FY 2022 RCPGP NOFO_OMB Approved_508a_2 (002).pdf

FY 2022 RCPGP NOFO Back to the Top

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Fiscal Year 2022 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program

(RCPGP)

Effective April 4, 2022, the Federal Government transitioned from using the Data Universal Numbering System or DUNS number, to a new, non-proprietary identifier known as a Unique Entity Identifier or UEI. For entities that have an active registration in SAM.gov prior to the April 4 date, the UEI has automatically been assigned and no action is necessary. For all entities filing a new registration in SAM.gov on or after April 4, 2022, the UEI will be assigned to that Entity as part of the SAM.gov registration process.

Unique Entity Identifier registration information is available on GSA.gov at: Unique Entity Identifier Update | GSA.

Grants.gov registration information can be found at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. Detailed information regarding UEI and SAM is also provided in Section D of this funding notice.

Table of Contents A. Program Description

1. Issued By

2. Assistance Listings Number

3. Assistance Listings Title

4. Funding Opportunity Title

5. Funding Opportunity Number

6. Authorizing Authority for Program

7. Appropriation Authority for Program

8. Announcement Type

9. Program Category

10. Program Overview, Objectives, and Priorities

11. Performance Measures

B. Federal Award Information

1. Available Funding for the NOFO: $12 million

2. Projected Number of Awards: 12-20

3. Maximum Award Amount: $1 million

4. Period of Performance: 36 months

5. Projected Period of Performance Start Date(s): October 1, 2022

6. Projected Period of Performance End Date(s): September 30, 2025

7. Funding Instrument Type: Grant

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Applicant Eligibility Criteria

3. Other Eligibility Criteria

4. Cost Share or Match

D. Application and Submission Information https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html

1. Key Dates and Times

2. Agreeing to Terms and Conditions of the Award

3. Address to Request Application Package

4. Steps Required to Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier, Register in the System for Award

Management (SAM), and Submit an Application

5. Electronic Delivery

6. How to Register to Apply through Grants.gov

7. How to Submit an Initial Application to FEMA via Grants.gov

8. Submitting the Final Application in ND Grants

9. Timely Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

10. Content and Form of Application Submission

11. Intergovernmental Review

12. Funding Restrictions and Allowable Costs

E. Application Review Information

1. Application Evaluation Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Notice of Award

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

4. Monitoring and Oversight

G. DHS Awarding Agency Contact Information

1. Contact and Resource Information

2. Systems Information

H. Additional Information

1. Termination Provisions

2. Program Evaluation

3. Period of Performance Extensions

4. Disability Integration

5. Conflicts of Interest in the Administration of Federal Awards or Subawards

6. Procurement Integrity

7. Record Retention

8. Actions to Address Noncompliance

9. Audits

10. Payment Information

11. Whole Community Preparedness

12. Appendices

Appendix A: 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (2021) ................................... A-1 Appendix B: Project Narrative Template ................................................................................... B-1 Appendix C: Evaluation Criteria and Scoring ............................................................................ C-1 Appendix D: Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative Template ................................... D-1 Appendix E: FY 2021 RCPGP Project Summaries ..................................................................... E-1

A. Program Description

1. Issued By

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/Grant Programs Directorate (GPD)

2. Assistance Listings Number 97.111

3. Assistance Listings Title

Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP)

4. Funding Opportunity Title

Fiscal Year 2022 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP)

5. Funding Opportunity Number

Grant Program Title NOFO Number

RCPGP – Region I DHS-22-GPD-111-01-01

RCPGP – Region II DHS-22-GPD-111-02-01

RCPGP – Region III DHS-22-GPD-111-03-01

RCPGP – Region IV DHS-22-GPD-111-04-01

RCPGP – Region V DHS-22-GPD-111-05-01

RCPGP – Region VI DHS-22-GPD-111-06-01

RCPGP – Region VII DHS-22-GPD-111-07-01

RCPGP – Region VIII DHS-22-GPD-111-08-01

RCPGP – Region IX DHS-22-GPD-111-09-01

RCPGP – Region X DHS-22-GPD-111-10-01

6. Authorizing Authority for Program Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-103)

7. Appropriation Authority for Program Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-103)

8. Announcement Type Initial

9. Program Category Preparedness: Emergency Management

10. Program Overview, Objectives, and Priorities

a. Overview

Preparedness is a shared responsibility that spans across federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; the private sector; non-governmental organizations; and the American people. It requires an approach that engages individuals, families, communities, private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations, and all levels of government across the whole community. The purpose of the RCPGP is to build state and local capacity to manage catastrophic incidents by improving and expanding regional collaboration, across the whole community, for catastrophic incident preparedness.

As part of this whole community approach, it is critical that regional catastrophic preparedness investments focus on the needs of underserved communities and vulnerable populations. Natural disasters, worsened by the effects of climate change, often disproportionately affect people in underserved communities where weakened infrastructure, fewer resources, and less support invested in hazard mitigation can compound a disaster’s impact, thus worsening inequality already present in society. Therefore, in order to effectively address equity in emergency management, the evolving threats and risks associated with climate change1 and other factors that affect community-level resiliency must also be considered when developing RCPGP investments.

The FY 2022 RCPGP represents one part of a comprehensive set of actions authorized by Congress and implemented by DHS to build preparedness capabilities. The National Preparedness Goal (the Goal) defines what it means to be prepared for a wide range of threats and hazards, including catastrophic incidents.

The National Preparedness System is the instrument the nation employs to build, sustain, and deliver core capabilities needed to achieve the goal of a more secure and resilient nation.

Each community contributes to achieving the Goal by addressing the risks that are most relevant and urgent for them individually, which in turn strengthens the collective security and resilience of the Nation. They do this through the National Preparedness System components of:

• Identifying and Assessing Risk;

• Estimating Capability Requirements;

• Building and Sustaining Capabilities;

• Planning to Deliver Capabilities;

• Validating Capabilities; and

• Reviewing and Updating.

Of the five basic mission areas in the DHS Strategic Plan, the RCPGP supports Goal 5:

1 Climate change is defined as “Changes in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer.

Climate change encompasses both increases and decreases in temperature, as well as shifts in precipitation, changing risk of certain types of severe weather events, and changes to other features of the climate system.” (National Climate Assessment) https://www.fema.gov/whole-community https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-goal https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-goal http://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-system https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0702_plcy_dhs-strategic-plan-fy20-24.pdf

Strengthen Preparedness and Resilience, which holds that the United States can effectively manage emergencies and mitigate the harm to American communities by thoroughly preparing local communities, rapidly responding during crises, and supporting recovery. The FY 2022 RCPGP also complements the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan which outlines a bold vision and three ambitious goals designed to address key challenges the agency faces during a pivotal moment in the field of emergency management. Wide-ranging and long-term, the goals defined in the plan respond to the changing landscape in which we find ourselves. The goals to meet this challenge are:

• Goal 1 – Promote and Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management;

• Goal 2 - Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience; and

• Goal 3 - Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation.

These goals position FEMA to address the increasing range and complexity of disasters, support the diversity of communities we serve, and complement the nation’s growing expectations of the emergency management community. FEMA invites all its stakeholders and partners to also adopt these goals and join in building a stronger, more prepared, and resilient nation.

In support of the above goals, the strategic priority for the FY 2022 RCPGP is investing in the following core capabilities: community resilience, housing, and long-term vulnerability reduction. Community and regional level resilience plans and strategies address the full range of hazards and stressors affecting the ability of communities to survive, adapt, and thrive and enable effective risk reduction. Communities facing severe challenges with affordable housing that is resilient to all hazards, or long-term vulnerability reduction, may use this planning grant to develop specific targeted resilience strategies and plans, or integrate these challenges into broader approaches. Communities may also use this grant to enhance existing plans and strategies to better address the broad range of resilience challenges they may face.

These plans and strategies can serve as a tool for leveraging federal investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as other sources of funding.

Furthermore, priority will be given to those planning efforts that address the needs of disadvantaged communities who might be at special risk as a result of current hazards, including those associated with climate change. By addressing the needs of underserved, at-risk communities, the FY 2022 RCPGP aims to ensure consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals before, during, and after a disaster.

b. Objectives The primary objective of the RCPGP is to build state and local capacity to manage catastrophic incidents by improving and expanding regional collaboration for catastrophic incident preparedness. The National Response Framework (4th Edition or superseding edition) defines a catastrophic incident as any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, or government functions. The regional interdependencies of effective prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities require a cohesive regional approach to https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/117791 catastrophic planning, to include community-level stakeholder involvement to maximize both regional and community-level resilience.

In addition to the above, the following core capability descriptions, and related objectives for each, can help guide development FY 2022 RCPGP project proposals:

• FEMA defines the Community Resilience core capability as:

Enable the recognition, understanding, communication of, and planning for risk and empower individuals and communities to make informed risk management decisions necessary to adapt to, withstand, and quickly recover from future incidents.

The Core Capability Development Sheet for Community Resilience includes two specific objectives:

(1) Maximize the coverage of the U.S. population that has a localized, risk-informed mitigation plan developed through partnerships across the entire community.

(2) Empower individuals and communities to make informed decisions to facilitate actions necessary to adapt to, withstand, and quickly recover from future incidents

• FEMA defines the Long-term Vulnerability Reduction core capability as:

Build and sustain resilient systems, communities, and critical infrastructure and key resources lifelines so as to reduce their vulnerability to natural, technological, and human-caused threats and hazards by lessening the likelihood, severity, and duration of the adverse consequences.

The Core Capability Development Sheet for Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction includes one specific objective:

(1) Achieve a measurable decrease in the long-term vulnerability of the Nation against current baselines amid a growing population base, changing climate conditions, increasing reliance upon information technology, and expanding infrastructure base.

• FEMA defines the Housing core capability as:

Implement housing solutions that effectively support the needs of the whole community and contribute to its sustainability and resilience.

The Core Capability Development Sheet for Housing includes three specific objectives:

(1) Establish a resilient and sustainable housing market that meets the needs of the community, including the need for accessible housing within the specified https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/mission-core-capabilities https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_ccds-all-sheets.pdf https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/mission-core-capabilities https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_ccds-all-sheets.pdf https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/mission-core-capabilities https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_ccds-all-sheets.pdf timeframe in the recovery plan.

(2) Assess preliminary housing impacts and needs, identify currently available options for temporary housing, and plan for permanent housing.

(3) Ensure community housing recovery plans continue to address interim housing needs, assess options for permanent housing, and define a timeline for achieving a resilient, accessible, and sustainable housing market.

c. Priorities

In support of the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan, Equity, Climate Resilience, and Readiness are the strategic priorities of the RCPGP. These priorities can also be viewed as strategic outcomes for RCPGP-funded projects. When developing their RCPGP project proposals, applicants should consider how the proposed project can address these priorities and produce meaningful results, using the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan as a guide.

Because the purpose of the RCPGP is to build state and local capacity to manage catastrophic incidents by improving and expanding regional collaboration across the whole community for catastrophic incident preparedness, this requires focusing RCPGP-funded projects on developing core capabilities that present persistent preparedness challenges, with specific focus on community-level resilience, with emphasis on addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities, and long-term vulnerability reduction within those communities.

Additionally, consistent with previous years, housing remains a key focus area, especially through the lenses of equity, climate resilience, and readiness. The decision to maintain housing as a focus area recognizes a continuing need for communities to address this capability area based on FEMA’s analysis of THIRA/SPR results, as well as the relatively small number of RCPGP awards (35 total) issued over the past three years. Additionally, maintaining year-over-year consistency facilitates FEMA’s efforts to evaluate program effectiveness.

The FY 2022 RCPGP requires that applicants develop and deliver one planning project that addresses specific capability gaps based on THIRA/SPR results and focuses on housing, community resilience, and long-term vulnerability reduction, with an emphasis on disadvantaged communities, within the strategic priorities of equity, climate resilience, and readiness. Additionally, FY 2022 RCPGP applicants are encouraged to develop projects that build a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, and exercising with regional partners across the whole community to improve their collective readiness posture.

RCPGP Focus Area Examples of Allowable Activities

Community Resilience

• Partner with local community leaders, emergency managers, and other key stakeholders to develop localized, risk-informed mitigation plans. Develop a unified, regional mitigation plan that addresses the needs of disadvantaged communities and other socially vulnerable populations and supports the local community mitigation plans.

• Develop a plan to provide necessary outreach and training to leaders and other key stakeholders representing disadvantaged communities to enable and empower individuals and communities to make informed decisions to facilitate actions necessary to adapt to, withstand, and quickly recover from disasters.

• Conduct outreach and training with local community leaders and partners to identify at-risk, disadvantaged communities, analyze their risks, capabilities, and needs, and address those needs as part of a broader planning project that aims to improve community-level resilience.

• Partner with local community leaders, emergency managers and other key stakeholders to exercise emergency operations plans to identify gaps in preparedness capabilities that affect the resilience of disadvantaged communities.

Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction

• Conduct a comprehensive regional vulnerability assessment aimed at understanding the needs of disadvantaged communities and other socially vulnerable populations relative to identified capability gaps.

• In coordination with local community leaders and other key stakeholders, analyze long-term vulnerabilities, including the effects of climate change, affecting disadvantaged communities across the region and develop a plan for reducing those vulnerabilities.

• Conduct outreach and training with local community leaders and partners to identify at-risk, disadvantaged communities, analyze their long-term vulnerabilities, current capabilities, and long-term needs, and address those needs as part of a broader project that includes developing a plan for reducing vulnerabilities in affected communities.

Housing • Establish a resilient and sustainable housing market that meets the needs of the community, including the need for accessible and affordable housing.

• Partner with local community leaders, community development officials, emergency managers, and other key stakeholders to review applicable state and local housing assessments, like the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Consolidated Plans and Action Plans, which are designed to assess affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions.

• Conduct assessments of affordable housing stock to determine investment strategies to make existing housing more resilient to all hazards.

• Develop a unified, regional housing plan that addresses the needs of disadvantaged communities and other socially vulnerable populations and supports the local community planning goals.

• Develop a unified regional plan for upgrading existing housing stock to be more resilient to climate change and all hazards.

• Develop a regional housing plan that addresses housing instability caused by changes in the climate and includes solutions to increase communities’ climate resilience.

• Design new programs that incentivize and enable investment in resilient and affordable housing.

• Develop a regional resilient housing committee that includes subject matter experts on vulnerable populations to support assessment and planning.

• Identify and address gaps in resilient housing for the disabilities, access, and functional needs community and pet/animal sheltering.

• Conduct trainings with regional partners on topics related to affordable housing and climate resilience.

• Develop a unified regional plan for long-term housing after a catastrophic event that identifies and takes steps to rectify capability gaps related to increasing the number of people able to find and secure affordable and resilient long-term housing after a disaster focusing on populations more impacted by disasters.

• In coordination with local community leaders and other key stakeholders, review existing disaster housing plans and update as needed to ensure compliance with the latest planning and disaster housing guidance (see reference links below) with a focus on the needs of disadvantaged communities.

Planning Resources A wealth of guidance is available on the internet to support preparedness and resilience guidance to inform and aid development of RCPGP applications. Applicants are advised to conduct their own research but should consider reviewing the information available through FEMA’s website and the other websites listed below, which represents a partial listing of publicly available planning resources.

• National Preparedness | FEMA.gov

• Planning Guides | FEMA.gov

• Planning Considerations: Disaster Housing (fema.gov)

• Equity | FEMA.gov

• Recovery and Resilience Resource Library | FEMA.gov

• Roadmap to Federal Resources for Disaster Recovery | FEMA.gov

• Individuals and Communities | FEMA.gov

• Risk Management | FEMA.gov

• Mitigation Best Practices | FEMA.gov

• Hazard Mitigation Planning | FEMA.gov

• Building Science | FEMA.gov

• Tools for Practitioners | FEMA.gov

• Preparedness Toolkit (fema.gov)

• FEMA Case Study Library | FEMA.gov

• PrepTalks | FEMA.gov

• National Low Income Housing Coalition (nlihc.org)

• Disaster Housing Recovery | National Low Income Housing Coalition (nlihc.org)

• Disaster Housing Recovery Federal Resources | National Low Income Housing

Coalition (nlihc.org)

Supplemental Equity Guidance Underserved communities suffer disproportionately from disasters. Disasters compound the challenges faced by these communities and increase their risk to future disasters. By instilling equity as a foundation of emergency management and striving to meet the unique needs of underserved communities, the emergency management community can work to break this cycle of compounding risks and build a more resilient nation.

A disadvantaged community may be characterized by variables including, but not limited to:

low income; high and/or persistent poverty; high unemployment and underemployment;

racial and ethnic segregation, particularly where the segregation stems from discrimination by government entities; linguistic isolation; high housing cost burden and substandard housing; distressed neighborhoods; high transportation cost burden and/or low transportation access; disproportionate environmental stressor burden and high cumulative impacts; limited water and sanitation access and affordability; disproportionate impacts from climate; high energy cost burden and low energy access; jobs lost through the energy transition; access to health care; and all geographic areas within Tribal jurisdictions.

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/plan https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/planning-considerations-disaster-housing.pdf https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/equity https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/recovery-resilience-resource-library https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/roadmap-resource-library https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/individuals-communities https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk/hazard-mitigation-planning/best-practices https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-planning https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/building-science https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/national-resource-hub/personnel-qualifications https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/case-study-library https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/preptalks https://nlihc.org/ https://nlihc.org/explore-issues/projects-campaigns/disaster-housing-recovery https://nlihc.org/explore-issues/projects-campaigns/disaster-housing-recovery/federal-resources https://nlihc.org/explore-issues/projects-campaigns/disaster-housing-recovery/federal-resources

Executive Order (EO) 13985 on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce (January 20, 2021) defines equity as “the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment,” and further defines underserved communities as “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, who have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life…such as Black and African American, Hispanic and Latino, Native American , Alaska Native and Indigenous, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, Middle Eastern, and North African persons. It also includes individuals who belong to communities that face discrimination… (including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons) …” The EO definition of underserved communities also includes members of religious minorities, persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. See Goal 1 - Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management of the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan for additional information on this topic.

The focus on equity and investing in strategies that meet the needs of underserved communities will strengthen the whole of community system of emergency management.

Substantial and ongoing prioritization of, and investment in, underserved communities is essential for the entire system to be effective and efficient. Engaging the whole community requires all members of the community to be part of the emergency management team, including representatives of underserved communities, diverse community members, social and community service groups and institutions, faith-based and disability advocacy groups, academia, professional associations, the private and nonprofit sectors, and government agencies that may not traditionally have been directly involved in emergency management.

The whole community includes children; older adults; individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs; those from religious, racial, and ethnically diverse backgrounds; people with limited English proficiency; and owners of animals including household pets and service animals.

Supplemental Climate Resilience Guidance Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing emergency managers today, and it will continue to shape the field of emergency management for the next several decades. To meet this challenge, the emergency management field needs to anticipate the increasing demands generated by more extreme and frequent disasters, from wildfires and coastal storms to inland flooding. Additionally, emergency managers must learn to manage and support climate-related emergencies such as drought and extreme heat. Natural disasters, worsened by the effects of climate change, often disproportionately affect people in underserved communities where weakened infrastructure, fewer resources, and less support invested in hazard mitigation can compound a disaster’s impact. Therefore, FEMA recommends that climate change and resilience considerations be cornerstones of how the nation builds resilient communities. Emergency managers at the federal, state and local levels need to make targeted efforts to increase resilience, including climate resilience, for underserved individuals and communities.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-in-the-federal-workforce/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-in-the-federal-workforce/ https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan/goal-1 https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan/goal-1

Climate change has both acute and chronic impacts; communities must be resilient against threats as varied as extreme flooding, drought, hurricanes, and wildfires. Many communities are faced with aging infrastructure, which can increase risk from major disasters. As the frequency of these disasters accelerates, the Agency must increase climate adaptation investments across the nation. To have the greatest impact, FEMA encourages smart investments in system-based, community-wide projects to protect those with the most severe and persistent risk: communities can better target investments to the most transformational projects when they better understand the unique risks posed by climate change.

The future disaster environment will not resemble that of the past, or even what is experienced today. To build long-term resilience, communities must understand their future risk and have the resources and capacity to reduce that risk. Even within the same geographic area, different communities will face differing levels of risk due to their unique demographic, economic, and physical characteristics. It is important for the emergency management community to develop capacity to access and interpret accurate information about this localized risk, specifically in light of future conditions. This information will help communities better understand their own risks and identify the most appropriate resilience actions. See Goal 2 - Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience of the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan for additional information on this topic.

11. Performance Measures Communities provide data on their proficiency across 32 core capabilities through the THIRA/SPR, after-action reports, and other preparedness data.

a. Performance Measures I. FEMA will measure the percent change in targeted capability gaps and percent improvement in the Housing, Community Resilience and Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction core capabilities, as reported through the required THIRA/SPR covering the community.

b. Performance Criteria:

I. FEMA will compare the current baseline capability level of the Housing, Community

Resilience and Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction core capabilities against the community’s capability level as reported at the end of the grant. Baseline capability assessments will be taken from the calendar year 2020 THIRA/SPR data; end of the grant performance data will be drawn from the calendar year 2024 THIRA/SPR data.

The specific capability assessments FEMA will use in the RCPGP performance measure analysis include the following:

i. Housing: Within (#) (time) of an incident, (#) people requiring long-term housing, including (#) people with access and functional needs requiring accessible long-term housing, find and secure long-term housing.

ii. Community Resilience: Within (#) (time), (#) households are covered by risk-appropriate insurance, including homeowners, flood, windstorm, and seismic. Every (#) (time), conduct (#) outreach events or activities to increase awareness of locally significant threats and hazards to help the residents be more prepared to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from those events.

https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan/goal-2 https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan https://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment https://www.fema.gov/stakeholder-preparedness-review

iii. Long Term Vulnerability Reduction: Every (#) (time), (#) jurisdictions review their building codes, and, if necessary, enact or update risk-appropriate, disaster resilient building codes.

Note: the applicant will provide the relevant (#)’s and (time)’s based on their current level of capability and desired/target level of capability that will be achieved with RCPGP grant funds.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Available Funding for the NOFO: $12 million

2. Projected Number of Awards: 12-20

3. Maximum Award Amount: $1 million

4. Period of Performance: 36 months

Extensions to the period of performance are allowed. For additional information on period of performance extensions, please refer to Section H of this funding notice.

FEMA awards under most programs, including this program, only include one budget period, so it will be same as the period of performance. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 for definitions of “budget period” and “period of performance.”

5. Projected Period of Performance Start Date(s): October 1, 2022

6. Projected Period of Performance End Date(s): September 30, 2025

7. Funding Instrument Type: Grant

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

The following are eligible applicants for this funding opportunity:

• States as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (this definition includes the District of

Columbia and territories); and

• Local governments as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.1.

The following eligibility restrictions for these groups apply:

• A state or territory is eligible to apply if one or more of the 100 most populous

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) per the Census Bureau’s 2021 Population Estimates (as listed in Appendix A: 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas [2021]) is located within the state or territory. Additionally, the state or territory must obtain the support of the relevant MSA to apply on its behalf. See Section D.10.b Program-Specific Required Forms and Information for additional details on this requirement.

• Local governments must be located within one of the 100 most populous MSAs.

DHS/FEMA will accept no more than one application per MSA.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=8d294ca70f05ffbab8f39000ec33839a&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5&se2.1.200_164 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=8d294ca70f05ffbab8f39000ec33839a&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5&se2.1.200_164 https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/about.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html

The application may be submitted by either:

• The State Administrative Agency (SAA);

• The first principal city, as indicated in Appendix A: 100 Most Populous Metropolitan

Statistical Areas [2021] in bold; or,

• A different local government located within the MSA, only if the application includes a signed letter of support from the office of the chief executive (e.g., mayor or city manager) of the first principal city, as indicated in Appendix A: 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas [2021].

2. Applicant Eligibility Criteria

Applications must conform to the guidance provided in Appendix B: Project Narrative Template of this funding notice. Applicants that do not meet eligibility and application submission requirements will not be evaluated and scored by the review panel.

3. Other Eligibility Criteria

a. National Incident Management System (NIMS) Implementation

Prior to allocation of any federal preparedness awards, recipients must ensure and maintain adoption and implementation of NIMS. The list of objectives used for progress and achievement reporting is on FEMA’s website at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/implementation-training.

Emergency management and incident response activities require carefully managed resources (personnel, teams, facilities, equipment, and/or supplies) to meet incident needs.

Utilization of the standardized resource management concepts such as typing, credentialing, and inventorying, promote a strong national mutual aid capability needed to support delivery of core capabilities. Additional information on resource management, NIMS resource typing definitions, job titles, and position qualifications is on FEMA’s website at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/components.

FEMA developed the National Incident Management System Guideline for the National Qualification System to describe national credentialing standards and to provide written guidance regarding the use of those standards. This guideline describes credentialing and typing processes and identifies tools that Federal Emergency Response Officials and emergency managers at all levels of government may use both routinely and to facilitate multijurisdictional coordinated responses.

Although state (including territorial), local, tribal, and private sector partners (including nongovernmental organizations) are not required to credential their personnel in accordance with these guidelines, FEMA strongly encourages them to do so to leverage the federal investment in the Federal Information Processing Standards 201 infrastructure and to facilitate interoperability for personnel deployed outside their home jurisdiction.

Additional information about NIMS in general is available on FEMA’s website at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims.

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/components https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1523470612203-906948554492c1f2663c9e69eb636401/NIMS_NQS_Guideline_April2018.pdf https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1523470612203-906948554492c1f2663c9e69eb636401/NIMS_NQS_Guideline_April2018.pdf https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims

b. Project Eligibility Requirements

Project submissions must also meet the requirements outlined in Section D.10. Content and Form of Application Submission and Appendix B: Project Narrative Template of this funding notice.

4. Cost Share or Match

There is no mandatory cost share requirement. However, up to four (4) bonus points will be added to applications that commit to a 10% or higher cost share in their budget submission.

The proposed cost share commitment must be indicated as a percentage of the total project cost (federal amount plus cost share amount). Unless otherwise authorized by law, federal funds cannot be matched with other federal funds. Details of the application scoring process can be found in Appendix D: Evaluation Criteria and Scoring.

Applicants may choose to voluntarily commit to include a cost share in their applications pursuant to the terms of Section E and Appendices C and D of this funding notice. A voluntary committed cost share is not a requirement to apply for or receive an award. Any applicant choosing to include a voluntary committed cost share in their application will, however, be required to include that cost share should they receive an award. Applicants that include a voluntary committed cost share will have their proposed cost share included as a binding requirement of any federal award they receive as a term and condition of that award. For example, if an applicant voluntarily offers a 10% cost share in its application that is approved for a federal award by FEMA, that federal award will include a binding 10% cost sharing requirement.

An example of the cost share calculation is provided below for an application requesting a federal award amount of $1,000,000 (federal share), and with a voluntary cost share of 10%.

• Federal Share ($1,000,000) is 90% of the total project cost

• Cost Share would be $111,111 (10% of the total project cost)

• Total Project Cost is $1,111,111 (sum of federal share and cost share)

Calculations:

• Total Project Cost = $1,000,000 (federal share requested or awarded) divided by 0.90 (federal share percentage) = $1,111,111

• Cost Share = $1,111,111 (total project cost) multiplied by 0.10 (cost share percentage) = $111,111

FEMA administers cost-sharing requirements in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.306. To meet cost sharing requirements, a recipient’s contributions must be verifiable, reasonable, allowable, allocable, and necessary under the grant program and must comply with all federal requirements and regulations. The non-federal entity cost share contribution can be cash or third-party in-kind.

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Key Dates and Times https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=704c44d166299caaf11c21004178b425&ty=HTML&h=L&mc=true&n=pt2.1.200&r=PART&se2.1.200_1306

a. Application Start Date:

b. Application Submission Deadline:

June 27, 2022

July 29, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET

All applications must be received by the established deadline.

The Non-Disaster (ND) Grants System has a date stamp that indicates when an application is submitted. Applicants will receive an electronic message confirming receipt of their submission. For additional information on how an applicant will be notified of application receipt, see the subsection titled “Timely Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission” in Section D of this funding notice.

FEMA will not review applications that are received after the deadline or consider these late applications for funding. FEMA may, however, extend the application deadline on request for any applicant who can demonstrate that good cause exists to justify extending the deadline. Good cause for an extension may include technical problems outside of the applicant’s control that prevent submission of the application by the deadline, other exigent or emergency circumstances, or statutory requirements for FEMA to make an award.

Applicants experiencing technical problems outside of their control must notify FEMA as soon as possible and before the application deadline. Failure to timely notify FEMA of the issue that prevented the timely filing of the application may preclude consideration of the award. “Timely notification” of FEMA means prior to the application deadline and within 48 hours after the applicant became aware of the issue.

A list of FEMA contacts can be found in Section G of this funding notice, “DHS Awarding Agency Contact Information.” For additional assistance using the ND Grants System, please contact the ND Grants Service Desk at (800) 865-4076 or NDGrants@fema.dhs.gov. The ND Grants Service Desk is available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.– 6 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

For programmatic or grants management questions, please contact your Preparedness Officer or Grants Specialist. If applicants do not know who to contact or if there are programmatic questions or concerns, please contact the Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk (CSID) by phone at (800) 368-6498 or by e-mail at askcsid@fema.dhs.gov, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.– 5 p.m. ET.

c. Anticipated Funding Selection Date: No later than August 31, 2022

d. Anticipated Award Date: No later than September 30, 2022

e. Other Key Dates:

Event Suggested Deadline for Completion Obtaining Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number Four weeks before actual submission deadline

Obtaining a valid Employer Identification Number (EIN) Four weeks before actual submission deadline mailto:NDGrants@fema.dhs.gov mailto:askcsid@fema.dhs.gov

Creating an account with login.gov Four weeks before actual submission deadline Registering in SAM or Updating SAM registration Four weeks before actual submission deadline

Registering in Grants.gov Four weeks before actual submission deadline Registering in SAM or Updating SAM registration Four weeks before actual submission deadline

Registering in ND Grants Four weeks before actual submission deadline Starting application in Grants.gov One week before actual submission deadline Submitting the final application in ND Grants By the submission deadline

2. Agreeing to Terms and Conditions of the Award

By submitting an application, applicants agree to comply with the requirements of this funding notice and the terms and conditions of the award, should they receive an award.

3. Address to Request Application Package Initial applications are processed through the Grants.gov portal. Final applications are completed and submitted through FEMA’s Non-Disaster Grants (ND Grants) System.

Application forms and instructions are available at Grants.gov. To access these materials, go to http://www.grants.gov.

4. Steps Required to Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier, Register in the System for Award Management (SAM), and Submit an Application Applying for an award under this program is a multi-step process and requires time to complete. Applicants are encouraged to register early as the registration process can take four weeks or more to complete. Therefore, registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact your ability to meet required submission deadlines.

Please review the table above for estimated deadlines to complete each of the steps listed.

Failure of an applicant to comply with any of the required steps before the deadline for submitting an application may disqualify that application from funding.

To apply for an award under this program, all applicants must:

a. Apply for, update, or verify their Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number from SAM.gov and Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service;

b. In the application, provide an UEI number;

c. Have an account with login.gov;

d. Register for, update, or verify their SAM account and ensure the account is active before submitting the application;

e. Create a Grants.gov account;

f. Add a profile to a Grants.gov account;

g. Establish an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) in Grants.gov;

h. Register in ND Grants;

i. Submit an initial application in Grants.gov;

j. Submit the final application in ND Grants, including electronically signing applicable forms; and https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.login.gov/

k. Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency. As part of this, applicants must also provide information on an applicant’s immediate and highest-level owner and subsidiaries, as well as on all predecessors that have been awarded federal contracts or federal financial assistance within the last three years, if applicable.

Specific instructions on how to apply for, update, or verify a UEI number, if applicable, or SAM registration or establish an AOR are included below in the steps for applying through Grants.gov.

Applicants are advised that FEMA may not make a federal award until the applicant has complied with all applicable SAM requirements. Therefore, an applicant’s SAM registration must be active not only at the time of application, but also during the application review period and when FEMA is ready to make a federal award. Further, as noted above, an applicant’s or recipient’s SAM registration must remain active for the duration of an active federal award. If an applicant’s SAM registration is expired at the time of application, expires during application review, or expires any other time before award, FEMA may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a federal award to another applicant.

Per 2 C.F.R. § 25.110(c)(2)(iii), if an applicant is experiencing exigent circumstances that prevents it from receiving a UEI number, if applicable, and completing SAM registration prior to receiving a federal award, the applicant must notify FEMA as soon as possible by contacting askcsid@fema.dhs.gov and providing the details of the circumstances that prevent completion of these requirements. If FEMA determines that there are exigent circumstances and FEMA has decided to make an award, the applicant will be required to obtain a UEI number, if applicable, and complete SAM registration within 30 days of the federal award date.

5. Electronic Delivery

DHS is participating in the Grants.gov initiative to provide the grant community with a single site to find and apply for grant funding opportunities. DHS encourages or requires applicants to submit their applications online through Grants.gov, depending on the funding opportunity.

For this funding opportunity, FEMA requires applicants to submit initial applications through Grants.gov and a final application through ND Grants.

6. How to Register to Apply through Grants.gov

a. General Instructions:

Registering and applying for an award under this program is a multi-step process and requires time to complete. Read the instructions below about registering to apply for FEMA funds. Applicants should read the registration instructions carefully and prepare the information requested before beginning the registration process. Reviewing and assembling the required information before beginning the registration process will alleviate last-minute searches for required information.

mailto:askcsid@fema.dhs.gov

The registration process can take up to four weeks to complete. To ensure an application meets the deadline, applicants are advised to start the required steps well in advance of their submission.

Organizations must have a UEI number, an EIN, an active System for Award Management (SAM) registration and Grants.gov account to apply for grants.

Organizations must also have a Grants.gov account to apply for an award under this program.

Creating a…