| A | B |
|---|
| All-Hazards | A grouping classification encompassing all conditions, environmental or human-caused, that have the potential to cause injury, illness, or death; damage to or loss of equipment, infrastructure services, or property; or alternatively causing functional degradation to social, economic, or environmental aspects. |
| After-Action Report (AAR) | Report that summarizes key exercise-related evaluation information, including the exercise overview and analysis of objectives and core capabilities. |
| Applicant | A State government, Territorial government, local government, Indian Tribes or authorized Tribal organizations and Alaskan Native Villages, and certain Private Nonprofit Organization who submit a request for disaster assistance under the State’s disaster declaration. |
| Applicants Briefing | A meeting conducted by a representative of the State/Tribe for potential Public Assistance applicants. The briefing occurs after an emergency or major disaster has been declared and addressed application procedures, administrative requirements, funding, and program eligibility criteria. |
| Case Management File | A systems approach to provision of equitable and fast service to applicants for disaster assistance. Organized around the needs of the applicant, the system consists of a single point of coordination, a team of on-site specialists, and a centralized, automated filing system. |
| Consequence | The effect of an event, incident, or occurrence. (NPG) |
| Cost Estimating Format (CEF) | A forward-pricing model that allows FEMA to account for all possible costs associated with projects for which the base costs of labor, materials, and equipment meet or exceed the large project threshold. |
| Declaration | The President’s decision in which a major disaster qualifies for Federal assistance under the Stafford Act. |
| Drill | a coordinated, supervised activity usually employed to validate a specific operation or function in a single agency or organization. Drills are commonly used to provide training on new equipment, develop or validate new policies or procedures, or practice and maintain current skills. (HSEEP 2013) |
| Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) | An ongoing plan for responding to a wide variety of potential threats and hazards. (NIMS) |
| Emergency Work | That work which must be performed to reduce or eliminate an immediate threat to life, protect public health and safety, and to protect improved property that is threatened in a significant way as a result of the disaster. Emergency work includes clearance and debris removal and emergency protective measures. (Category A-B) |
| Exercise | An instrument to train for, assess, practice, and improve performance in prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery capabilities in a risk-free environment. Exercises can be used for testing and validating policies, plans, procedures, training, equipment, and interagency agreements; clarifying and training personnel in roles and responsibilities; improving interagency coordination and communications; improving individual performance; identifying gaps in resources; and identifying opportunities for improvement. (HSEEP 2013) |
| Facility | Any publicly or PNP-owned building, works, system, or equipment (built or manufactured) or certain improved and maintained natural features. Improved land used for agricultural purposes and planted trees and shrubs are not facilities. |
| Grant | According to 44 CFR 13, a grant is an award of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements, in the form of money, or property in lieu of money, by the Federal Government to an eligible grantee. |
| Hazard | Something that is potentially dangerous or harmful, often the root cause of an unwanted outcome. (NIPP, NIMS) Natural or man-made source or cause of harm or difficulty (DHS Risk Lexicon) |
| Hazard Mitigation | Any cost-effective action taken to prevent or reduce the threat of future damage to a facility from a disaster event. |
| Imminent Threat | Intelligence or operational information that warns of a credible, specific, and impending terrorist threat or ongoing attack against the United States and its territories that is sufficiently specific and credible to recommend implementation of protective measures to thwart or mitigate against an attack. (NPG) |
| Incident | An occurrence, caused by either human action or natural phenomena, that may cause harm and may require action. Incidents can include major disasters, emergencies, terrorist attacks, terrorist threats, wild and urban fires, floods, hazardous materials spills, nuclear accidents, aircraft accidents, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical storms, war-related disasters, public health and medical emergencies, and other occurrences requiring an emergency response. (NIPP, DHS Risk Lexicon) |
| Incident Command System (ICS) | A standardized on-scene emergency management construct specifically designed to provide an integrated organizational structure that reflects the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries. ICS is the combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents. It is used for all kinds of emergencies and is applicable to small as well as large and complex incidents. ICS is used by various jurisdictions and functional agencies, both public and private, to organize field-level incident management operations. (NIMS) |
| Incident Management | The broad spectrum of activities and organizations providing effective and efficient operations, coordination, and support applied at all levels of government, utilizing both governmental and nongovernmental resources to plan for, respond to, and recover from an incident, regardless of cause, size, or complexity. (NIMS) |
| Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) | A survey to document the impact and magnitude of the disaster on individuals, families, businesses, and public property and to gather information for disaster management purposes. The information gathered is used to determine whether Federal assistance should be requested by the Governor/Tribal Executive and forms the basis for the disaster declaration. |
| Prevention | The capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. For the purposes of the prevention framework called for in PPD-8, the term “prevention” refers to preventing imminent threats. (NPG) |
| Private Non-Profit Organization (PNP) | Any non-governmental agency or entity that currently has either an effective ruling letter from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service granting tax exemption or satisfactory evidence from the State/Tribe that the non-revenue producing organization or entity is a nonprofit one organized or operating under State/Tribe law. |
| Project Specialist | A position primarily staffed by FEMA personnel. However, FEMA often relies on State/Tribe, other Federal agency, and contractor resources to supplement these positions. State/Tribe personnel may also be assigned to work with FEMA staff and local officials involved with response and recovery efforts. They are a resource for the applicant. Typically, Project Specialists are responsible for assisting with the development of projects and cost estimates. |
| National Incident Management System | A set of principles that provides a systematic, proactive approach guiding government agencies at all levels, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life or property and harm to the environment. (NIMS) |
| National Preparedness | The actions taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and exercise to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation. (NPG) |
| Protection | The capabilities necessary to secure the homeland against acts of terrorism and manmade or natural disasters. (NPG) |
| Psychological Consequence | Effect of an incident, event, or occurrence on the mental or emotional state of individuals or groups resulting in a change in perception and/or behavior (DHS Risk Lexicon) |
| Public Information | Processes, procedures, and systems for communicating timely, accurate, and accessible information on an incident’s cause, size, and current situation; resources committed; and other matters of general interest to the public, responders, and additional stakeholders (both directly affected and indirectly affected). (NIMS) |
| Resource | The capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to recover effectively. (NPG) |
| Risk | The potential for an unwanted outcome resulting from an incident, event, or occurrence, as determined by its likelihood and the associated consequences. (NIPP, DHS Risk Lexicon) |
| Risk Assessment | A product or process which collects information and assigns values to risks for the purpose of informing priorities, developing or comparing courses of action, and informing decision making. (DHS Risk Lexicon) |
| Security | The protection of the Nation and its people, vital interests, and way of life. (NPG, PPD-8) |
| The Stafford Act | The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93- 288, as amended. |
| Threat | A natural or manmade occurrence, individual, entity, or action that has or indicates the potential to harm life, information, operations, the environment, and/or property. (NIPP, DHS Risk Lexicon) |
