As defined in the National Incident Management System (NIMS), national resource management efforts support a unified approach in building and delivering the core capabilities across all five preparedness mission areas. FEMA has developed and provides tools that aid practical implementation of the NIMS and the key activities associated with effective resource management.
Resource Typing Library Tool: RTLT is an online catalog of NIMS resource typing definitions and job titles/position qualifications. NIMS resource types provide the common language for the mobilization of resources (equipment, teams, units, and personnel) prior to, during, and after major incidents. NIMS resource types are viewable online, downloadable in PDF format, and can be directly consumed by third party software applications using the available connector called a web services application programming interface (API).
Incident Resource Inventory System: Resource owners and providers should inventory and maintain current information on their shareable resources. Establishing an interoperable resource inventory and maintaining the currency and accuracy of the resource information is key in effective resource management. IRIS is a distributed software tool provided here at no cost by FEMA. It is standards-based and allows the seamless exchange of information with other instances of IRIS and with third party software applications. IRIS automatically uses the resource typing definitions contained in RTLT. Use the links on the right-hand side of the screen to install IRIS and obtain additional information.
IRIS stores data locally on the user's computer or on a network if configured during installation. It should be noted that IRIS is not a database centrally managed by FEMA. Users and their respective agencies are responsible for their own data.