Effective incident management consists of four overarching areas of responsibility:

1. Direct tactical response to save lives, stabilize the incident, and protect property and the environment
2. Incident support through resource acquisition, information gathering, and interagency coordination
3. Policy guidance and senior level decision making
4. Outreach and communication with the media and public to keep them informed about the incident

These objectives are accomplished through the use of the Incident Command System (ICS), Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), Multi-agency Coordination (MAC) Groups, and the Joint Information System (JIS), respectively.

The Command and Coordination component of NIMS defines these structures and explains how various elements operating at different levels of incident management interface to achieve the maximum effect through a shared understanding.