The Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8) describes the Nation's approach to national preparedness.

The National Preparedness Goal (NPG) is the cornerstone for the implementation of PPD-8. The Nation's core capabilities are identified across five mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery. The NPG identifies the desired achievements and the goals that have been set.  Mission areas and core capabilities will be covered in depth later in this lesson.

The National Preparedness System (NPS) is the mechanism the Nation uses to build, sustain, and deliver the core capabilities to meet the NPG and meet the goal of a secure and resilient Nation. The NPS helps define, the process communities can use to reach identified preparedness goals. The NPS includes a series of five national planning frameworks, one for each mission area. Each framework provides the following guidance:

• Clarification and assignment of roles and responsibilities
• Core capabilities for the specific mission area
• Critical tasks for each of the core capabilities
• Direction for delivering the core capabilities