Lifelines, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/lifelines. 

6 Whole community stakeholders include individuals and communities, businesses, private and public sector owners and 

operators of critical infrastructure, faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and all levels of government (SLTT, 

regional/metropolitan, insular area, and federal). See the National Response Framework for the full definition of “whole 

community” at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/response. 

7 Many businesses, utilities and nonprofits have business continuity, risk and physical/cyber security managers whose 

responsibilities include emergency management.
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From 2016 to 2020, the United States experienced record-breaking fires, hurricanes, floods and a 

pandemic. These incidents stressed the ability of jurisdictions and the nation to respond and 

recover. The federal government relied on the Emergency Support Function (ESF) and Recovery 

Support Function (RSF) coordinating structures and FEMA’s National Business Emergency Operation 

Center (NBEOC) to coordinate with the private sector on national response and recovery efforts. 

The concept of establishing and integrating local P3s regionally was promoted in the 2013 National 

Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). Funding was provided to jurisdictions to improve critical 

infrastructure security. Some jurisdictions used these resources for P3s to build resilience with 

relevant stakeholders. Building on this foundation, P3 stakeholder engagement may include 

collaboration with economic development districts or chambers of commerce, as many business and 

industry associations, alliances, coalitions and organizations operate at a sub-state or regional level.

A company with a footprint spanning numerous states or regions can coordinate long-term resilience 

goals, as well as short-term response and recovery activities, through state or regional partnerships. 

For example, several hurricane-prone states, like Florida,8 work through their Department of 

Economic Opportunity to engage private sector stakeholders before, during, and after disasters. 

“There is empirical evidence that regional Public Private Partnerships, built on private sector 

operational leadership approaches, can be a bridge to the public sector and give the private 

sector an equal role in the process.”

— 2013 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)

In 2017, the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) developed guidance for 

integrating the private sector into emergency management planning, preparation and operations.9

The guidance highlighted the value of formal P3 programs and business emergency operations 

centers (BEOCs). Several states and other jurisdictions have implemented this guidance, which has 

significantly improved coordination among the private and public sectors.

In conjunction with the release of the 2019 National Response Framework (NRF), FEMA established 

a Cross-Sector Business and Infrastructure ESF, or ESF #14. It was created to facilitate cross-sector 

coordination and collaboration among business, critical infrastructure and government stakeholders

(not aligned under other ESFs) to prevent or mitigate the potential of cascading failures across 

multiple sectors. In addition, the update to the NRF introduced the concept of community lifelines to 

improve coordination and communication through a construct that is easily understood by both the 

private and public sectors. Many community lifelines are intertwined with the private sector for 

providing the social and economic well-being of any rural or urban jurisdiction. Private sector 

organizations provide the services and resources that contribute to the culture and viability of a 

8 See the Florida Department of Economic Development at https://www.floridadisaster.org/business/. 

9 See NEMA’s Building Operational Public Private Partnerships Guide at 

https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/nema_-_building_operational_ppp_guide_7_24_17.pdf. 
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jurisdiction. Although local governments exhibited resilience adapting to and managing the risks and 

consequences of recent disasters, P3s optimize coordination and integration with the private sector.

In August 2020, based on the Title VII authority in the Defense Production Act,10 FEMA established a 

five-year voluntary agreement for “Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources 

Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic.” This agreement allows federal departments and agencies to 

engage with private sector partners to develop sector-specific plans of action to improve information 

sharing and coordination within supply chain networks for COVID-19 and future pandemics. The 

federal government can now plan for preparedness response activities with private sector partners 

and acquire and use real-time data to make important decisions. 

In many ways, the needs of public and private sector partners in a small rural county or a mid- to

large-size city are the same prior to, during and after a disaster. Businesses, industries, community 

organizations and government agencies are interdependent for daily business operations. Their 

differences are not necessarily in what they need to achieve, but how they do so during an incident. 

The simplicity or complexity of collaboration is driven by a jurisdiction’s size, whether rural or urban,

and the strength of its relationships. Building resilience in a jurisdiction requires identifying and 

building the necessary relationships and partnerships between private, nongovernmental and public 

sector organizations. A P3 enables jurisdictions at any level to build resilience.

Throughout this guide, four types of callout boxes identify key information:

 Examples 

 Noteworthy Ideas 

 Questions to Consider 

 Resources 

10 For information on the Defense Production Act, see https://www.fema.gov/disasters/defense-production-act/dpaauthorities. 
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2. Building Resilience through 

Private-Public Partnerships

Leveraging P3s throughout a community facilitates life safety, economic security and community 

resilience. Individual households and businesses are the building blocks of the complex networks 

that make up a community. Their resilience directly impacts the overall resilience of a jurisdiction. 

Households require shelter, food, water, pharmaceuticals, medical goods, power, fuel and other 

services, such as access to money (Figure 1). Businesses, industries, community organizations and 

government agencies form an interdependent network supporting the jurisdiction’s households, 

which increases the resilience of the jurisdiction.11 Because a P3 can help to build a resilient 

jurisdiction for the families and businesses in a jurisdiction, P3s benefit entire communities.

Figure 1: Resilient Households Build Jurisdiction Resilience

11 See Appendix A for sample qualitative and quantitative targets for building resilience.
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2.1. Participants

Neither the government nor the private sector alone have all the required capabilities and resources 

to build community resilience or to respond to and recover from disasters. Without government and 

private sector coordination and collaboration to reduce risks and build resilience, the impacts and 

costs of disasters increase. 

A P3 provides a mechanism to address resilience challenges, confirm mutual priorities, engage in 

problem-solving dialogue and identify capabilities that benefit the whole community and are scalable 

from a local crisis to a national disaster. 

The private sector, an NGO or the government can lead a P3. Regardless of who leads the P3, 

inclusive cooperation, participation and partnership from multiple elements of the whole community 

are vital to achieve resilience. The composition of a P3 should reflect the needs of the jurisdiction it 

serves. Based on its purpose or function, it may not include every government agency, business, or 

NGO in the area. The ultimate focus is the resilience of the jurisdiction’s residents and businesses. 

The foundations of a P3 may already exist; however, jurisdictions may not be leveraging the full 

potential, or they may be missing opportunities to make connections that would benefit the whole 

community. Regardless of the specific members of your P3, participating stakeholders should 

include organizations with a vested interest in, and who benefit from, contributing to and 

collaborating with the partnership.12 Working with stakeholders can help develop a P3 or optimize 

existing elements to identify and fill any gaps.

2.1.1. Government

“...Government Emergency Managers can't do it alone...there are too many complex 

interconnected systems. Risk reduction is only possible through multidisciplinary collaboration 

between public safety, community development, economic development, 

engineering/infrastructure, and public health...inside and outside your jurisdiction. And then you 

need to involve businesses (owners of the majority of the infrastructure), nonprofits (disaster 

relief experts), and citizens (the real 1st responders in an emergency) to capture the majority of 

players in this space.”13

— Justin Kates, CEM®14, “Resilient Nashua Initiative”

Governments hold legal authorities and help convene and coordinate multiple entities. Their 

perspective involves stability and security. Coordination between functional committees, workgroups 

12 At a minimum, “stakeholders” includes public, private and nongovernmental agencies, departments, organizations and 

individuals with functional roles in the Emergency Management Program Standard (2019). 

13 Kates, Justin. Update #5 of “Resilient Nashua Initiative” at 

https://courbanize.com/projects/resilientnashua/updates/27009. 

14 For more information on the Certified Emergency Manager credential, see https://www.iaem.org/certification/intro. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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or emergency operations is often the foundation of a P3 for emergency management. Within 

government, many agencies have an interest in community resilience, response and recovery and 

routinely participate in a P3. Some examples include: 

 Departments at every level of government; 

 Economic development organizations; and

 Emergency management organizations. 

2.1.2. Business & Industry

“The key to successful public-private partnerships is knowing your community. Specifically, who 

are your community and business leaders? Which businesses are the backbone of your local 

economy and which of those are your most vulnerable to a crisis event? Once you have that 

information, you will know who you need around your table to support your emergency planning 

and engagement efforts.”

— Andrea Davis, CEM®15, Senior Director, Global Emergency Management, Walmart

Privately-owned business and industry provide many essential goods and services needed daily to 

survive. Businesses are driven by the needs of their customers and employees, and the business

priority is to limit disruption in service or the risk of closure. 

Continuity of business and industry operations is a key part of community resilience, because 

businesses and industries can be nimble in a rapidly changing environment and often lead through 

innovation. They also have a vested interest in community resilience, response and recovery and 

routinely participate in P3s. A few examples include: 

 Utility providers (e.g., power, water, communications); 

 Grocery and retail providers; and

 Health and medical providers. 

A P3 can create unique opportunities for the private sector to proactively collaborate with 

government to support communities. Connecting with local police and fire departments, offices of 

emergency management and community partners supports coordinated response efforts and 

facilitates information sharing to enable response. For example, New York City’s Partners in 

Preparedness builds resilience by helping all types of organizations prepare employees, volunteers, 

services and facilities for emergencies.16

15 For more information on the Certified Emergency Manager credential, see https://www.iaem.org/certification/intro. 

16 For more information, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/em/downloads/pdf/partners_in_preparedness_brochure.pdf. 
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Through P3s, private sector organizations can drive relationships with government to reduce risk of 

disruption, achieve resilience and coordinate response and recovery efforts where most needed. 

These relationships can become change catalysts in a time of crisis. 

2.1.3. Key Community Leaders

“We...bridge the gap between the private sector businesses and nonprofits and the public sector, 

such as fire, law enforcement and emergency management agencies. Our focus is on helping 

communities become more resilient to disasters, whether it be a single-building fire or a statewide flood.”17

 — Sandra Hobson, Nebraska Preparedness Partnership

Grassroots community leaders and NGOs have the social connections to meaningfully engage the 

jurisdiction and traditionally underrepresented groups.18 Through P3s, community leaders and NGOs 

can engage the private and public sector in resilience-building activities; their participation in a P3 

helps assess risks and vulnerabilities and inform decisions.

Many community leaders and NGOs have interest in community resilience, response and recovery

and routinely participate in a P3. Examples include:

 Local spokespersons (e.g., political, social, media); 

 Faith-based organizations; 

 Community-based organizations;

 Colleges and universities; and 

 Voluntary organizations active in disaster (VOADs). 

These leaders and organizations can serve as bridges between government and business entities 

and the communities they serve. Their familiarity with the local social and economic composition

allows them to identify and address specific opportunities based on their knowledge of available 

resources, the population and community needs.

2.2. Benefits of P3s

A P3 should promote and measure outcomes that clearly demonstrate mutual benefits and value to 

its participants and the community it supports. Many private and public sector organizations are well 

17 For more information, visit https://www.alignable.com/papillion-ne/forum/what-sets-your-business-apart-from-thecompetition/sandra-hobson. 

18 See “A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action” at 

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/whole_community_dec2011__2.pdf. 
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positioned to improve outcomes that provide basic individual and family resilience needs, business 

viability and continuity of operations. Some example outcomes include:

 Shorter periods of disruption following a disaster;

 Efficient delivery of lifesaving and life-sustaining services;

 More resilient community lifelines, critical infrastructure and supply chains;

 Stronger jurisdictional core capabilities and improved health and safety; 

 Inclusion and equity in jurisdictional resilience and disaster response efforts;

 Loss avoidance, such as lives, livelihoods, property, business sales, investment or tax losses;

 Unified messaging to a broader set of stakeholders;

 Lower cost of flood insurance;19

 Increased property values and improved property tax base;20 and

 New opportunities to create economic activity.

The ability to achieve these outcomes tangibly and defensibly helps a P3 secure sustained buy-in 

and leadership support.

19 For more information on the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System administered by FEMA, visit 

https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management/community-rating-system. 

20 For more information, visit https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema_riskmap_nature-based-solutionsguide_2020.pdf. 
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3. Private-Public Partnership 

Process 

A P3’s development follows four phases, and each phase has typical activities to build or strengthen 

the partnership and its value to the jurisdiction (Figure 2). 

Figure 2: The Four Phases of a P3

Developing and maintaining a P3 is a dynamic process. Organizers of a P3 may need to pivot and 

adjust activities as new partners are introduced, capabilities are established and needs of the 

jurisdiction are identified. 

The activities of a P3 vary with its level of program maturity. Initially, basic-level P3s often specialize 

in convening cross-sector discussions and information sharing. More advanced-level P3s engage in 

additional activities, including:

 Resilience-building efforts;

 Economic development; and

 Operational integration before, during and after a disaster. 
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Figure 3 provides program maturity indicators to help P3 organizers plan and assess their 

partnership’s development. 

Figure 3: Program Maturity Model

However, this model is flexible, not prescriptive. For example, a P3 whose activities most closely 

match the basic list could have also developed a strategy and be engaged in joint resilience and

mitigation projects. 

In general, this maturity model is provided to illustrate the concept of building and advancing 

capabilities. It can be used to help develop your program by focusing on steps to best meet your 

needs based on current capabilities and goals.

The organizers of a P3 shape the nature of the partnership in the following ways:

 Who is involved;

 What the governance structure looks like;

 Where the P3 is physically and/or virtually located;

 When a P3 is convened; 

 How the P3 operates and performs key activities; and

 How the P3 is maintained and sustained over time. 
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 Example: Wisconsin P3 Programs 

Not every P3 looks or functions the same within Wisconsin’s P3 program. Based on need, the

state facilitates the development of three types of P3s: 

 County-level; 

 Sub-state regional sector-specific; and 

 The Wisconsin State BEOC.21

The following sections detail typical activities in the four phases of a P3 and provide guidance and 

considerations for each.

3.1. Plan

Figure 4: Plan Activities

3.1.1. Initiate Planning

The optimal time to initiate the P3 process is during “blue-sky” periods prior to an event, as opposed 

to trying to establish relationships in the midst of a response. 

Leadership, relationships and a shared mission with mutual benefits are the ingredients of a 

successful P3. A P3 requires visibility and joint commitment of leadership, including financial and 

in-kind resource support, from multiple organizations. To obtain the required resources to sustain a 

P3 requires a defensible business case, value proposition and defined benefits. The P3’s organizers 

may develop these early on as a concept note22 and refine them with the P3 participants.

Organizers should determine whether a P3 is strategic, responsive or both. Some P3s focus on 

ongoing resilience-oriented activities, while others focus on urgent, disaster-oriented operational 

21 For more information, visit https://dma.wi.gov/DMA/wem/preparedness/beoc-public-private-partnerships. 

22 A concept note is a brief outline that captures the intent of the project to be developed. For a P3, it helps present the 

idea to leadership and potential partners. It includes information such as the P3 title, potential funding sources, context, 

rationale, goals, objectives, strategy, activities, expected results, budget estimate, and contact information.
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activities.23 The context for engagement may take many forms, including informal cooperation, 

advisory boards, task forces, BEOCs and projects to mitigate risk and adapt infrastructure. Over time, 

jurisdictions can build on existing partnerships and modify one type of a P3 to fulfill other functions. 

Regardless of the nature of the partnership, planning is needed. To initiate P3 planning, organizers 

should use a startup checklist and begin developing a business plan. A best practice is to identify an 

initial committed core of participants and then jointly formalize the partnership.

 A startup checklist helps identify and tailor the activities needed, depending on the specific 

situation, and helps identify existing P3 elements to build on or provide a comprehensive path 

forward. Appendix B has an example of a P3 startup checklist that provides planning, 

engagement, integration and assessment guidance. 

 A business plan draws on the business case and articulates the necessary administrative, legal, 

financial and organizational elements to initiate a P3. Sections 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 have some 

model language and considerations that may be included in a P3 business plan.

3.1.2. Identify Partners 

A diverse membership maximizes the benefits shared by the participants and the whole community. 

P3 organizers should consider both traditional and nontraditional partners for diverse and inclusive 

representation. Actual engagement of partners will be limited by the scope of the P3, available 

resources and stakeholder interest.

 Example: Diverse Partnership – Partners in Preparedness 

New York City Emergency Management’s Partners in Preparedness is a diverse partnership. 

Membership is open to public, private and nonprofit organizations across the city, including 

community, nonprofit and government; energy and utilities; banking and finance; healthcare; 

education; faith-based; arts and entertainment; and more.24

To know which stakeholders to include, develop a comprehensive list of potential partners. This 

process could include building a jurisdictional economic profile to identify key stakeholders.25

Jurisdictions may also consider engaging local members of existing national networks such as the 

23 Abou-bakr, Ami J. “Managing Disasters through Public-Private Partnerships.” Georgetown University Press, Washington, 

DC. 2013.

24 For more information, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/em/downloads/pdf/partners_in_preparedness_brochure.pdf. 

25 See Appendix C for additional information on developing economic profiles.
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Resilient National Partnership Network.26 Several national associations also provide opportunities 

for integrating with emergency management, government administrators, and businesses.27 

 Example: Focused Partnership – Alliance for Response South Florida 

The Alliance for Response South Florida, in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, is an 

alliance of artists, museums, archives, libraries, galleries, cultural institutions, first responders 

and emergency management. This P3 focuses on building resilience for the special 

considerations of the art and cultural community. The alliance helps members network, 

collaborate, train and communicate. The P3 is incorporated into the ESF #18 (Business & 

Industry) Annex of the Miami-Dade County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.28

A jurisdiction’s economic profile should list industries and businesses, and it may be segmented by 

community lifeline, critical infrastructure, supply chain or other interest groups. As outlined in the 

“NW Oregon 2018 – 2023 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy,” the Northwest Oregon 

Economic Development District measures economic risk for the region by the number of critical 

facilities, businesses and jobs located in flood zones. 

The economic profile and community profile identify who is in the community. Organizers of P3s 

should identify existing business alliances, affinity groups and organizational structures to develop 

and maintain contact lists, facilitate outreach and inform initial activities and lines of effort. 

 Noteworthy Idea: Elements of Community and Economic Profiles 

 Jurisdiction demographic information. 

 List of top industries and businesses. 

 List of natural, social, built and economic environment risks and vulnerabilities. 

 List of businesses by community lifeline and/or critical infrastructure sector. 

 Identified community supply chain dependencies. 

 Stakeholder map and communication plan.

26 See Appendix D for additional information on national partnership networks. 

27 See Appendix E for additional information on national associations.

28 For more information on the Alliance for Response South Florida, visit 

https://www.culturalheritage.org/resources/emergencies/alliance-for-response/networks/southflorida#:~:text=Alliance%20for%20Response%20South%20Florida%20is%20an%20alliance,Monroe%20counties%20focus

ed%20on%20communications,%20training,%20and%20networking. 
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3.1.3. Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Based on the economic profile, P3 organizers should establish an initial approach for stakeholder 

engagement and outreach to identify interested stakeholders. Organizers should create a plan for 

stakeholder outreach and engagement and designate methods of communications, such as:

 A P3 coordination email (e.g., Your_P3@yourdomain);

 A web conference platform to facilitate meetings;

 Information exchange platform(s) that all partners can use to share and store information;29 and

 Email distribution lists based on jurisdictional profile information, with points of contact.

3.2. Engage 

Figure 5: Engage Activities

3.2.1. Initiate Outreach

When P3 organizers have completed the tasks identified in the Plan section, initial outreach should 

focus on building relationships and establishing partnerships. Leverage existing business alliances, 

affinity groups and organizational structures, and issue a broad and inclusive invitation to participate 

to those identified in the economic profile. 

29 Examples of common information exchange platforms include Microsoft Teams, WebEOC, Adobe Connect, Slack, Zoom, 

ArcGIS, HSIN and MAX.gov (interagency).
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Questions to Consider: Outreach for Your P3 

Have you considered these potential outreach focal points?

 Local businesses (large and small) and industry representatives. 

 Owners and operators of community lifelines, critical infrastructure and supply chains. 

 Local economic development districts. 

 Jurisdictional government representatives. 

 Chambers of commerce and business councils. 

 Industry and trade associations. 

 Agriculture rural economic area partnerships.30 

 Agricultural cooperatives and extension services.31 

 Nonprofit volunteer and civic organizations. 

 Jurisdictional emergency responders.32

 Local emergency planning committees (LEPCs). 

 Schools and universities. 

 Local media.

This initial outreach identifies interested and willing participants, who often become the core group 

to foster a resilience-oriented and/or disaster-oriented P3. The initial group should discuss shared 

risk, purpose and potential benefits of collaboration.33 Stakeholder discussions inform the type of 

partnership and level of formality needed. 

Organizers of a P3 should define the format of initial stakeholder meetings based on the purpose, 

goals and objectives of each meeting. For example, meetings can focus on topical discussions (such 

as briefings from key business leaders or local government officials concerning various community 

risk profiles) or strategic and administrative discussions about the mechanics of the partnership 

(such as defining the purpose and objectives). 

30 For more information, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/businesses/rural-economic-area-partnershipprogram-reap-zones. 

31 For more information, visit https://www.usda.gov/topics/rural/cooperative-research-and-extension-services. 

32 For more information, visit https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_nims_doctrine-2017.pdf. 

33 Abou-bakr. 2013. 
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Regardless of the formality of the partnership, P3 organizers should consider the activities detailed 

in the following subsections as they define their purpose, benefits and structure.

3.2.2. Define Purpose and Benefits of the Partnership

“No jurisdiction or federal agency has all the staff and resources it will need to respond to a 

catastrophic incident. As a nation, closer partnerships with the private sector are crucial in 

providing commodities and support to survivors.”

— FEMA After-Action Report, 2017 Hurricane Season

Defining the purpose and benefits of a P3 is an iterative process. The process begins in the planning 

phase but requires broader engagement and stakeholder participation to refine the focus and keep 

it current. To jointly define the purpose and benefits, P3 organizers should work with the group of 

initial stakeholders to obtain buy-in and optimize the potential for sustained involvement. 

A P3 concept needs the support of the participating organizations’ leaders to sustain the 

partnership. Developing a P3 needs to be a priority for each organization. The business case is an 

instrument to obtain this mutual support. Once support is obtained, the business case becomes a 

central element of the P3 business plan. The following model language provides a sample business 

case, value proposition, benefits and member opportunities. 

BUSINESS CASE

A business case articulates the reasoning to initiate a P3. 

 The Challenge: No jurisdiction or industry by itself has the staff and resources needed to build 

resilience or respond to a catastrophic incident. 

 The Need: To coordinate interests and resources of private and public sector before, during and 

after disasters. 

 The Solution: A repeatable engagement process and tools that systematically yield resilience 

dividends34 for private industry, states, localities, tribes and territories.

VALUE PROPOSITION

The value proposition convinces participants why the P3 effort is worthwhile.

34 To learn more about the concept of resilience dividends, see Rodin, J. “The Resilience Dividend: Being Strong in a World 

Where Things Go Wrong.” Public Affairs, New York (2014) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

Resilience Dividend at https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/TechnicalNotes/NIST.TN.1959.pdf. 
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18 

 Strategic Coordination: Using social and economic profile data to understand the business and 

industry footprint in a community enables outreach and coordination between local, regional, 

national and global stakeholders. 

 Community Resilience: A P3 fosters a sense of shared risk to help local economies build more 

resiliently, respond more precisely and recover more quickly and efficiently.

 Maximize Benefits: An effective P3 will facilitate trust, information sharing and cooperation that 

may reduce economic activity losses and positively influence public and private investments 

toward resilience and mitigation.35

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIP MEMBERS

The member opportunities describe the advantages gained by participating in a P3.

 Communicate and exchange information more freely in a trusted environment. 

 Interact with cross-sector stakeholders to solve complex problems. 

 Participate in official disaster response and recovery operations. 

 Assist with supplying critical goods and services. 

 Support the resumption of normal business operations. 

 Access to training and exercises. 

BENEFITS

The benefits describe the advantages gained by participating in a P3.

 Higher-quality and timely services by the private and public sectors. 

 Reduced complexity and increased returns on investment. 

 Trusted communications channels to industries, employees and their families. 

 Better and more realistic planning, training and exercises through joint risk assessments. 

 Creative private-sector financing options for permanent reconstruction. 

 Lower cost of response and recovery due to increased mitigation and resilience. 

 Effective public and private resource management. 

35 At the federal level, $1 invested can avert $6 in disaster damages. The ratio may differ in the private sector, but the 

business case for a speedy and inclusive response and recovery remains a strong investment. For more information, see 

the National Institute of Building Sciences 2019 report at 

https://www.nibs.org/files/pdfs/NIBS_MMC_MitigationSaves_2019.pdf. 
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3.2.3. Develop and Adopt Terms of Engagement

The cornerstone to successful P3s is trusted relationships. A P3 exists in the context of relationships, 

and many P3s have experienced initial success because a dynamic individual coordinated the initial 

engagement but failed when that leader moved on.36 

Clear terms of engagement promote sustainability and mitigate risk. Institutional partnerships, 

governance structures, memoranda of agreement and charters provide clear terms of engagement, 

as well as enhanced decision making, to enable P3 efficacy. 

A charter is an option to convert informal relationships into a formal P3 structure and establishes a

legal foundation and governance structure. Consider the following core elements in developing 

formal terms of engagement:37

MISSION AND SCOPE

Clearly articulate the mission and scope of the P3. This should include the purpose for the existence 

of the P3 and its approach to achieve the mission. 

PURPOSE, GOALS AND BENEFITS

Clearly articulate the purpose, goals and benefits, as described in Section 3.2.2. Define the goals of 

the partnership in specific and measurable terms.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Define an executive committee comprised of government leaders, emergency responders, private 

sector managers, owners and influential leaders. The executive committee should be co-chaired by 

at least one private and one public sector representative. The executive committee has ultimate 

responsibility for directing the activities of the P3 so that it is well-run and achieves desired 

outcomes. This can increase the longevity of a P3. 

Also include an initial list and description of members, participants and sub-groups focused on a 

particular task. 

FORMAL MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT

Clearly define membership, including roles, responsibilities and benefits. In addition, once terms of 

engagement have been adopted, consider developing a formal membership agreement that defines 

36 Abou-bakr. 2013. 

37 Appendix F provides a basic P3 charter template. 
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the basis for participation.38 Each new member organization should sign the membership agreement 

to acknowledge the terms of engagement. 

Members will have access, privileges and benefits on a steady-state basis, as defined by the 

executive committee. Some stakeholder organizations interested in participating in the P3 may not 

elect to become members but may collaborate on an episodic or one-off basis. 

As relationships evolve and mature, P3s should formalize partnerships required for both steady-state

and episodic engagement to enhance sustainability. 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Organizers should determine the needs of the P3 and the forms of capital required to establish and 

maintain it. A P3 can be established with a small team of dedicated public and private sector 

officials and in-kind support from interested stakeholder organizations. Larger, more complex P3s 

may want to pursue funding for a dedicated P3 program coordinator.39 As necessary and consistent 

with available authorities, P3 leadership should collaborate with financial advisors to develop a 

sustainment plan that leverages government grant programs and private industry contributions to 

fund P3 activities. Financial capital may include, but is not limited to, operational funding streams; 

grants from federal, state or philanthropic organizations; private investment; and catastrophic bonds.

38 See Appendix G for a sample P3 membership agreement.

39 See Appendix H for a sample P3 program coordinator position description.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Examples: Funding P3 Activities 

 Under Armour provided in-kind hosting for the State of Maryland’s Private Sector 

Integration Program (PSIP) annual summit in 2020.40

 Funding for Adapt Alaska community resilience workshops was from the Fish & Wildlife 

Service, on behalf of the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC), North 

Pacific LCC, Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands LCC, Alaska Sea Grant, and Aleutian Pribilof 

Islands Association, using a resilience grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.41

 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loans, grants and loan guarantees can 

provide funding to help maintain or improve the basic quality of life and services for rural 

jurisdictions. This can include funding for economic development; healthcare; first 

responder services and equipment; housing; and infrastructure to include 

telecommunications (broadband), water, and electric.42

 The Nebraska Preparedness Partnership (NPP) is partially funded through an annual DHS 

State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grant. A portion funds one full-time employee.43

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Participants should obtain legal and ethical guidance and rules of engagement around key activities,

based on local and state laws and existing governance structures. Examples include: 

 Decision-making authorities;

 Information sharing;

 Resource offers and requests for mutual assistance; 

 Antitrust compliance (covering activities with competitors); 

 Intellectual property protections;44 

 Procurement procedures; and

 Conflict of interest avoidance. 

40 For more information, visit https://mema.state.md.us/Pages/PSIP-Summit-2020.aspx. 

41 For more information, visit https://adaptalaska.org/about/. 

42 For more information, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/business-programs. 

43 For more information, visit https://www.neprep.org/. 

44 See Appendix I for information on intellectual property protections.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Example: Formalizing Terms of Engagement through Charters 

 The City of Chicago, Illinois, developed a Public-Private Task Force (CPPTF) Charter that 

includes a defined mission,45 scope, membership, participant list, chairperson and 

member responsibilities along with a signatory page. The CPPTF has clearly defined 

benefits, including targeted communications, networking opportunities, tangible projects 

and cross-sector efforts. Leadership consists of co-chairs (one private, one public).

 The State of Alaska created their Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure Protection (APIP) 

Charter to include a mission, three-year plan, purpose and goals, roles and responsibilities, 

communications systems, guidelines for activating and deactivating during a disaster,

governance and membership, and a signatory page.46 From its inception, APIP focused on 

information sharing to protect and strengthen critical infrastructure. As the organization 

evolved, they established systems and identified steps for partners to respond to and 

recover from incidents affecting their infrastructure. APIP is led by a private co-chair (voted 

on by the members) and a public co-chair (appointed from the Alaska Division of Homeland 

Security and Emergency Management). 

3.3. Integrate 

Figure 6: Integrate Activities

3.3.1. Assess Shared Risks

A P3 should develop common resilience and disaster operations objectives based on an assessment 

of shared disaster risk exposure. Jurisdictions should leverage existing tools and resources, including 

but not limited to the Resilience Assessment Planning Tool (RAPT)47 and National Risk Index (NRI).48

45 For more information, visit https://www.chicagofirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cpptf_fact_sheet_nov_2013.pdf

46 See Appendix J for more information on P3s in Alaska, or visit 

https://ready.alaska.gov/APIP/Documents/APIP%20Charter%202018%20(with%20Signature%20Pages).pdf for a copy of 

the APIP Charter. 

47 RAPT is accessible at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-and-planning-tool. 

48 NRI is accessible at https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/national-risk-index. 
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The assessment should consider five environments (natural, social, built, economic and cyber) and

consider different types and kinds of disruptions. 

 Questions to Consider: Environmental Risk & Vulnerability Assessments 

Understanding shared risk and vulnerability drives cooperation. Have you considered the 

following risks and vulnerabilities when discussing threat and hazard identification?

 Natural – hazards, intensity, probability, vulnerability, location, terrain. 

 Social – demographics, population vulnerability, community health, movement of people. 

 Built – residential, commercial, government and critical infrastructure. 

 Economic – business and industry profile, supply chains, consumer demand, business 

operations status. 

 Cyber – infrastructure, policies, information security, operational technology security. 

Have you analyzed risks and vulnerabilities applicable to your jurisdiction through the lens of 

community lifelines, critical infrastructure, industry or market segment?

The insights obtained from assessment inform various preparedness activities, including developing

or updating plans, community resilience strategies, mitigation projects, operational training and 

exercises. When possible, P3 stakeholders should coordinate their individual organizational and 

business continuity plans and participate in community, state or regional assessment and planning 

processes. The P3 organizers should ask government points of contact in their jurisdiction to 

facilitate private sector participation in existing assessment processes, as applicable. 

Thoughtfully planned nature-based solutions can provide social, environmental and financial 

value. Communities that invest in nature-based approaches to reduce disaster risk can save 

money, lives and property in the long term and improve quality of life in the short term.49

— Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions

49 For more information, visit https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema_riskmap_nature-based-solutionsguide_2020.pdf. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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3.3.2. Build Jurisdictional Resilience

Resilience includes the ability to withstand and recover rapidly from deliberate attacks, 

accidents, natural disasters, as well as unconventional stresses, shocks and threats to our 

economy and democratic system.

— 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy50

Jurisdictions are required to develop and maintain numerous plans, ranging from economic 

development to emergency response. A P3 can facilitate integrated joint planning for building 

resilience through its members’ active participation in developing or updating jurisdictional plans. 

A resilience focused P3: 

 Helps develop or leverage the jurisdiction’s existing resilience strategy51 and action plan using a 

whole community approach; 

 Facilitates dialogue and represents jurisdictional interests in a broader resilience strategy and 

planning context, incorporating perspectives such as business and industry risk; community 

lifeline dependencies; political directives; economic forecasts and development strategies; and 

local budgets; and

 Helps establish or validate jurisdictional resiliency targets.

 Example: Resilient Nashua Initiative 

In 2017, the Nashua Local Emergency Planning Committee took on a new responsibility to lead 

the Resilient Nashua Initiative in Nashua, New Hampshire.52 The Initiative conducted the fiveyear update to the hazard mitigation plan for the city, while also incorporating pre-disaster 

recovery planning and adaptation strategies. Partners and other organizations identified 

priority restoration targets (important social institutions and businesses) and desired times to 

reach those targets after a disaster, which informed mitigation strategies to protect these 

businesses and services from natural and human-caused hazards. In 2018, businesses 

participated in emergency planning efforts and contributed to the city’s recovery plans. The 

prioritized business and infrastructure lists informed utility providers participating in the 

Initiative through a consensus-based approach. The result was an updated hazard mitigation 

plan for Nashua and new partnerships between the city and local businesses.

50 See the 2017 National Security Strategy at https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=806478. 

51 See the NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems for additional guidance at 

https://www.nist.gov/topics/community-resilience/planning-guide. 

52 For more information, see https://livablenashua.org/category/city-of-nashua-initiatives-#about-resilient-nashua. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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The following subsections discuss ways in which P3s can build jurisdictional resilience.

COMMUNITY LIFELINES, SUPPLY CHAIN AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

Jurisdictions cannot develop resilient community lifelines without the private sector. Community 

lifelines provide the essential services and economic activity that all communities rely on to maintain 

their health and well-being, including access to jobs and livelihoods. Strong and resilient community 

lifelines are a critical link between disaster response efforts and community recovery activities.53

However, resilient community lifelines and their associated supply chains depend on public and 

private sector cooperation, along with effective use of P3s. 

The private sector owns and operates most of the nation’s critical infrastructure and supply chains 

that enable life safety and economic security.54 A P3 can build resilience by developing stabilization 

targets for its jurisdiction and contributing to efforts that keep community lifelines and supply chains 

operational. Substantial investment in community lifeline and supply chain resilience saves a 

jurisdiction significant social and economic disruption following a disaster. 

CONNECTING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

A P3 provides an excellent opportunity to harmonize the interests of emergency management and 

local economic development. This alignment occurs naturally through the activities involved in 

establishing the P3: 

 Building on or establishing partnership(s); 

 Obtaining an economic and social profile of the jurisdiction; 

 Aligning organizational strategies with jurisdictional resilience priorities; 

 Prioritizing investments for shared outcomes; and 

 Measuring progress. 

For example, FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program provides a 

strategic opportunity for government and industry to collaborate.55 Local communities identify 

hazard mitigation projects in partnership with the private sector to build capability and capacity, 

strengthen critical infrastructure and support community lifelines. These partnerships drive 

investments in mitigation projects, build capability through training and technical assistance, plan for 

increased resilience, promote mitigation activities and share information to build a culture of 

53 See the Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit 2.0 for additional guidance at 

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/CommunityLifelinesToolkit2.0v2.pdf. 

54 See the Supply Chain Resilience Guide for additional guidance at https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-

07/supply-chain-resilience-guide.pdf. 

55 For more information on the BRIC program, see https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/building-resilientinfrastructure-communities. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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preparedness. Local mitigation planning committees provide another venue for private and public 

sector organizations to discuss natural hazard mitigation plans, local risks and mitigation projects.

 Example: Missouri Partnerships 

In Missouri, unprecedented partnership took place between emergency managers, economic 

development districts and local leaders in 83 of 114 counties that received a Major Disaster 

Declaration (DR-4451) in 2019 (Figure 7). Together, P3 partners assessed the economic 

impacts of major flooding to the local economy, infrastructure and workforce.56 This effort 

included significant support and leadership from the Missouri Department of Economic 

Development and a newly established Economic Recovery Support Function. The partnership 

helped business activity resume and created new economic activity. 

Figure 7: Counties in the Missouri Disaster Declaration of 201957

Jurisdictions can maximize post-disaster resilience investments through pre-disaster efforts, such as

engaging executive leadership and aligning external sources of investment (public assistance, 

community development block grants and other local economic development incentives) with 

recovery outcomes that increase resilience. Existing plans, such as a master plan,58 comprehensive 

56 For more information, visit https://www.eda.gov/success-stories/disaster/stories/mo-businesses.htm. 

57 Source: https://gis.fema.gov/maps/dec_4451.pdf. 

58 Some jurisdictions refer to a master plan as a comprehensive plan or a general plan.
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economic development strategy, hazard mitigation plan or a pre-disaster recovery plan, should 

inform priorities to avoid any unintended negative consequences, such as exacerbating inequities 

that previously existed. 

By building resilience prior to a disaster, jurisdictions increase the stability and security of their 

economies. By investing in resilience, jurisdictions can become more attractive and marketable for 

economic investment and development than less resilient jurisdictions.59 For example, private 

real-estate investors increasingly base decisions on economic, geopolitical and environmental 

resilience factors.60 In addition, the insurance industry values resilience as potential cost avoidance. 

Investments in building resilience can potentially reduce both potential payouts and recovery time.61

By investing in P3 projects that are economical and meet resilience goals, jurisdictions can integrate 

risk management, disaster management and community development planning efforts. 

STRENGTHEN JURISDICTIONAL RESILIENCE CAPACITIES AND CAPABILITIES

A P3 is more than the sum of its parts. Working together, jurisdictions increase collective capacity 

and capabilities62 and, in doing so, become more resilient, especially for pre-disaster mitigation.

Before a disaster is the best time to implement resilience strategies and action plans. By integrating 

mitigation and pre-disaster planning for response and recovery, a jurisdiction can reduce 

vulnerabilities and increase resilience.63 Input from P3s helps jurisdictions tailor targets to specific 

situations and community needs.

 Example: Adapt Alaska 

Adapt Alaska is a P3 focused on reducing risk to vulnerable populations, critical infrastructure 

and changing environmental conditions. The P3 is managed by the University of Alaska 

Fairbanks, includes the Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure Protection and consists of 18 

partner organizations, 52 Alaska tribes and 16 agencies.

59 Rodin, 2014. 

60 World Economic Forum. “Cities must show ‘economic resilience’ to attract investment in real estate.” January 2020.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/still-building-top-30-markets-for-real-estate/. 

61 See “The Role of Insurance in Promoting Resilience” at http://www.brinknews.com/the-role-of-insurance-in-promotingresilience/. 

62 Core capability development sheets are available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/mission-core-capabilities/development-sheets. 

63 FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Guides provide useful resources for this activity; see 

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/plan#pre-disaster. 
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Managing Risk through Mitigation Indicators

Efforts by a P3 that improve the collective ability and capacity to manage risk and disasters realize a 

resilience dividend.64 According to the National Institute of Building Sciences Natural Hazard 

Mitigation Saves: 2019 Report, for every federal dollar spent on upfront mitigation, the public saves 

six dollars.65

Resilient jurisdictions develop resources to mitigate health risks and protect the community during 

disasters. A P3 can help to mitigate stressors on individuals and communities that a disaster causes,

such as job loss, damaged housing or the inability to operate small businesses, by strengthening 

social networks and connections, improving social cohesion and fostering an environment of 

diversity and inclusion. 

Jurisdictions can plan for and measure resilience by:

 Developing mitigation core capabilities,66 such as long-term vulnerability reduction, risk and 

disaster resilience assessment or threat and hazards identification;

 Listing jurisdiction mitigation priorities and progress indicators;

 Prioritizing core capabilities that require private sector involvement;

 Considering the RAPT67 as a starting point (Section 3.3.1); and 

 Requesting support from the National Council of Information Sharing and Analysis Centers 

(ISACs),68 which helps jurisdictions reduce cyber risks and build resilience.

Input from P3s helps jurisdictions tailor targets to specific situations and community needs.

Establishing Measurable Targets69

Managing risk and disasters is only effective if clear and measurable objectives, outcomes and 

resilience targets are in place (see Appendix A). These targets inform pre-disaster mitigation, as well 

as response and recovery coordination, during and beyond a disaster. 

64 Rodin. 2014. 

65 For more information, see https://www.nibs.org/files/pdfs/NIBS_MMC_MitigationSaves_2019.pdf. 

66 For more information, see https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/ccds_mitigation-mission-area.pdf. 

67 For more information, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-and-planningtool. 

68 For more information, see https://www.nationalisacs.org/about-isacs. 

69 For additional guidance, see the FEMA Incident Stabilization Guide (November 2019 Operational Draft) at 

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/IncidentStabilizationGuide.pdf. 
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Develop Jurisdiction Resilience Targets

 Step 1 – Leverage a Jurisdictional Profile – Develop a social and economic profile to understand 

who needs to be considered and represented; which community lifelines and supply chains are 

locally vs. externally sourced; and the overall risk and hazard vulnerability of the community.

 Step 2 – Identify Mitigation Targets – Define a mitigation strategy, metrics and projects that 

substantially reduce risk to the natural, social, economic, built and cyber environments in the 

jurisdiction. 

 Step 3 – Identify Operational Targets – Define critical-path operational priorities and core 

capabilities following a disaster and define quantitative and qualitative stabilization targets for 

community lifelines, supply chains and the economy.

 Step 4 – Obtain Appropriate Approval – Develop a concise presentation that includes the 

jurisdictional profile and mitigation and operational stabilization targets to secure approval and 

funding using local, state, federal or private resources.

3.3.3. Build Response and Recovery Capacity

“Side-by-side coordination during disasters and training created access to capabilities that were 

not possible alone.”

— Persia Payne-Hurley, North Carolina Emergency Management

Strategic use of P3s can facilitate joint integrated planning with private sector stakeholders, 

especially those responsible for critical essential services or community lifelines, to enable 

successful response and recovery activities. In many cases, joint planning involves developing an 

emergency operations plan (EOP) annex to integrate elements of the private or public sector. 

Successfully implementing the EOP is more likely if it integrates the jurisdiction’s continuity plans 

and considers the P3 members’ business continuity plans. An example outcome of planning can 

include coordination of resource sharing for mutual assistance among P3 partners.70 

70 For more information or examples, see https://www.publicpower.org/disaster-planning-and-response. 
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 Example: The BorderRAC 

The Far West Texas & Southern New Mexico Trauma Regional Advisory Council (RAC) is a 

healthcare coalition of hospitals, healthcare agencies and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). 

Based out of El Paso, Texas, the “BorderRAC” supports urban, rural and remote areas 

representing over 40,000 square miles with a population of over two million. 

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the BorderRAC works with hospitals, medical organizations,

and jurisdictions to build resilience. It focuses on preventing injury and disease, mitigating

healthcare emergencies and improving disaster preparedness. It supports emergency 

management, joint medical planning, and response and recovery across the region.71

Adopting NIMS procedures and terminology helps the private sector and NGOs further integrate into 

the jurisdiction’s emergency management program.72 Through P3s, private sector organizations and 

NGOs can proactively collaborate with government to reduce risk of disruption, achieve resilience 

and coordinate response and recovery efforts.

Jurisdictions should integrate their preparedness goals and resilience targets when developing 

response and pre-disaster recovery plans or post-disaster recovery strategies. A P3 offers an ideal

forum to recognize interdependencies among potential impacts; identify and resolve potential 

conflicts; and develop or validate planning assumptions. 

In addition to focusing on steady-state resilience-building activities, a P3 can also help the 

jurisdiction build capacity to respond to and recover from disasters. These P3s should participate in 

preparatory activities for response and recovery, such as planning, training and exercises, providing 

vital private sector inputs to emergency and disaster response and recovery plans. 

71 For more information, visit https://borderrac.org/what-is-the-rac/. 

72 See the NIMS Fact Sheet for Private Sector Organizations, September 2020 

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_nims-nonprofit-fact-sheet_12-2020_0.pdf. 
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 Example: Emergency Management Council – Nashville, Tennessee 

The Emergency Management Council for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and 

Davidson County (Metro)73 includes representatives from government, business and industry, 

civic and volunteer/nonprofit and others. The member organizations appoint and empower 

Emergency Service Coordinators, who:

 Represent their organizations in developing plans, policies and procedures relative to 

emergency management; 

 Advise on developing the city/county Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and 

several location-specific plans; 

 Advise and assist the city/county government on activating the Emergency Operations 

Center (EOC) to coordinate response and recovery; and

 Participate in disaster drills/exercises, trainings and community events. 

The Council is authorized and guided in accordance with Metro Code 2.10.050 to promote 

community-wide involvement in emergency management practices. The Council meets 

regularly each quarter and more frequently based on need.

ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (BEOC)

Jurisdictions may activate a BEOC as a physical and virtual communications and operational hub for 

business and emergency partners.74 A BEOC provides a jurisdiction and P3 participants with an 

operational framework for response and recovery coordination and engagement. Some P3s at higher 

levels of maturity may work with their jurisdictions to integrate the private sector into government 

emergency operations centers (EOCs) or establish a virtual or physical BEOC that facilitates 

information sharing, coordination and collaboration.75 

A BEOC offers a consistent integration point for private and public partners to coordinate response 

and recovery operations. BEOCs support shared operational outcomes for mitigation, response and 

recovery actions. 

73 For more information, visit https://www.nashville.gov/Office-of-Emergency-Management/Operations/EmergencyManagement-Council.aspx. 

74 See “BEOC Quick Start Guidance for COVID-19 Response and Recovery” at 

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/beoc-fact-sheet.pdf. 

75 During large-scale emergencies requiring the activation of the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC), FEMA’s

Office of Business, Industry, and Infrastructure Integration (OB3I) activates the National BEOC (NBEOC) in direct support of 

the incident. For additional information on NBEOC operations, email nbeoc@max.gov for a copy of FEMA’s “Business, 

Industry, and Infrastructure Guide.” 
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 Example: Fairfax County Business Emergency Operations Council 

The Fairfax County, Virginia, Business Emergency Operations Council is a consortium of 

businesses that improves coordination and collaboration between county businesses and local 

government to build resilience and prepare, respond to and recover from disasters or incidents 

impacting business operations. Participation in the P3 is voluntary for the private sector, to 

include large and small businesses, trade associations, universities, think tanks and 

nonprofits. Member businesses include hospitality, banking, legal services, real estate, 

telecommunication, consulting services, and information technology. An established BEOC

links council members to the Fairfax County EOC to receive alerts and notifications during an 

activation, response and recovery. The foundation of the partnership is a commitment to 

community resilience to better serve county residents, customers and business owners.

A BEOC can facilitate any or all of the following: 

 Remote coordination and assistance; 

 Information sharing and data analysis; 

 Community lifeline stabilization; 

 Supply chain and market stabilization; 

 Community health mitigation; 

 Economic response coordination; 

 Joint planning; 

 VOAD coordination; and 

 Economic and community recovery. 

A P3 that decides to establish a BEOC should consider the following activities: 

 Determine the leadership of the BEOC – public sector, private sector, consortium or hybrid; 

 Develop the mission, goals and objectives; 

 Develop a concept of operations; 

 Develop standard operating procedures and guidance; 

 Identify the information technologies to convene, manage and share information; 

 Provide access, credentials, security, equipment, systems and hardware as needed; and

 Establish working groups and task forces to address issues and tasks. 

In addition, establishing a physical BEOC requires the P3 to:

 Identify a facility, such as a university, EOC, continuity center, corporate venue or hybrid; and

 Develop staffing and seating charts and shift schedules. 

Elements in the Build Response and Recovery Capacity section of the checklist in Appendix B provide 

additional detail.
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 Example: North Carolina Business Emergency Operations Center 

The North Carolina BEOC is a physical and virtual communications and operational hub for 

business and industry. Partnership with North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) 

includes:

 Access to a crisis management platform, WebEOC (virtual BEOC); 

 Notifications, alerts and other information regarding state emergency operations;

 Vendor Re-entry Certification, the statewide re-entry program;

 Daily coordination calls during events, which include operations briefings, updated power 

outage/restoration information, evacuation, curfew and road closure updates; and

 Access to training, exercises, annual meetings and the network of partners.

NCEM’s “Business B” planning process is a roadmap to operationally include private sector 

partners in the State Emergency Response Team daily operations, response and recovery.76

JOINT TRAINING AND EXERCISES

Once a joint plan has been established, P3 participants should help socialize, test and refine that 

plan by engaging in joint training and exercises. These activities can include virtual and in-person 

training and exercises for all hazard types, including natural disasters (such as fires, floods, 

hurricanes and earthquakes), public health emergencies (such as epidemics or a pandemic) or 

terrorist attacks. 

Existing training and exercise opportunities hosted by members of the community offer opportunities 

to develop, test and refine P3 operations. Joint training and exercises should be comprehensive yet 

succinct to maximize participation from private sector participants, especially those with resource 

constraints.77 Training and exercises should also test and evaluate common operational processes 

and information technologies that support shared operational outcomes for response and recovery 

actions. 

It is recommended that P3s establish a minimum set of training requirements and encourage 

members to complete and establish a common operational foundation. Higher-maturity-level P3s 

should identify instructional and operational training needs, requirements and objectives. Using this 

information, P3s can establish a training cycle, schedule, and content delivery strategy. For each 

76 See Appendix J for the “Business B” planning process and North Carolina BEOC Flyer.

77 The FEMA Preparedness Toolkit, Exercise Starter Kit and Cyber Ready Community Game are available at 

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/exercises/tools. 
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virtual or in-person joint training event, P3s should develop instructor and participant materials, 

including evaluation materials to review progress. 

 Example: Wisconsin BEOC Liaison Training Requirements 

The Wisconsin P3 has defined specific training requirements to prepare members to be BEOC 

Liaisons when the BEOC is activated during disasters. In addition to having expert knowledge 

of their sector and making a three-year commitment to the liaison role, the member needs to 

complete five online and in-person classes: 

 The Wisconsin State EOC Liaison course (6 hours in-person at Wisconsin Emergency 

Management); 

 IS-100.C: Incident Command System (FEMA online course); 

 IS-230.E: Fundamentals of Emergency Management (FEMA online course); 

 IS-662: Improving Preparedness and Resilience through Public-Private Partnerships (FEMA 

online course); and

 Introduction to WebEOC. 

A P3 should also conduct and/or participate in existing virtual and in-person exercises and 

incident-specific simulations. The P3 exercise approach should include a plan for the exercise cycle, 

schedule and delivery strategy. Exercises may include tabletop, functional and/or full-scale 

exercises. Exercise development should include materials for facilitators, evaluators, participants 

and observers. Evaluation should occur during and after each exercise, and P3s should develop and 

share after-action reports and improvement plans with participants and stakeholders. These efforts 

prepare the P3 to respond to real-world operations and provide it with knowledge about limiting 

factors, gaps and shortcomings in advance of an incident. 

3.3.4. Integrate Response and Recovery Operations

A P3 functions best with a clear understanding of its jurisdiction’s levels of activation, common 

operational activities, cross-sector collaboration and information sharing and analysis requirements. 

ACTIVATION BASICS FOR INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT

For each level of activation (normal operations, partial activation, full activation), P3s are best served 

by developing a defined battle rhythm that includes a schedule and template for planning meetings, 

reports and operational meetings. For example, in normal operations, meetings may occur once per 

week, while in full activation, one or more meetings per day may be necessary. It is a best practice to 

plan and develop templates during blue-sky operations for incident-specific daily briefings, impact 

summaries, assessments, analyses and forecasts, as well as developing agendas in advance for an 

all-hands BEOC meeting or community lifeline and supply chain stabilization task force, and 
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adjusting them as needed. Each meeting should have a clear purpose and shared outcomes and 

result in determining unified courses of action. 

 Example: State of Washington Private Sector Integration Framework 

The State of Washington developed its Integration Framework: Private Sector-State EOC to give

the private sector two levels of interaction with the State EOC. Level One interaction is 

observation, where any private sector organization may access information during an 

activation through an incident management application. Level Two is participation, facilitated 

through relevant ESFs and coordinated with the Private Sector Program.78

COMMON OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

During an activation, P3s may use a BEOC to facilitate joint operations and identify, triage and 

develop solutions for the most significant challenges that private and public partners share. When 

the operational status of an incident is established, industry and cross-sector operations can 

effectively identify and remove barriers to response; commit and move appropriate resources to 

restore communities; and measure progress and effectiveness to drive continual improvement.

When a disaster is anticipated or has occurred, a P3 should begin to coordinate based on location, 

industry or cross-sector operational needs. When disaster operations begin, jurisdictions and P3s 

should share official communications and organized situational briefings with stakeholders and the 

public via email, coordination calls or other designated information technologies. 

 Noteworthy Idea: Common Operational Activities 

 Share risk information with industry and the public. 

 Assess operational status of community lifelines, critical infrastructure and supply chains. 

 Analyze data and forecast/assess essential elements of information (EEIs).79

 Conduct cross-sector coordination and mutual assistance. 

 Address resource needs through analysis, requests and acquisition. 

 Request waivers to enable critical supply chains. 

 Facilitate access for business reentry and repopulation. 

 Conduct joint planning for recovery with community stakeholders. 

 Hold in-progress and after-action reviews.

78 See Appendix J for the State of Washington Integration Framework: Private Sector – State Emergency Operations Center. 

79 EEIs include information needed to make informed decisions, provide context and contribute to analysis. They are 

required to plan and execute an operation and support timely, logical decisions.
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A P3 may also invite partners to provide situation reports, risk assessments or data analysis and 

participate in resource coordination. This includes forecasting impacts to areas of concern, 

conducting damage assessments and prioritizing response activities such as essential worker 

access. 

 Example: Business Recovery Access Program – BRAP 

Jointly developed by ChicagoFIRST and the Chicago Office of Emergency Management,80 the 

BRAP provides cross-sector engagement opportunities, including: 

 A central business district evacuation/shelter planning effort;

 Joint cross-sector drills and exercises; and

 Coordination of large-scale special events. 

The BRAP also facilitates private sector access to disaster sites via a citywide credentialing 

system that links critical personnel to their facilities and worksites.

Based on the information shared, jurisdictions and P3s need to identify priorities, tasks and 

outcomes. Each operational task should have clear targets for stabilization, restoration or 

sustainment of community lifelines and critical infrastructure, so that outcomes can be measured 

and tracked.81 Targets should drive disaster outcomes as detailed in the Establishing Measurable 

Targets section and the sample qualitative and quantitative example targets in Appendix A. Input 

from the P3 helps jurisdictions tailor targets to their specific situations and community needs.

CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION

A key enabler of integrated operations is effectively using standing working groups or forming ad hoc 

task forces for supporting activities, such as:

 Assessing sector-specific and cross-sector challenges as the situation unfolds; 

 Identifying potential cascading impacts to business and critical infrastructure; and 

 Conducting root-cause analysis to inform restoration and stabilization efforts. 

These analyses should be informed by real-time information collected within each industry, and the 

results shared with P3 partners. 

80 For more information, visit https://www.chicagofirst.org/?page_id=3207. 

81 The FEMA Incident Stabilization Guide (November 2019 Operational Draft) is available at 

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/IncidentStabilizationGuide.pdf. 
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 Example: Nashua, New Hampshire Intergovernmental Coordination 

To meet the urgent need to share information and interact with more small local businesses in 

Nashua, New Hampshire, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Office of 

Economic Development (OED) established a partnership. The OEM now uses the same 

business distribution lists for interacting with small businesses used by the OED.

The OED already had an online tool to share information with the private sector. However, this 

partnership enhanced two-way information sharing, allowing the private sector to provide as 

well as receive situation reports. This system also provides an online chat room where private 

sector members can post best practices.

Additionally, the distribution of information is networked with the local Chamber of Commerce.

For example, understanding whether a power outage will be of long duration is critical, because this 

has a cascading impact on water and wastewater systems, which typically only have emergency 

backup power for 72 hours. Additionally, loss of access to power presents a substantial health 

threat, particularly to vulnerable populations, hospitals and shelters. Cross-sector coordination can

identify options to mitigate or suppress the peak damages that can overwhelm community lifelines.
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 Resources: Regional Information and Assistance 

The following example resources can help P3s with coordination, information sharing and 

analysis challenges: 

 FEMA regional private sector liaisons (PSLs);82

 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 

protective security advisors;83

 Economic Development Administration (EDA) regional offices;84

 USDA regional offices;85

 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);86

 ISACs;87 and

 Fusion centers.88

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS

Building on a foundation of planning and engagement, information sharing and analysis enables 

effective operational integration and cross-sector response operations. For each integrated disaster 

operation, P3s should define operational information requirements, which can be incorporated into 

plans to inform the use of existing information technologies and situation report templates. 

82 See the FEMA Region Contacts list, including all 10 PSLs, at https://www.fema.gov/about/contact#region-1. 

83 For more information about protective security advisors, see https://www.cisa.gov/protective-security-advisors. 

84 For information about EDA points of contact, see https://www.eda.gov/contact/. 

85 For a list of USDA regional offices, see https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/RMALocal/Field-Offices/Regional-Offices. 

86 For a list of HHS regional offices, see https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/regional-offices/index.html. 

87 For more information, see https://www.nationalisacs.org/about-isacs. 

88 For a fusion centers map, locations and contact information, see https://www.dhs.gov/fusion-center-locations-andcontact-information. 
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 Example: Business Operations Status Information Sharing – SABER 

Single Automated Business Exchange for Reporting (SABER),89 provides business status 

information sharing to help businesses stay open longer and reopen faster in a disaster. 

SABER acquires business status and needs from thousands of affected businesses in a 

disaster, standardizes the disparate data and publishes multiple formats for affected 

governments to integrate into their situational awareness software, web portals and common 

operational picture maps. 

During Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, an important retail location reopened because of 

private-public information sharing through SABER. Sears Holdings operations center 

emergency managers saw that Costco was open while a neighboring Sears was closed for lack 

of generator fuel. Through information sharing, the headquarters helped local store managers 

collaborate and share the next fuel shipment, allowing both stores to open for the community.

Table 1 provides sample operational information requirements for P3s to consider.

Table 1: Sample Operational Information Requirements

Public Sector Needs from Private Sector Private Sector Needs from Public Sector

Resilience  Risk and vulnerability assessments

 Industry-specific thresholds, triggers 

and targets

 Capability profile, critical assets and 

key resources

 Resilience strategy and projects

 Frameworks, regulations, incentives

 Official situational awareness

 Procurement guidance

Response  Business open/closed status

 Community lifeline status 

 Supply chain and logistics statuses

 Resource offers/requests

 Declarations/Status of operations

 Strategic response priorities

 Restrictions/Waivers, access/reentry 

requirements and procedures

 Security restrictions, curfews

Recovery  Economic conditions/housing 

inventory status 

 Loss estimates from

damages/closures

 Nontraditional use of facilities

 Resources for donation/mass 

purchase

 Financing options

 Economic recovery priorities

 Permanent reconstruction plans

 Disaster recovery contracts and 

financing

 Support for critical facility restoration

89 For more information, visit https://www.saberspace.org/home.html. 
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Adopting common or shared technical standards helps focus and simplify engagement. Technical 

requirements to develop, model, share and analyze operational information vary based on the level 

of complexity of resilience-oriented or response-oriented engagement. Where applicable, P3s should 

leverage the technical and geospatial capabilities of partners for information sharing and analysis. 

When operational and technical information requirements are clear, training and exercises should 

incorporate them so that when operations occur, P3s are ready to share information. Information 

operations should plan to have interoperable communications for all P3 participants. The 

information management model provided in Appendix K helps P3s enhance capabilities based on a 

maturity model for growth, as described in the next section. 

3.4. Assess and Refine

Figure 8: Assess and Refine Activities

3.4.1. Conduct Stakeholder Analysis

Continuous improvement is essential to P3 development and maturation. Organizers should conduct 

stakeholder analysis and review P3 membership on an annual basis. This includes obtaining an 

annual economic profile update, reviewing stakeholder lists, confirming active partners and aligning 

existing and new partners with relevant activities. 

3.4.2. Evaluate Partnership Activities

A P3 should periodically evaluate its activities using steady-state program reviews, training and 

exercise reviews and incident-specific after-action reports. Evaluation should focus on lessons 

learned, gaps and opportunities for improvement. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and 

threats (SWOT) analysis90 is a strategic planning tool that a P3 can use to understand the 

capabilities and capacity of a jurisdiction or region. After evaluation and analysis, organizers should 

update their P3 charter, stakeholder registry, plans and activities on an “as-needed” basis so that 

lessons learned become “lessons applied.” 

As P3s evolve and grow, organizers can use the maturity model (Figure 9) to inform and measure 

development over time using the milestones and maturity attributes. The example startup checklist

90 For more information on SWOT analysis, see https://www.eda.gov/ceds/content/swot-analysis.htm.
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in Appendix B can help a P3 develop next steps and targets. Upon reviewing and evaluating its

activities and overall program maturity, a P3 should develop and update its plans.

Figure 9: Program Maturity Model

3.4.3. Measure Progress

Successful P3s have a clarity of purpose, targets and outcomes that can be measured and tracked 

over time. P3 organizers can use each of the four phases of a P3 (Figure 2) and the Program 

Maturity Model (Figure 9) to measure progress. 

The following success factors are critical to an effective P3: 

 Leadership – This includes a visible and tangible commitment to establish and support a P3. 

 Shared Risk Assessments – A shared sense of risk and vulnerability drives sustained 

cooperation by P3 stakeholders.

 Outcome-Oriented Objectives and Action Plans – The P3 must be focused on plans and activities 

that achieve mutual benefits for stakeholders. 

 Integration – Jurisdictional resilience requires organizations to work together before, during and 

after disasters. 

 Stabilization Targets – Defining targets increases the potential for achieving resilience, response 

and recovery goals and objectives.
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Table 2 identifies key progress indicators for each of these success factors. Regularly evaluating a 

P3 against these indicators is critical to enable programs to become meaningful and operational. 

Table 2: Success Factors and Key Progress Indicators to Evaluate P3 Programs

Success Factor Key Progress Indicators

Leadership  Administrative plan

 Resource commitment

 Charter

 Action plan 

 Measuring stakeholder participation rates

 Delivering results

Shared Risk 

Assessments

 Assessments of natural, social, built, economic and cyber environments 

that are supported by data and include expert perspectives of 

individual, community, enterprise and multi-enterprise levels

 Joint assessment reports that inform objectives and action plans

 Joint economic development and emergency management funding 

priorities

Outcome-Oriented 

Objectives and 

Action Plans

 Annual objectives and action plans

 Defined organization-specific and P3 outcomes 

 Mitigation and jurisdictional resilience targets achieved

 Increased readiness for operations

Integration  Joint resilience and response planning

 Resilience and mitigation project implementation 

 Cross-sector mitigation, response and recovery core capabilities able to 

meet stabilization targets

Stabilization Targets  Jurisdiction mitigation and resilience priorities identified

 Defined metrics for mitigation and restoration of lifelines, supply chains 

and the economy
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4. Nebraska Case Study: 

Partnerships in Action

This case study was developed by FEMA Region 7, and all photos included in this section are 

provided courtesy of FEMA Region 7. 

4.1. Nebraska Preparedness Partnership 

Interest for a P3 in Nebraska began in 2011 after the response and recovery from floods in eastern 

Nebraska and the City of Omaha. In 2014, a group of businesses and representatives from key state 

agencies formed the Nebraska Preparedness Partnership (NPP) as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 

organization.91 In 2017, FEMA Region 7 hosted a P3 workshop in Kansas City, Missouri, and 

provided a presentation on how to organize a P3. The NPP and several other P3s in the region

attended and shared best practices and information. 

Since the 2017 workshop, the NPP has grown and become more active throughout the state. It 

includes small and large businesses, nonprofits, and government leaders. It maintains close 

relationships and interacts with several nonprofit organizations, such as the Nebraska VOAD, Citizen 

Corps, Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association, and the Nebraska Trucking Association. Over 100 

stakeholders receive information from the NPP on topics ranging from training opportunities to

situational awareness and preparedness updates. 

The NPP is partially funded through an annual DHS SHSP grant. A portion of the allocation to the NPP 

funds one full-time employee. Membership fees are encouraged but not required. The NPP Board is 

comprised of five businesses, four government organizations, and one nonprofit. In addition to 

monthly meetings, members, stakeholders and supporting agencies attend an annual meeting to 

review the previous year and discuss plans for the following year. 

4.2. 2019 Flood

4.2.1. The Situation

In March 2019, Nebraska experienced a “bomb cyclone” that caused a blizzard across much of the 

state. Historic flooding in the eastern portion of Nebraska followed. The severe flooding made the 

City of Fremont, about 25 miles north of Omaha, a virtual island, with all roads for ingress or egress 

under deep water (Figure 10). 

91 For more information, visit https://www.neprep.org/. 
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Figure 10: Historically high flood waters closed the roads around Fremont

Emergency shelters were set up in the city, but with no roads safe for travel, grocery stores were 

quickly running out of food for the city’s 27,000 residents. The NPP was collocated with the 

Nebraska Emergency Management Agency in the state EOC.

4.2.2. The Challenge 

The managers of the Fremont area Hy-Vee stores (a regional grocery chain) had contacted their 

company to inform them of the problem. The city was in dire need of basic commodities such as 

water and fuel, as well as food. Fremont’s Hy-Vee stores were quickly becoming empty due to the 

need to feed survivors. The Hy-Vee stores in Nebraska and Iowa had begun loading trailers with 

supplies, preparing to assist, but the roads into Fremont remained flooded and unsafe for use.

4.2.3. The Solution

Using a process developed in advance, Hy-Vee’s Business Continuity Coordinator contacted the NPP 

to see what could be done to assist. Collocated with the state EOC, the NPP was able to quickly 

articulate the need to state emergency leadership. 

The Nebraska National Guard and Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), in coordination 

with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), quickly created an ingress to the city for the Nebraska and 

Iowa Hy-Vee convoy. Berm-like levees were rapidly built that held back flood waters and allowed the 

road to drain and become passable for transport. Approximately ten hours from the initial request, 

the Hy-Vee convoy was ready to depart. Another two hours took the convoy safely past the flood 

waters and into Freemont. Escorted by law enforcement, the trucks provided Fremont’s people with 

food and water, as well as supplies for their pets (Figure 11 through Figure 15). 
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Figure 11: Dirt berms protected the roads and allowed the convoy into Fremont

Figure 12: The convoy was able to enter Fremont
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Figure 13: Law enforcement escorted the trucks

Figure 14: The convoy delivered life-sustaining supplies 
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Figure 15: The Hy-Vee manager, Fremont officials and supporting law enforcement officers stand 

in front of pallets of delivered food, water and pet supplies 

This quick action is a strong example of the benefit a P3 can provide. The well-established 

relationships developed in the P3 before the disaster struck were key to the success. The quick work 

of all the involved P3 stakeholders got the required supplies to the residents of Fremont, enabling a 

faster recovery from the flood.

4.3. Mentions in Media

View a video of the City of Freemont Convoy at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6fpolLBOPM

Read the NSP Facebook post on this event at (may need to log into Facebook first) 

https://www.facebook.com/67816602132/posts/10155886341277133?sfns=mo
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5. Houston Case Study: Resilience 

to Response

Several years ago, the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security in the City of Houston 

established a regional Supply Chain Group based on shared risk. This group brought together key 

representatives from infrastructure, such as power, water, building supplies, telecommunications 

and transportation. After the impact and recovery from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the city expanded 

the Supply Chain Group to include the grocery sector, which brought in additional partners they 

depend on.

The Supply Chain Group now includes the neighboring cities and five surrounding counties as well as 

the city of Houston. The group’s goal is to keep supply chains and critical infrastructure open during 

any kind of emergency.

5.1. The COVID-19 Response

When the Mayor of Houston declared a health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 

response could draw on the Supply Chain Group’s established relationships. The multisector group 

transitioned from resilience-building to a pandemic response. 

5.1.1. Expanded Services

The city leaders already understood the needs of the supply chains and began to ease regulations. 

Collaboration between industry partners resulted in additional services to help solve community 

issues (Figure 16). 

Figure 16: Collaboration provided additional services during the COVID-19 response
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5.1.2. Information Sharing

To give the Supply Chain Group members situational updates and changes in regulations or 

restrictions for areas in which they conduct business, Houston provided access to its online 

information-sharing platform (Figure 17). Group members could input operating status, trends and 

unmet needs.

Figure 17: City of Houston Supply Chain Information-Sharing Platform

5.1.3. Collaborative Assessment

Houston’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security began to assess the impact of COVID-19 

decisions on critical lifelines, such as grocery stores and access to mass transit, neighborhood by 

neighborhood (via zip codes). The Supply Chain Group’s pre-established relationships facilitated the 

resulting expansion of the city’s Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Asset Catalog. The 

updated CIKR includes distribution centers, building supplies, pharmacies and grocery stores, as well 

as COVID-19 test sites and confirmed case numbers, and displays supply chain resources and 

pandemic information in real time (Figure 18). 
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Figure 18: Houston’s updated maps show real-time status of COVID-19-related information

5.1.4. Mobile Food Pantry

In some neighborhoods, residents with disabilities, access and functional needs and those over age 

65 had difficulty accessing the typical means of grocery shopping. To identify the areas of most 

need, the city compared data from previous food distribution methods such as food banks, 

METROLift subscribers and Meals on Wheels with other sources to determine the number of grocery 

stores and food pantries in a given ZIP code. Five Houston neighborhoods had a high concentration 

of METROLift subscribers and limited to no grocery stores in the ZIP code of their residence. 

Suspension of public transit service during the pandemic made it difficult for these residents to 

obtain food. The city leveraged the Supply Chain Group, including grocery retailers, and mobilized

volunteers to deliver shelf-stable food products to meet the needs in those areas. A packet of 

information told residents how to order groceries and options for pickup or delivery. Delivery 

volunteers and surveys continued to identify additional residents with limited to no means for selfsustainment.

5.2. Mentions in Media

 Read about the Supply Chain Group initiative in “Supply chain proves central to Houston’s 

resilience efforts” on the Cities Today website at https://cities-today.com/supply-chain-provescentral-to-houstons-resilience-efforts/. 

 Read about Houston’s response in “Pivoting to a COVID-19 Response in the Greater Houston 

Region,” an article from the CRI-TAC Collaborative Reform Initiative of the Community Oriented 

Policing Services, Department of Justice, at https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/copsw0936-pub.pdf. 
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Appendix A: Sample Qualitative and 

Quantitative Targets

Organizers of a P3 should develop targets based on the dependencies shown in Figure 1. The 

following sample targets are adapted from the FEMA Incident Stabilization Guide92 and the U.S. 

Resilience Project (2011).93 These targets are a starting point, rather than an exhaustive list.

Sample Stabilization Targets: Qualitative

Safety and Security Lifeline: 

 Threats to life safety are no longer a concern for response personnel and impacted communities. 

 Government-essential functions, including executive leadership, are operational. 

 Sufficient search and rescue assets are on-scene to assist all survivors. 

 Sufficient fire resources are available to support fire suppression efforts.

Food, Water, Shelter Lifeline: 

 All survivors, their pets and service animals have access to food, water and sanitation. 

 Sheltering (including reception, capacity and wraparound services) is supporting the displaced 

population. 

 Sufficient resources are in place to sustain agricultural requirements.

Health and Medical Lifeline: 

 All survivors, their pets and service animals have access to required medical and veterinary care. 

 Emergency medical systems can manage patient movement requirements. 

 Public health services are accessible to all survivors. 

 Sufficient temporary fatality management support is in place to meet processing demand. 

 The medical supply chain can adequately resupply medical care providers.

Energy Lifeline: 

 Generators are providing temporary emergency power at critical facilities necessary to stabilize 

other lifelines. 

 Fuel distribution is available for responders. 

92 The FEMA Incident Stabilization Guide (November 2019 Operational Draft) is available at

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/IncidentStabilizationGuide.pdf. 

93 The NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide also has resources to assist jurisdictions in determining resilience 

targets. See https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1190GB-11.pdf and

https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1190GB-9.pdf. 
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 Sufficient fuel distribution is available for survivors, including to support individuals dependent 

on power for life-sustaining medical care.

Communications Lifeline: 

 Survivors have access to commercial communications infrastructure to contact or be contacted 

by emergency services. 

 The land mobile radio communications network is operational. 

 Public safety answering points are available to the public. 

 Survivors have access to financial services.

Transportation Lifeline: 

 Multimodal routes (air, rail, road, port) are clear of debris and accessible by normal or alternate 

means.

Hazardous Material Lifeline: 

 All contaminated areas are identified and secure.

Supply Chain:

 Two-way communications channels with industry are established. 

 Industry response and recovery resources are secure. 

 Industry has access to impacted areas. 

 Industry has required fuel and other forms of energy. 

 Industry has access to transportation networks. 

 Regulations that impede moving people and goods are removed. 

Sample Stabilization Targets: Quantitative

 80 percent of all businesses and industries are open for business. 

 80 percent of lifeline-supporting businesses are operational. 

 Primary supply chains into the affected community are 80 percent operational. 

 Sales, jobs and gross domestic product numbers cease contraction and steadily grow. 

 Overall Business Health Index ceases decline and steadies or improves. 

 Small Business Health Index ceases decline and steadies or improves. 

 Small business closures have leveled to +/- 3 percent of the normal churn rate.

 Economic activity indices show that sharp declines have ceased and have stabilized or are 

increasing monthly. 

 Industry viability indicators for community lifelines are stable or improving on a monthly basis.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix B: Example Private-Public 

Partnership Startup Checklist

Similar to the maturity model (Figure 3 and Figure 9), this example startup checklist is intended to be 

flexible, not prescriptive. As P3s evolve and grow, use the maturity model and checklist to inform and 

measure development over time using milestones and maturity attributes. 

While this checklist is robust, it is not exhaustive. Tailor the checklist based on your current 

capabilities, removing or adding items as needed to meet your goals. 

Plan 

 Initiate Planning

 Identify Partners

 Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Initiate Planning

 Assemble P3 organizers

 Conduct initial planning meetings

 Determine P3 leadership structure (public sector led, private sector led, consortia led, hybrid)

 Develop concept note

 Obtain leadership support

Identify Partners

 Identify and develop a list of jurisdiction stakeholders

 Maximize representation and equity

Plan Stakeholder Engagement

 Establish communications point of contact

 Develop initial outreach plan

 Establish communications tools

 Designated P3 email address

 Phone/web meeting platform
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Information exchange tools

 Email distribution lists

Engage 

 Initiate Outreach

 Define P3 Purpose and Benefits

 Develop and Adopt Terms of Engagement

Initiate Outreach

 Define initial activity list

 Conduct outreach to stakeholder list 

 Convene vision and planning meetings with stakeholders

 Define sustained activity list

 Conduct weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual meetings

 Identify resilience, response and recovery activities

 Establish a P3 stakeholder meeting approach, including the following elements:

 Purpose, outcomes, agenda, schedule, location, invite list

 Meeting etiquette, terms of engagement (e.g., Roberts Rules)

 A plan for standing meetings, working groups and operational task forces

 A plan for an annual summit

 Identify opportunities to integrate at relevant levels 

 Consider local, state, regional, national and international levels

 Designate a P3 delegate to participate in various activities

Define P3 Purpose and Benefits

 Determine P3 purpose and structure

 Define the business case value proposition and benefits

 Draft a business plan

 Secure resource commitment
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Budget

 In-kind resources

 Designate/hire P3 program coordinator and support staff for a P3

Develop and Adopt Terms of Engagement

 Establish legal and financial terms

 Establish roles and responsibilities of co-chairs, executive committee, P3 coordinator and 

membership

 Develop a membership agreement

 Develop P3 program coordinator responsibilities (job description) 

 Develop a charter

Integrate 

 Assess Shared Risks

 Build Jurisdictional Resilience

 Build Response and Recovery Capacity

 Integrate Response and Recovery Operations

Assess Shared Risks

 Conduct a joint assessment of shared risks

 Assess risk in five environments: natural, social, built, economic and cyber

 Encourage organization-specific assessments

 Convene jurisdiction-wide assessments 

 Integrate findings at local, state, regional and national levels

Build Jurisdictional Resilience

 Convene P3 members to develop/refine jurisdiction resilience strategy with jurisdiction leaders

 Convene dialogue with jurisdiction leaders

 Participate in local mitigation planning committees 

 Contribute P3 inputs to the strategy and/or develop and publish strategy

 Develop a resilience action plan, milestones and timeline
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Develop standards of expected service and stabilization targets for community lifelines, 

infrastructure and supply chains

 Facilitate dialogue to understand and inform local economic development and response 

and recovery priorities

 Identify resilience opportunities and financing options

 Develop project proposals and submit

 Implement, monitor and evaluate effectiveness of mitigation projects

 Align organizational strategies to jurisdictional resilience priorities

 Strengthen community capacities and capabilities

 Prioritize core capabilities that require P3 involvement

 Identify internal/external capacity-building resources to leverage

 Establish resilience targets

Build Response and Recovery Capacity 

 Conduct joint planning

 Identify joint planning needs and set a schedule for development

 Jointly develop all-hazard plans and incident annexes

 Review and harmonize plans (for example, resilience, mitigation, economic development, 

response and recovery plans) 

 Implement NIMS procedures and terminology

 Establish the mission, goals and objectives of disaster response and recovery operations

 Develop a concept of operations

 Develop standard operating procedures and guidance

 Develop an EOP annex to integrate the private and public sectors (as appropriate)

 Develop pre-disaster recovery plans

 Identify and arrange supporting activities/infrastructure

 Develop a plan to provide access, credentials, security, equipment, systems and

hardware (as needed)

 Determine information technologies to manage and share information
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Establish standing working groups

 Determine whether to establish a BEOC

 Determine the type of BEOC (virtual, physical, mobile, hybrid) 

 Determine BEOC leadership, structure and coordinator(s) 

 Identify a host venue for a physical BEOC, such as a university, EOC, continuity center, 

corporate venue, or a hybrid of one or more

 For a physical location, develop staffing and seating charts and shift schedules

 Conduct virtual and in-person joint training

 Identify instructional and operational training needs, requirements and objectives

 Establish a P3 training cycle, schedule and content delivery strategy

 Develop P3 training instructor and participant materials

 Conduct and evaluate trainings

 Conduct virtual and in-person joint exercises

 Establish a P3 exercise cycle, schedule and delivery strategy

 Develop tabletop, functional and/or full-scale exercise facilitator, evaluator, participant 

and observer materials

 Conduct and evaluate exercises

 Develop and share an after-action report (AAR) and improvement plan (IP) to participants 

and stakeholders

Integrate Response and Recovery Operations

 Establish and implement operational battle rhythms

 Address normal operations, partial activation and full activation

 Develop a schedule and template for response-oriented and task force meetings

 Define and implement common operational activities

 Define and use response stabilization targets for community lifelines, supply chains and 

the economy

 Establish cross-sector dependencies, mission priorities and task forces

 Establish and use operational information requirements from public and private sectors 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Establish and use reporting processes and report templates

 Identify and adopt technology and information management standards

 Support real-world special events and incident management

 Scale response operations as needed locally, regionally, and nationally 

Assess & Refine 

 Conduct Stakeholder Analysis

 Evaluate P3 Activities

 Measure Progress

Conduct Stakeholder Analysis

 Update economic profile annually

 Review stakeholder member and participation lists

 Measure stakeholder participation rates

 Align existing and new partners with relevant activities

Evaluate P3 Activities 

 Conduct program review

 Evaluate and revise P3 approaches based on the exercise AAR/IP process

 Update the P3 based on post-incident analysis

 Incorporate conclusions from routine member surveys and stakeholder feedback

 Update charter, stakeholder registry, plans and activities as needed

 Use P3 program maturity model indicators to assess progress

 Develop/Update multi-year strategic plan

Measure Progress

 Measure progress based on success factors, including

 Results-oriented leadership and participation

 Harmonized risk assessments

 Outcome-oriented objectives and action plans
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Integration of resilience and response efforts

 Stabilization targets supported

 Measure progress based on outcomes, including

 Short periods of disruption following a disaster

 Efficient delivery of lifesaving and life-sustaining services

 Restored, modernized, hardened and resilient infrastructure systems, community

lifelines and supply chains

 Resilient recovery of jurisdictions with stronger core capabilities

 Inclusion and equity in jurisdictional resilience and response efforts

 Individual loss avoidance such as lives, livelihoods and property

 Adequate, resilient and affordable housing

 Economic losses avoided, to include business sales, investment and tax losses

 Improve community health and safety

 Sustainable and resilient health, education and social services systems

 Increased property values and improved property tax base

 Sustainable, diversified and resilient economy with new opportunities to create economic 

activity

 Restored, preserved, risk-resistant and resilient natural or cultural resources
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix C: Tools and Information 

to Develop an Economic Profile 

Depending on the specific needs identified for your P3, you may need different information from 

several sources to build an economic profile of your jurisdiction. The following resources are not 

exhaustive, but they provide a solid starting point of platforms and information to consider that are 

widely available, accessible and easy to use.

Table 3 lists organizations with a national perspective. Some of these organizations maintain 

sensitive economic data that can't be released to the general public, but they have been willing to 

share these databases with emergency management organizations for planning purposes.

Table 3: National-Focus Sources of Economic Information

Resource Access at Description

FEMA’s Platform for 

Understanding 

Lifeline Stabilization 

of the Economy 

(PULSE) program

The PULSE platform is 

located on

https://fema.dnb.com

NOTE: Contact 

nbeoc@max.gov to 

request login credentials

 Jurisdictions may request an economic 

profile from the PULSE program maintained 

by FEMA’s Office of Business, Industry, 

Infrastructure and Integration (OB3I). 

PULSE profiles combine data from Dun & 

Bradstreet with publicly-available sources to 

provide information on small businesses, 

at-risk businesses, sales figures, employee 

numbers, critical infrastructure, and 

business trends, among other critical data. 

 This resource is strictly for government use 

or organizations working with OB3I and/or 

in support of NBEOC operations. See 

https://www.fema.gov/businessindustry/national-business-emergencyoperations-center for more information on 

the NBEOC. 

Headwaters 

Economics 

economic profile 

system

Visit 

https://headwatersecono

mics.org/ and scroll down 

the main page to 

“Economic Profile 

System”

 Headwaters Economics is an independent, 

nonprofit research group that works to 

improve community development and land 

management decisions. 

 Use the economic profile system, which 

compiles publicly available data, to search 

for socioeconomic profiles by community, 

county or state.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Resource Access at Description

Census Business 

Builder (CBB)

Visit 

https://www.census.gov/

data/data-tools/cbb.html

to access the CBB for 

regional analysis

 The CBB is a suite of services that provide 

selected demographic and economic data 

from the Census Bureau, tailored to specific 

types of users in a format that is simple to 

access and use.

U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA)

Visit https://www.sba.gov

for an overview of all 

current programs 

available to local 

jurisdictions

Visit

https://web.sba.gov/pronet/search/dsp_dsbs.cf

m for the dynamic small 

business search 

database. 

 The SBA aids, counsels, assists and 

protects the interests of small business 

concerns to preserve free competitive 

enterprise and maintain and strengthen the 

overall economy of the nation. 

 The small business search database is 

generally a self-certifying database. The 

SBA does not make any representation as 

to the accuracy of any of the data included, 

other than certifications relating to 8(a) 

Business Development, HUBZone or Small 

Disadvantaged Business status.

U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS)

Visit 

https://www.bls.gov/dev

elopers to access the 

BLS public data 

application programming 

interface (API) 

Visit

https://www.bls.gov/data

for a listing of all BLS 

databases, tables and 

calculators by subject. 

 The BLS is the principal fact-finding agency 

for the federal government in the broad 

field of labor economics and statistics. BLS 

is an independent national statistical 

agency that collects, processes, analyzes 

and disseminates essential statistical data 

for the public, Congress, other federal 

agencies, state and local governments, 

business and labor. 

 See https://www.bls.gov/bls/bureau-oflabor-statistics-information-guide.pdf for the 

BLS Information Guide.

Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA)

Visit https://www.bea.gov

for data by topic or place, 

and a suite of tools 

including interactive data 

and the BEA API

See 

https://www.bea.gov/sys

tem/files/2020-

01/weve-got-yournumber-booklet2020.pdf for information 

and instructions on how 

to access BEA data and 

information

 BEA, an agency of the Department of 

Commerce, produces economic accounts 

statistics that enable government and 

business decision-makers, researchers and 

the American public to follow and 

understand the performance of the nation’s 

economy. BEA promotes understanding of 

the U.S. economy by providing the most 

timely, relevant and accurate economic 

accounts data in an objective and 

cost-effective manner. Information is 

available at the county level for over 3,000

counties across the U.S., as well as the 

value of the dollar per capita. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Also consider reaching out to organizations with local and state perspectives for additional 

information to inform your economic profile, such as the potential resources in Table 4. 

Table 4: Local- and State-Focused Sources of Economic Information 

Resource Access at Description

Regional Planning 

Commission (RPC)

Find the RPC supporting 

your jurisdiction 

 Contact your RPC to request available 

information on urban and regional planning 

to develop your economic profile. 

 Available information may include land-use 

activities, infrastructure and settlement 

growth. 

Local economic 

development 

organization

Visit 

https://www.eda.gov/res

ources/nationaleconomic-developmentorganization.htm to 

identify your local 

economic development 

organization

 Local economic development organizations 

engage in strategic planning through 

partnerships between local government, the 

business community and NGOs to stimulate 

investments to promote sustained high 

growth in a local community. 

Chamber of 

Commerce

Find the local chamber(s) 

of commerce supporting 

your jurisdiction

 Chambers of commerce are nonprofit 

organizations of local businesspeople that 

network to promote the interests of the 

business community. 

 They often will provide a list of member 

businesses with contact information within 

a jurisdiction. 

Municipal 

Comprehensive 

Annual Financial 

Reports (CAFR)

Coordinate with your 

local economic 

development district 

and/or city council to 

request the CAFR for your 

jurisdiction 

 The CAFR provides accurate and 

meaningful information concerning a city’s 

financial condition and performance, listing 

the top employers in the city.

State-level 

Department of State

Contact the Department 

of State for your home 

state

 These state-level agencies track business 

registrations and collect information on 

companies in your state. 

Metropolitan 

Planning 

Organizations (MPO) 

Visit these links:

https://www.fhwa.dot.go

v/planning/index.cfm

https://narc.org/about/w

hat-is-a-cog-or-mpo/

https://ampo.org/aboutus/about-mpos/

https://www.nado.org/ 

 These regional- or county-level

organizations have federal mandates to

conduct socioeconomic analysis, to include 

EJ/T6 equity analysis as required under 23 

U.S.C. 134 / 23 CFR 450.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Resource Access at Description

National League of 

Cities (NLC)

Visit https://www.nlc.org/

For a state-level example, 

visit: 

https://www.calcities.org

/ 

 The NLC is comprised of more than 2,400 

city, town and village leaders focused on 

improving the quality of life for their current 

and future constituents. 

 Their Risk Information Sharing Consortium

(NLC-RISC) provides tools, resources, and 

partnerships to improve the safety and 

strength of member communities through 

pooling. 

 NLC-RISC member pools offer property, 

liability, workers’ compensation, 

unemployment, and/or employee benefit 

programs to participating member cities, 

towns, counties and other local government 

entities. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix D: National Partnership 

Networks

National partnership networks maximize information flow between the private sector and 

government. Participating at the national level may offer a P3 innovative approaches to help build 

resilience, mitigation, response and recovery. 

Resilient Nation Partnership Network94

In 2015, the RNPN was formed to cultivate relationships, bring new voices to the table and advance 

the resilience conversation. It enables greater collaboration to increase collective impact nationwide. 

Partners can access a wide network of professionals in the resilience field, as well as information, 

data, tools, training and speaking opportunities. The RNPN fosters open dialogue with peers and 

thought leaders and helps connect partners to facilitate action at the national and SLTT levels. Over 

500 organizations participate, and the RNPN always welcomes new and diverse organizations.

Information Sharing and Analysis Centers95 

ISACs are operational entities formed for critical infrastructure owners and operators to gather, 

analyze and disseminate intelligence and threat information related to critical infrastructure. ISACs 

provide threat warning and incident reporting capabilities and share information within their sectors, 

between sectors, and among government and private sector stakeholders.

National Business Emergency Operations Center96

The NBEOC is FEMA's virtual clearinghouse for information sharing between private industry partners 

and public agencies, including FEMA, before, during, and after disasters. Members share knowledge 

from the field impacting operating status and recovery challenges. The NBEOC also provides data to 

inform business continuity decisions and provides integration with disaster planning, training and 

exercises. Any multi-state private sector organization may volunteer to take part, including large 

businesses, chambers of commerce, trade associations, universities, think tanks and nonprofits. In

an active disaster response, NBEOC members have unique lines of communication to FEMA's 

National Response Coordination Center, activated Regional Response Coordination Centers and the 

broader network of emergency management operations, including state and federal partners.

94 For more information, visit https://www.fema.gov/business-industry/resilient-nation-partnership-network. 

95 For more information, see https://www.nationalisacs.org/about-isacs. 

96 For more information, visit https://www.fema.gov/business-industry/national-business-emergency-operations-center. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix E: National Associations

US Chamber of Commerce Foundation

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS), FEMA, and U.S. Northern Command, convenes an Annual Building Resilience 

Through Private-Public Partnerships Conference. Discussions address collaboration required among 

private, public, and nonprofit sectors to help mitigate and build resilience for all disasters.97 

Big City Emergency Managers (BCEM)

BCEM established a network for exchanging information, experiences and best practices and lessons 

learned among members related to preventing, protecting against, mitigating, preparing for, 

responding to and recovering from the full range of hazards.98 

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

The purpose of the IAEM Public-Private Partnership Caucus is to develop, identify, and promulgate 

best practices for creating effective partnerships among private, not-for-profit, and public sectors. 

The caucus hosts quarterly information-sharing sessions for IAEM members on the topic of Public 

Private Partnerships.99

National Association of Counties (NACo)

Through the Resilient Counties Initiative, NACo works to strengthen county resiliency, minimize the 

impact on residents and businesses and allow counties to become more flexible and responsive. 

NACo provides tools for counties to educate their communities on resiliency and facilitate an open 

exchange with the private sector.100

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)

NEMA’s Private Sector Committee provides critical insight across all NEMA committees and 

initiatives to ensure a holistic perspective is incorporated into NEMA’s efforts to provide national 

leadership and expertise in comprehensive emergency management.101

97 For more information, visit https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/10th-annual-building-resilience-throughprivate-public-partnerships-conference. 

98 For more information, visit https://bigcityem.org/about/. 

99 For more information, visit https://www.iaem.org/groups/us-caucuses/public-private-partnership. 

100 For more information, visit https://www.naco.org/resources/signature-projects/resilient-counties-initiative. 

101 For more information, visit https://www.nemaweb.org/index.php/policy#commmittees.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix F: Sample Private-Public 

Partnership Charter 

Name: [The official name designation of the partnership.] 

Charter Publication/Revision Date: [Date of approval.] 

Mission Statement: [A formal statement of the reason for the partnership.]

Scope: [A definition of primary activities required to achieve the mission, and the boundaries, of the 

partnership.]

Executive Summary: 

 Business Case: [State the problem and articulate the reasoning to initiate the partnership.]

 Value Proposition: [Convince participants why the partnership is worthwhile.]

 Benefits: [Describe the advantages gained by participating in and/or becoming a member of the 

partnership.] 

Goals: [Define the desired end results of the partnership in specific and measurable terms.]

Key Stakeholders: [Define the roles and responsibilities.]

 Chairpersons. 

 Executive Committee. 

 Membership. 

 Participants. 

 Sub-Groups. 

Financial Considerations: [Define the main expenses and funding and sustainment approach.]

Legal Considerations: [Include legal and ethical considerations, including decision-making 

authorities, conflicts of interest and others, as appropriate.] 

Charter Maintenance: [Define the intended frequency of charter updates and revisions and the plan 

to assess and refine.] 

Signatory Page: [Include a signatory page for all charter co-signers.]
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix G: Sample Private-Public 

Partnership Membership Agreement 

Section 1. This document may be cited as the [INSERT NAME OF AGREEMENT]. 

Section 2. Purpose and Authorities [Identify the purpose and authorities of the partnership with 

reference to the charter.]

Section 3. Member Responsibilities [Define roles and responsibilities of members. Include statement 

of acknowledgement by Member.]

Example: 

On behalf of myself and/or the company/organization/association/entity named below 

(hereinafter “Entity”), I hereby acknowledge and agree to the following terms and 

conditions for participation as a member of the (INSERT NAME OF 

PARTNERSHIP/PROGRAM). 

 Insert terms and conditions of membership. 

 Insert financial, legal and ethical considerations. 

 Privacy notice and consent. 

Section 4. Entity Acknowledgement: 

Example:

I, the undersigned, agree on behalf of Entity to the above terms and conditions for 

participation as a member of the [Insert Partnership/Program Name Here]. 

 Entity Name: 

 Point of Contact: 

 Authorized Representative Name: 

 Authorized Representative Title:

 Telephone Number:

 Email Address:

Signature: 

Date:
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix H: Sample Private-Public 

Partnership Coordinator Position 

Description

Position Summary: [Define the position title and organization. Describe the purpose, roles and 

responsibilities of the position.]

Sample: 

Under the general direction of [OFFICE, ORGANIZATION], the Coordinator will manage a 

private-public partnership program designed to build resilience by improving 

preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery efforts in the jurisdiction. The Coordinator 

will be responsible for planning, engaging, integrating and refining the program. 

Responsibilities: [Define organizational expectations for the role and the functions the position will 

be accountable for.]

Sample Menu of Responsibilities:

Organize, develop, promote and facilitate private-public partnership program to 

foster resilience. 

 Develop and manage execution of a program plan. 

 Develop an annual social and economic profile of the community to develop an inclusive 

stakeholder engagement plan and contact list. 

 Conduct or participate in development of a risk assessment that identifies risks shared 

by the private and public sectors in the natural, social, built and economic 

environments.

 Conduct stakeholder outreach, communications and engagement to develop 

relationships with businesses, industry associations, trade groups, community 

organizations, volunteer groups and the general public. 

 Act as a liaison to private and public sector stakeholders to provide support and 

coordination before, during and after an incident. 

 Organize, facilitate, attend and participate in workshops, conferences, focus groups, 

local planning committees and meetings to build relationships, identify needs and

develop strategies and action plans for community resilience. 

 Develop plans, guidance, presentations and promotional materials to develop privatepublic partnerships and create awareness of emergency preparedness, mitigation, 

response and recovery. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Organize private-public partnership program participants to build capacity and 

support response and recovery operations.

 Identify and facilitate development of jurisdictional core capabilities that require 

private sector involvement. 

 Facilitate development and adoption of accessibility standards and stabilization targets 

for community lifelines, infrastructure and supply chains. 

 Conduct joint planning for all-hazards mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery 

with private and public stakeholders. 

 Coordinate development of a concept of operations for disaster response and recovery 

operations. 

 Facilitate identification of private-public operational information requirements and 

establishment of information-sharing standards. 

 Develop procedures and guidance for the operation and sustainment of the Business 

Emergency Operations Center (BEOC), either physical or virtual. 

 Coordinate design, delivery and participation in joint training and exercises. 

 Support real-world special events, incident management and response and recovery 

operations, as required.

Other Tasks and Duties.

 Research federal, state and local programs and among private sector partners to 

identify best practices. 

 Identify funding and other resources to support private-public partnership programs

and manage related grants.

 Develop content for web-based and print materials used for education and outreach, 

such as press releases, brochures and web resources. 

 Monitor, measure, assess and refine the progress and outcomes of the program 

activities and provide monthly progress updates.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: [Define the subjects and items of information the employee should 

know at the time of hire.]

Sample Menu of Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

Strong knowledge and experience in program management. 

Working knowledge of principles and practices of whole community resilience, emergency 

management, economic development and/or public relations.

 Ability to develop strong relationships and facilitate partnerships with government 

agencies, businesses, nonprofits and other community organizations for the purpose of 

improving emergency preparedness. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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 Ability to synthesize complex and technical subjects in emergency management and 

communicate to a general audience.

 Considerable knowledge of planning and coordinating programs and activities which 

involve a multi-year strategy, development of policies/guidance and participation by a 

variety of governmental and nongovernmental entities. 

Ability to develop materials which the news media, businesses, community organizations 

and the general public will find meaningful, timely and suitable to their own requirements.

 Knowledge and skills for research, development and implementation of informational 

presentations to small and large groups.

 Skill in preparation, layout and development of promotional materials, flyers and other 

written/visual tools. 

 Ability to plan effective public information programs.

 Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal. 

 Considerable knowledge and experience working in MS Office (Word, Publisher and 

PowerPoint) and Adobe (Photoshop & Acrobat). 

Special Requirements: 

 Minimum education; 

 Certifications; 

 Minimum years of experience; and

 Resident and/or citizenship documentation.
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix I: Intellectual Property 

Ownership and approved uses of information shared between members and products created by a 

P3 are best established early before a problem or disagreement arises. Written documents and 

publications, slogans and branding, software created, and information shared between participants 

may all be subject to intellectual property rights. 

Also consider whether members need to report interests in, or ownership of any intellectual property 

related to the P3, for example, patent applications or registrations used by the P3. Participants 

should seek legal guidance when sharing information or creating intellectual property through any 

collaborative agreement. The terms of ownership and use should be specified in a written 

agreement. 

Examples of intellectual property include, but are not limited to:

 Slogans, logos, branding, and trademarks;

 Publications, brochures, and pamphlets;

 Software; 

 Any entity “secrets” such as clients, distribution partners, internal plans, procedures, and 

strategies; 

 Photographs, music, and videos; and

 Inventions. 
Building Private-Public Partnerships

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Appendix J: Private-Public 

Partnership Engagement Examples

The following marketing, operational and administrative examples show how some P3s promote

their programs and involve stakeholders: 

 Marketing: Adapt Alaska public-facing website

 Marketing: New York City “Partners in Preparedness” participant display seal

 Marketing: North Carolina Emergency Management BEOC flyer

 Operational: NCEM “Business B”

 Operational: Washington private sector integration framework

 Administrative: Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure Protection charter

Marketing: Adapt Alaska Public-Facing Website

Figure 19 shows the homepage for the Adapt Alaska group, an attractive, public-facing website that 

helps members of the community understand future conditions, make a plan, assess vulnerability, 

reduce risk and find resources to build resilience.102 

Figure 19: Adapt Alaska Website Homepage

102 For more information, visit https://adaptalaska.org/. 
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Marketing: New York City “Partners in Preparedness” 

Participant Display Seal

Figure 20 shows New York City’s Partners in Preparedness seal, which can be displayed on an 

organization's intranet, website or printed materials to show its commitment to preparedness.103

(Note: the seal does not represent approval of business continuity plans; however, it does 

demonstrate commitment to preparedness.) 

Figure 20: New York City’s Partners in Preparedness Seal

103 For more information, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/em/ready/partners-preparedness.page. 
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Marketing: NCEM BEOC Flyer

Figure 21 shows a one-page flyer the State of North Carolina uses to promote their BEOC to potential 

private sector partners.

Figure 21: NCEM BEOC One-Page Flyer
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Operational: NCEM “Business B”

Figure 22 shows the “Business B” that NCEM uses to explain response and recovery operations to 

private sector partners in a format that is easy to understand and implement.

Figure 22: NCEM’s “Business B”
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Operational: Washington Private Sector Integration 

Framework

Figure 23 shows a three-page framework the State of Washington uses to promote their program 

with potential partners.

Figure 23: State of Washington Private Sector Integration Framework (three pages)
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Administrative: Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure 

Protection

The APIP Charter104 (Figure 24) is an example of a partnership formalized around critical 

infrastructure. 

Figure 24: APIP Charter (seven pages)

104 For more information, visit 

https://ready.alaska.gov/APIP/Documents/APIP%20Charter%202018%20(with%20Signature%20Pages).pdf. 
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Appendix K: Private-Public 

Partnership Information-Sharing 

Continuum

A P3’s information-sharing capabilities mature over time as it strengthens relationships and gains 

experience. Standard operating procedures are tested through exercises and employed during realworld events, allowing a P3 additional opportunities to advance along the information-sharing 

continuum outlined in Figure 25. 

Figure 25: P3 Information-Sharing Continuum
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Appendix L: Acronym List

AAR After-Action Report

API Application Programming Interface

APIP Alaska Partnership for Infrastructure Protection

BEA Bureau of Economic Analysis

BCEM Big City Emergency Managers

BEOC Business Emergency Operations Center

BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics

BRAP Business Recovery Access Program

BRIC Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities

CAFR Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

CBB Census Business Builder

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

CIKR Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources

COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019

CPPTF Chicago Public-Private Task Force

DHS Department of Homeland Security

EDA Economic Development Administration

EEI Essential Elements of Information

EMS Emergency Medical Services

EOC Emergency Operations Center

EOP Emergency Operations Plan

ESF Emergency Support Function
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FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

IAEM International Association of Emergency Managers

IP Improvement Plan

ISAC Information Sharing and Analysis Center

LCC Landscape Conservation Cooperative

NACo National Association of Counties

NBEOC National Business Emergency Operations Center

NCEM North Carolina Emergency Management

NDOT Nebraska Department of Transportation

NEMA National Emergency Management Association

NGO Nongovernmental Organization

NIMS National Incident Management System

NIPP National Infrastructure Protection Plan

NLC National League of Cities

NLC-RISC Risk Information Sharing Consortium

NRCC National Response Coordination Center

NRF National Response Framework

NRI National Risk Index

NSP Nebraska State Patrol

OB3I Office of Business, Industry, Infrastructure and Integration

OED Office of Economic Development

OEM Office of Emergency Management

P3 Private-Public Partnership
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PSIP Private Sector Integration Program

PSL Private Sector Liaisons

PULSE Platform for Understanding Lifeline Stabilization of the Economy

RAC Regional Advisory Council

RAPT Resilience Assessment Planning Tool

RNPN Resilient Nation Partnership Network

RPC Regional Planning Commission

SABER Single Automated Business Exchange for Reporting

SBA Small Business Administration

SHSP State Homeland Security Program

SLTT State, Local, Tribal and Territorial

SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

U.S.C. United States Code

USDA United States Department of Agriculture

VOAD Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster