January 21, 2009


MEMORANDUM FOR:	Nancy Ward
		Acting Administrator and Career Transition Official

FROM:			Dr. G. Kemble Bennett
Chairman, National Advisory Council

SUBJECT:	National Advisory Council (NAC) Recommendations on the National Response Framework

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with guidance statements, recommendations and specific requests in reference to the National Response Framework (NRF) that were approved by the National Advisory Council (NAC) during its December 10-11, 2008 meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Guidance Statements:

Familiarity with the NRF is critical to the effective coordination of the roles and actions of local, tribal, State, Federal, and private-sector preparedness and response partners.  

The FEMA website’s NRF Resource Center provides an accessible, comprehensive and well-organized hub for information pertaining to, and tools in support, of the National Response Framework.  The NAC commends FEMA for their immediate response to updating the NRF Resource Center with links to other FEMA documents and websites. We encourage all NAC members to participate in outreach efforts promoting NRF familiarization whenever possible, through the use of FEMA’s “Elevator Speech”, fact sheet, and other tools available on the site.  The NAC strongly encourages FEMA leadership to adopt widespread use of the NRF and the NRF Resource Center by FEMA staff and contractors; urges FEMA to better promote the NRF and the NRF Resource Center; and feels that information from the NRF Resource Center should be incorporated into workshops, seminars, exercises, etc.  Additionally, the NAC encourages the use of the NRF Resource Center as a clearinghouse for questions regarding the NRF and that the FEMA-NRF@dhs.gov email address be better publicized as a resource to answer questions regarding the NRF.

The NAC supports the findings in the GAO report (National Response Framework: FEMA Needs Policies and Procedures to Better Integrate Non-Federal Stakeholders in the Revision Process, June 2008) encouraging FEMA to continue to improve their inclusion of stake holders in future versions of the NRF.

The NAC shall provide input into any proposed changes to the NRF.
Recommendations:

The NAC is providing the following recommendations that will support efforts to enhance implementation of the NRF and use of the NRF Resource Center. 

1) Integrate the National Response Framework into existing training for key leaders, elected officials, emergency managers and responders.
a. Ensure that all FEMA approved training and exercises are designed or updated to incorporate the relevant changes associated with the adoption of the NRF.

2) Integrate private sector support more fully into the NRF.
a. Private Sector considerations should be clearly incorporated into the various partner guides.


Specific Requests:

The NRF subcommittee requests that FEMA provide quarterly updates (scheduled to coincide with the quarterly NAC meetings) regarding any changes in content or status of the NRF, the NRF Resource Center, or relevant coordinated efforts, including but not limited to the following:

1) The NAC NRF subcommittee is requesting updates on the NRF Partner Guides.
a. NRF Subcommittee is requesting current drafts of the partner guides for review and to provide advice and stakeholder input.  The NRF Subcommittee will serve as a focal point for this review effort.
b. FEMA should also provide the NRF subcommittee and NAC with the policy and processes for review and updates of the partner guides (prior to release).

2) The NAC NRF subcommittee is requesting updates regarding the following issues addressed in the GAO report:
a. Status on the development of the policies and procedures:
i. For future revision processes for the NRF and the NRF Resource Center.
ii. For collaboration with non-federal stakeholders
1. Define timelines for how FEMA incorporates stakeholder input. 
b. Methodology regarding communication of policies and procedures relevant to the NRF.

3) The NAC should be informed regarding any changes in content or status of the NRF, the NRF Resource Center, or relevant coordinated efforts.  The NRF subcommittee is requesting that FEMA provide drafts of the policies and procedures related to the NRF revision and status reports on the recommendations outlined in this document. 






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                  National Advisory Council


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