National Exercise Program Overview February 12, 2013

National Exercise Program The National Exercise Program (NEP) is the premier national all- hazards emergency preparedness mechanism used to measure the readiness of the United States based on national risk priorities and the involvement of the entire homeland security enterprise

National Exercise Program (Continued) The NEP: Functions as an essential component of national preparedness to validate plans, test operational capabilities, and maintain senior leadership effectiveness across the Whole Community Fosters interaction of public officials at every level while encouraging integration of private sector, faith-based, and non- governmental organizations with the public sector to enhance emergency preparedness Benefits the entire homeland security enterprise by providing a national mechanism to assess preparedness and resiliency against a set of common objectives and core capabilities

Background NEP was revised per U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretarial guidance and to align with National Preparedness System Focused on identifying trends in core capability performance nationwide through a wide range of exercises NEP Base Plan: March 2011 PPD-8, National Preparedness: March 30, 2011 NEP Implementation Plan: June 2012 Principals’ Objectives issued October 9, 2012 Initial Solicitation and Nomination: Federal-level NEP exercises: October 2012-January 2013 Whole Community-level NEP exercises: October 2012-Feb 2013

Key Concepts Timeframe: Progressive two-year cycles beginning January 2013 Scope: Using a collaborative, Whole Community approach, the NEP includes local, state, and regional exercises, senior official exercises, the National Level Exercise (NLE), and various other initiatives. The NEP is designed to leverage exercises that are already planned or in- progress throughout the homeland security enterprise Objectives-driven: Organized to support a set of Principal Objectives as determined by senior leadership at the national level. Each NEP cycle is driven by a common set of Principal Objectives and core capabilities that reflect national-level strategic priorities and risk assessments

Key Concepts (Continued) Exercise types: The NEP involves all types of exercises (i.e., drill, tabletop, functional, and full scale) coordinated throughout the Whole Community Evaluation: The NEP includes regular evaluation efforts based on the Principals’ Objectives and supporting core capabilities

NEP Changes Previous NEP Revised NEP Federally focused: Emphasis primarily on exercising senior Federal officials, with limited Whole Community involvement Whole Community: Emphasizes the incorporation of exercises at all levels of government and the Whole Community Scenario-based: Exercises built on specific scenarios, typically selected in reaction to recent incidents and threats Objectives-based: Exercises test objectives based on core capabilities, as outlined in PPD-8 and the National Preparedness Goal Lacked coordinated evaluation: National exercise evaluation efforts were generally uncoordinated resulting in limited points of performance National-level evaluation: Examines cross-section of exercises to determine national-level performance against the Principals’ Objectives and core capabilities Annual National-Level Exercise (NLE): Annual, scenario-based NLE independent from other exercise programs and activities Biennial Capstone Exercise: Complex, large-scale Biennial Capstone is the culmination of the preceding two years of NEP exercises

NEP Governance and Implementation The NEP governance process is designed to ensure the strategic priorities of the Nation’s leadership shape the program, while maintaining the responsibility and intent of exercise sponsors FEMA’s National Exercise Division (NED) facilitates the overall management and implementation of the NEP The Homeland Security Council (HSC) Policy Committees provide policy direction and interagency coordination for the NEP and include: HSC Principals and Deputies Committee Domestic Resilience Group (DRG) and the Exercise and Evaluation sub- Interagency Policy Committee (E&E sub-IPC) The Exercise Implementation Committee (EIC) serves as the main interagency body charged with coordinating the day-to-day decisions needed to execute the NEP

NEP Governance and Implementation (Continued) Exercise-Specific Working Groups (ESWG): Drawn from existing exercise planning teams and may include EIC representation Organizational and Jurisdictional Exercise Programs: Existing exercise programs across the whole community are leveraged to implement the NEP and coordinate support efforts as appropriate DHS has established an Exercise Coordination Group to implement NEP requirements and related priorities of DHS leadership Other organizations use a similar model FEMA Exercise Branch and Regional Exercise Programs State and local Exercise Programs

NEP Objectives The NEP uses an objectives-based, capabilities-driven planning approach in which overarching common objectives serve as the basis of exercise program implementation and the primary drivers of exercise development The NEP uses three levels of objectives: Principals’ Objectives: Critical, high-level functions, mission, and strategic priorities General Objectives: Directly supporting the Principals’ Objectives; reflective of operational priorities Exercise-Specific Objectives: Focused on specific capabilities, plans, and procedures High-level, areas of broad concern Individual, more explicit issues

NEP 2013-2014 Principals’ Objectives Intelligence and Information Sharing. Exchange intelligence, information, data, or knowledge to enable timely and informed decision-making prior to, and during an incident that threatens the security of the Nation Public Information and Warning. Identify threats and hazards and share prompt, reliable, and actionable risk information with the public, including actions to be taken and assistance made available during the onset of any hazard that threatens the security of the Nation

NEP 2013-2014 Principals’ Objectives (Continued) Operational Coordination. Establish and maintain a unified and coordinated operational structure and process, capable of identifying, prioritizing, and delivering resources across all hazards and lead-Federal agency authorities, including catastrophic incidents where a Stafford Act declaration is not likely and domestic response to foreign nations overwhelmed by disaster Recovery. Establish and maintain plans, authorities, responsibilities, and coordination capabilities that support the recovery of local communities affected by catastrophic disasters

Objectives Relationship Example (Recovery) General Objective Examine the ability of senior government officials to establish and promulgate initial recovery priorities and allocate critical resources to impacted communities in accordance with the National Response Framework and the National Disaster Recovery Framework. Principals’ Objective Establish and maintain plans, authorities, responsibilities, and coordination capabilities that support the recovery of local communities affected by catastrophic disasters. Exercise-Specific Objective Demonstrate long-term recovery strategies following an incident at a nuclear power plant involving the widespread release of radiological material, to include the capability to protect the safety and health of response and recovery workers and to facilitate the return of workers to safe and healthy workplaces.

NEP Evaluation Rolling Summary Report Includes issues, trends, and key lessons learned from the ongoing NEP implementation Informs senior officials of the progress of the NEP Provides data to support national preparedness; contributes to the National Preparedness Report Enables the exercise planning community to adjust objectives, schedule, and other actions needed to continue implementing the NEP

NEP Evaluation (Continued) End-of-Cycle Report Reflects an overall summary of the two-year NEP cycle NED will work with exercise sponsors to identify processes for gathering and analyzing evaluation data related to the Principals’ Objectives and relevant core capabilities Focus is on gathering and reporting trends regarding objectives and capabilities, not the performance of individual organizations

Impact on Organizations The NEP is intended to leveraging exercise activities from across the country that align to the Principal Objectives and supporting core capabilities. Exercise planning: The NEP is intended to maximize utility of exercises with minimal disruption to on-going planning efforts. Exercise objectives and intent: Sponsoring organizations’ or jurisdictions’ exercise objectives and overall intent are intended to remain unchanged to support the NEP Resources: The NEP is intended to maximize available resources, organizational commitments, and contributions to national preparedness while minimizing the administrative burden on exercise sponsors. Supporting the NEP can also provide exercise support services as available and appropriate to assist in exercise design, conduct, and evaluation.

Exercise Selection and Participation Identification of exercises for inclusion in the NEP will be a continuous, rolling process throughout the two-year cycle Criteria for inclusion in the NEP include: Inclusion in the National Exercise Schedule (NEXS) System Alignment to Principals’ Objectives Geographic and jurisdictional diversity (more than one location, participating organization, and/or A Whole Community Selection Conference was held to review nominated exercises and determine an initial slate of NEP Exercises, the FEMA Administrator approves

NEP Participation Requirements Alignment to NEP Principals’ Objectives: NEP exercises should support one or more of the NEP Principals’ Objectives Coordinated Planning: All NEP exercises follow a standard and transparent exercise planning process, primarily coordinated by the established exercise-specific working group, and utilizing the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program Resource and participation expectations: NED and the exercise sponsor(s) will coordinate to confirm expectations regarding exercise resource requirements and exercise participation Exercise evaluation information: NED will collect evaluation data related to the Principals’ Objectives and core capabilities from each NEP exercise in order to identify trends and inform the Rolling Summary Report and End-of-Cycle Report

Training Integration The NEP promotes the opportunity to incorporate training throughout the two- year cycle. Previous National Level Exercises have included a Training Working Group and the development of a Training Catalog respectively to those particular NLE topics/hazards. Training and Exercise Planning Workshops: regular events conducted within exercise program management cycles (at all levels of government and within organizations) Leveraging various training programs and initiatives to support exercises to include the National Training and Education System

How Does the NEP Impact My Organization? Exercise Planning: Organizations’ or jurisdictions’ planned program priorities and exercise objectives remain unchanged NED will identify planned or in-development exercises that already align to the Principals’ Objectives and work with sponsors to incorporate them into the NEP Resources: NED will minimize any administrative burden and offer exercise support services (e.g., design & control, evaluation, modeling & simulation) to assist organizations with incorporating their exercise(s) as needed Provides opportunity to expand exercise scope and fosters collaboration among Federal and Whole Community stakeholders

How Does the NEP Impact My Organization? (Continued) Evaluation: NED will work with exercise sponsors to identify processes for gathering and analyzing evaluation data related to the Principals’ Objectives Focus is on gathering and reporting trends regarding objectives and capabilities, not the performance of individual organizations

How Can My Organization Engage in the NEP? Exercise nominations: Organizations can nominate their exercises for inclusion in a given NEP cycle through two primary ways: Coordinate within your organization to complete a nomination form and submit to NED Coordinate with the Regional Exercise Officers (REOs) on the development and submission of the nomination form Self-nominate: Complete a nomination form and submit it directly to NED All nominations should be sent to NEP@fema.dhs.gov

How Can My Organization Engage in the NEP? (Continued) General Objectives nominations: Organizations can nominate general objectives for inclusion in the NEP In-cycle coordination: NED will work closely with exercise program stakeholders to periodically assess the NEP cycle and the collective effort of achieving the NEP Principals’ Objectives and enhancing related core capabilities

Schedule and Milestones Quarterly reviews and solicitation of general objectives and exercises in support of the NEP NEP selection meetings to review nominated exercises for CY2013 NEP cycle Next round of selection meetings will be conducted in March 2013

Contact Information NEP@fema.dhs.gov