Catastrophic Planning: States Participating in FEMA's Pilot Program Made Progress, but Better Guidance Could Enhance Future Pilot Programs
Highlights
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 highlighted gaps in the nation's preparedness to respond effectively to catastrophic incidents. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designed the Task Force for Emergency Readiness (TFER) pilot program to advance and integrate state and federal catastrophic planning efforts. TFER, first envisioned by the Department of Defense (DOD), ran from September 2008 to September 2010, and FEMA provided the five participating states--Hawaii, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia--with $350,000 each to develop plans, build relationships with stakeholders, and document lessons learned (i.e., TFER's stated objectives). As requested, GAO evaluated the extent to which (1) FEMA followed sound management practices in designing, administering, and evaluating TFER and (2) the five participating states satisfied TFER's stated objectives. GAO analyzed FEMA guidance, such as the TFER Pilot Information Package, conducted site visits to all five participant states, and met with relevant FEMA and DOD officials, to evaluate FEMA's management of TFER and the states' implementation of it.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Emergency Management Agency | To help ensure future pilot programs achieve their intended results and provide the performance information needed to make effective management decisions for broader implementation, the Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, should develop and implement policies and guidance for pilot programs that follow sound management practices. This guidance should include, at a minimum, requirements for (1) a clearly articulated methodology with objectives reflective of overall program goals and standards for determining program performance; (2) procedures for monitoring program performance; (3) a data collection plan; (4) a data analysis plan; and (5) a process to disseminate the results and lessons learned that emerge from the pilot. |
In August 2013, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) officials reported that they do not plan to develop FEMA-wide policies regarding the piloting of programs because it is not within NPD's authority to develop such guidance. Instead, these officials reported that NPD will adhere to the policies and procedures developed by the Grant Programs Directorate for any future state or local grant pilot programs. Further, these officials reported that future pilot efforts that result in the development of doctrine are to use FEMA Directive 112-12, Policy, Directive, and Doctrine Process Guidance. However, FEMA 112-12 does not include specific policies and guidance for pilot programs. As a result, we consider this recommendation to be closed as not implemented.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | To help ensure stakeholders receive valuable information regarding catastrophic preparedness from lessons learned during the TFER pilot program, the Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, should disseminate the evaluation results and recommendations that emerge from the TFER pilot program in ways that meet the needs of current and future stakeholders. |
We found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed program objectives and procedures for administering the Task Force for Emergency Readiness (TFER) pilot, but did not develop other elements of sound management practices in designing, administering, and evaluating pilot programs that GAO identified from its prior work and social science literature. For example, according to sound management practices, results and recommendations that emerge from evaluations must be disseminated in ways that meet the needs of stakeholders, but FEMA did not commit to sharing the TFER evaluation results with stakeholders. We recommended that FEMA disseminate the evaluation results and recommendations that emerge from the TFER pilot program in ways that meet the needs of current and future stakeholders. In response, FEMA developed a TFER pilot final report in March 2011 that documents lessons learned and recommendations for improvement. According to FEMA officials, FEMA shared the final report with points of contact at each of the five pilot states, the Defense Science Board, and the Congress. FEMA officials reported that, since the TFER pilot program has ended, there are no future stakeholders with whom to share the final report with. As a result, we believe FEMA has met the intent of our recommendation and consider this recommendation to be closed as implemented.
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