Lesson Overview

This lesson provides an overview of current FEMA doctrine. In this lesson, you will learn about the hierarchy of FEMA doctrine and the alignment of doctrine to FEMA’s mission. The lesson also specifically describes several key doctrine publications.

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Identify the purpose of FEMA doctrine.
  • Identify the publications that establish the foundation for FEMA doctrine.
Purpose of Doctrine

Doctrine is a belief, or set of beliefs, held by an organization about the best (or right) way to do things. Doctrine reflects the culture of an organization and staffs’ understanding of how those beliefs relate to their roles and responsibilities.

Doctrine specifically:

Tells us the “why’s” and “what’s” rather than the detailed “how to” steps.
Doctrine guides the formulation of processes and procedures. It establishes a basis for handling unexpected situations or challenges, yet also fosters initiative and creative thinking.
Provides a standard frame of reference for FEMA.
Doctrine explains why the Agency performs its functions. It provides a foundation for standardization throughout the agency and across the Regions. Doctrine is authoritative yet—when applied with judgment—adaptable enough to address diverse situations.
Is based on shared experiences.
Doctrine links theory, experience, innovation, and practice. Doctrine is a guide to action and judgment founded in hard-won experience. It facilitates readiness and increased efficiency and effectiveness by standardizing activities and processes. The real key is the accurate analysis and interpretation of experience. Individuals may look at past experience through different lenses—lenses shaped by a variety of factors; lenses that interpret in very different ways. The results are differing views among functional elements, incident-level teams, and national and/or regional personnel. Therefore, it is important to document and align to a single, agreed-upon doctrine.
Constantly matures and evolves.
Doctrine provides a yardstick—an indicator of success and a tool for analyzing both strengths and weaknesses. If strategic decisions led to success by following doctrine, the experience of success also would add to the experience that feeds the development of doctrine. This brings the strategy and doctrine relationship full circle. Doctrine influences strategy, and the results of strategy become the experiences that are the basis for doctrine.
Is, in summary, the human interoperability factor.
Doctrine facilitates our working together towards a common goal. It also communicates to partners that which is important to FEMA.
Doctrine and Mission

FEMA doctrine is driven by FEMA-s mission:

  •  To support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a Nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.-

As you proceed through this lesson, consider how each level of doctrine aligns with and reinforces this mission.

Capstone
The capstone document, FEMA Publication 1, defines FEMA’s core values, guiding principles, purpose, and ethos. There is only one capstone document for all of FEMA.
Keystone
The keystone document provides the “Why We Do What We Do!” The Incident Management and Support Keystone leads a family of other doctrine that guides implementation of FEMA disaster response operations.
Manuals

Operational manuals describe what FEMA personnel manage and how they support incident operations. Manuals include definitions, descriptions of roles, functions, structure, and concept of operations for those conducting FEMA incident management and support duties.

Manuals are intended to:

  • Provide the high-level rules for operating.
  • Address major, widespread operational issues.

Examples of FEMA manuals include the National Incident Support Manual and Regional Incident Support Manual.

Procedures

Procedural documents describe how—with specific, measurable actions and methods—we implement doctrine or policy.

Procedures are designed to:

  • Be narrowly defined and focused.
  • Address specific issues or processes.

Examples of procedures include the Incident Management Handbook and the FEMA Incident Action Planning Guide.

Capstone: FEMA Publication 1 (Pub 1)

FEMA Publication 1 (Pub 1) serves as FEMA’s capstone doctrine. Pub 1 communicates what FEMA is, what FEMA does, and how FEMA can better accomplish its missions.

Specifically, Pub 1:

  • Describes FEMA’s ethos, which is to “serve the Nation by helping its people and first responders, especially when they are most in need.”
  • Identifies FEMA’s core values of “compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect.”
  • Delineates eight Guiding Principles that provide overarching direction to all FEMA personnel.
Pub 1: Guiding Principles and Core Values

Pub 1 describes FEMA’s eight guiding principles—teamwork, engagement, getting results, preparation, empowerment, flexibility, accountability, and stewardship. These guiding principles all tie back to FEMA’s four core values of compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect.

Select each guiding principle below for more information.

Flexibility
FEMA disaster response personnel are trained, and programs are designed to be flexible and capable of adapting within their original mission, scope, and authority to get the job done. As one member of a larger emergency management effort, FEMA anticipates and is prepared to accommodate substantial changes in goals, courses of action, and operating environments with minimal notice. FEMA is also prepared to adjust quickly as risks and stakeholder needs change. FEMA personnel work in dynamic environments characterized by rapidly changing priorities and ground rules. FEMA employees thrive in this environment, and devise innovative ways to meet new challenges as they arise. This expectation is demonstrated by the employees’ acceptance of FEMA’s conditions of services.
Accountability
Supporting Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial partners often requires FEMA to respond quickly under rapidly changing conditions, and sometimes with limited information. FEMA personnel embrace their responsibilities for meeting the needs of survivors and other customers, and they seek accountability. FEMA employees pride themselves on being able to meet extraordinary needs even in difficult and often austere conditions. FEMA employees accept responsibility for accomplishing their missions, are transparent in their decision making, and expect to be held accountable for the actions they take.
Stewardship
FEMA employees are committed to maximizing the impact of the resources and authorities with which they are entrusted. They routinely reassess FEMA programs, policies, and actions to identify issues, lessons learned, and best practices to ensure that FEMA is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible when addressing present and future challenges. FEMA employees also work closely with their Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial government partners to ensure they are all making the best use of collective resources and authorities.
Teamwork
Emergency management is an inherently collaborative activity. FEMA must lead the way in the area of teamwork. FEMA employees embrace the National Incident Management System/Incident Command Systems concept of unified command. FEMA employees also pride themselves on developing and supporting joint priorities and objectives while working together with the widest possible assortment of partners. Teamwork is important in the response and recovery phase of any hazard and at every FEMA echelon—incident, regional, and national. But teamwork is especially important in the response to large-scale disasters. It is only through teamwork that FEMA can hope to accomplish its primary goal of supporting State, local, tribal, and territorial government partners and successfully bringing the resources and capabilities of the Federal team to fruition.
Engagement
Engaging the broadest range of partners complements and enhances teamwork. By reaching out to DHS components; other Federal departments and agencies; State, local, tribal, and territorial governments; the private sector; and nongovernmental organizations, FEMA tries to engage the entire emergency management community. FEMA collaborates with stakeholders, including disaster survivors, continuously and at all levels, believing that informed citizens make better choices for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Getting Results
Getting results means identifying what must be achieved. And, this must be articulated in terms of outcomes rather than processes. Understanding as clearly as possible what FEMA is trying to achieve improves the likelihood that FEMA personnel will make the best decisions under extreme pressure inherent in large-scale disaster operations. Focusing on outcomes also helps FEMA employees understand the circumstances and identify and implement the best courses of action.
Preparation
Preparation is the key to getting desired results. FEMA’s plans must account for all elements of the population and focus on integrating the access and functional needs of all community members rather than the average community member. The plans must also be readily adaptable to the situation at hand, which will rarely be the exact scenario for which FEMA planned. Finally, FEMA’s plans must prepare the agency to acquire and apply whatever capabilities are needed to achieve the desired outcomes.
Empowerment
FEMA employees must be empowered to take actions expeditiously to achieve desired outcomes. Empowerment starts at the top. Senior management must trust team members and authorize them to make decisions and meet the needs of a situation without having to request permission from superiors. This guiding principle reflects the understanding that every FEMA employee plays an important role in the execution of its mission.
Keystone: Incident Management and Support Keystone (IMSK)

The Incident Management and Support Keystone (IMSK) establishes broader doctrine that applies primarily to the FEMA Response and Recovery mission. It is the primary document from which all other FEMA disaster response directives and policies are derived.

The IMSK leads a family of other document guidance that supports the implementation of FEMA disaster response operations. Specifically, the IMSK:

  • Standardizes FEMA procedures to more effectively integrate at all levels of government and across the country.
  • Institutionalizes best practices—it uses principles initially established in wildfire management processes and widely adopted in the fire service throughout the country.
  • Serves to guide planning, training, equipping, and staffing processes to bring all levels of emergency response across all disciplines to a common management process.
  • Differentiates between incident support and incident management, which are addressed in greater detail later in this lesson.
IMSK and the National Response Framework (NRF)

In Lesson 1, you learned about the NRF as one of the five National Planning Frameworks. The NRF is a guide to how the Nation responds to all types of disasters and emergencies. It describes specific authorities and best practices for managing all kinds of incidents.

The NRF is national-level doctrine, applicable to all Federal agencies including FEMA. FEMA’s IMSK is the link between this national-level doctrine and FEMA-specific doctrine. The IMSK aligns with NRF guiding principles and translates those principles into guidance for FEMA.

The NRF’s guiding principles establish the foundation for the response mission:

Engaged Partnership
Effective partnership relies on engaging all elements of the whole community, as well as international partners in some cases. This also includes survivors who may require assistance and who may also be resources to support community response and recovery. Those who lead emergency response efforts must communicate and support engagement with the whole community by developing shared goals and aligning capabilities to reduce the risk of any jurisdiction being overwhelmed in times of crisis. Layered, mutually supporting capabilities of individuals, communities, the private sector, NGOs, and governments at all levels allow for coordinated planning of calm and effective responses in times of crisis. Engaged partnership and coalition building includes ongoing clear, consistent, effective, and culturally appropriate communication and shared situational awareness about an incident to ensure an appropriate response.
Tiered Response
Most incidents begin and end locally and are managed at the local level. These incidents typically require a unified response from local agencies, the private sector, and NGOs. Some may require additional support from neighboring jurisdictions or State governments. A smaller number of incidents require Federal support or are led by the Federal Government. National response protocols are structured to provide tiered levels of support when additional resources or capabilities are needed.
Scalable, Flexible, and Adaptable Operational Capabilities
As incidents change in size, scope, and complexity, response efforts must adapt to meet evolving requirements. The number, type, and sources of resources must be able to expand rapidly to meet the changing needs associated with a given incident and its cascading effects. As needs grow and change, response processes must remain nimble and adaptable. The structures and processes described in the NRF must be able to surge resources from the whole community. As incidents stabilize, response efforts must be flexible to support the transition from response to recovery.
Unity of Effort through Unified Command
Effective, unified command is indispensable to response activities and requires a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all participating organizations. The Incident Command System (ICS), a component of NIMS, is an important element in ensuring interoperability across multijurisdictional or multiagency incident management activities. Unified command, a central tenet of ICS, enables organizations with jurisdictional authority or functional responsibility for an incident to support each other through the use of mutually developed incident objectives. Each participating agency maintains its own authority, responsibility, and accountability.
Readiness to Act
Effective response requires a readiness to act that is balanced with an understanding of the risks and hazards responders face. From individuals, families, and communities to local, State, tribal, territorial area, and Federal governments, national response depends on the ability to act decisively. A forward-leaning posture is imperative for incidents that may expand rapidly in size, scope, or complexity, as well as incidents that occur without warning. Decisive action is often required to save lives and protect property and the environment. Although some risk to responders may be unavoidable, all response personnel are responsible for anticipating and managing risk through proper planning, organizing, equipping, training, and exercising. Effective response relies on disciplined processes, procedures, and systems to communicate timely, accurate, and accessible information about an incident’s cause, size, and current status to the public, responders, and other stakeholders.
Incident Support and Incident Management

Incident Support is the coordination of all Federal resources that support emergency response, recovery, logistics, and mitigation-activities that occur at the NRCC or RRCC by either the National Response Coordination Staff (NRCS) or the Regional Response Coordination Staff (RRCS). Responsibilities include the deployment of national-level assets, support of national objectives and programs affected during the disaster, and support of incident operations with resources, expertise, information, and guidance.

Incident Management is the incident-level operation of the Federal role in emergency response, recovery, logistics, and mitigation-the activities that occur at the IOF or JFO. The IOF or JFO is staffed by an Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT). Responsibilities in incident management include the direct control and employment of resources, management of incident offices, operations, and delivery of Federal assistance through all phases of emergency response.

Doctrine Hierarchy: Manuals

The third level of the FEMA doctrine hierarchy is manuals—such as the National Incident Support Manual (NISM) and the Regional Incident Support Manual (RISM).

As you learned earlier in this lesson, operational manuals describe what FEMA personnel manage and support. They include definitions, descriptions of roles, functions, structure, and concept of operations for those conducting FEMA incident management and support duties. Manuals are intended to:

  • Provide the high-level rules for operating.
  • Address major, widespread operational issues.
National Incident Support Manual (NISM)

The NISM describes how FEMA NRCS at the NRCC supports FEMA incident operations. It includes definitions and descriptions of roles and responsibilities, functions, and organizational structures for those conducting FEMA incident support duties.

The NISM forms the basis from which FEMA personnel plan and execute their assigned missions. It also serves as the basis for developing related guidance (procedures, handbooks, incident guides, training materials, etc.).

Finally, it also discusses how NRCS procedures are relevant to all personnel (FEMA, other Federal agencies (OFAs), NGOs, and the private sector) who are either assigned to, or coordinating with, the NRCS.

Regional Incident Support Manual (RISM)

The FEMA RISM describes the organization, functions, and underlying doctrine of incident support activities at the regional level. It explains how the RRCS supports incident operations and discusses steady State activities pertinent to incident operations. Like the NISM, the RISM serves as the basis for developing guidance, including procedures, handbooks, incident guides, and training materials for FEMA incident support personnel. It is also intended to inform FEMA-s partners regarding guidelines and requirements for incident support operations.

Doctrine Hierarchy: Procedures

The fourth and final level of FEMA’s doctrine hierarchy is procedures. Procedural documents describe how—with specific, measurable actions and methods—FEMA implements doctrine or policy. Procedures are intended to:

  • Be narrowly defined and focused.
  • Address specific issues or processes.

Examples of FEMA procedural documents include:

Incident Management Handbook (IMH)

The Incident Management Handbook (IMH) is designed to assist emergency management personnel in the use of ICS during all hazards response operations and planned events. The document:

  • Clarifies FEMA’s field operating structure.
  • Outlines how FEMA utilizes the characteristics of the ICS to interact with States, territories, tribes, and NRF agencies and partners under disasters and emergencies.
FEMA Incident Action Planning Guide (IAP Guide)

The Incident Action Planning Guide (IAP Guide) explains how to plan and execute operations during any incident. This document, based on the IMH:

  • Explains the ICS incident action planning process.
  • Describes how to use it during FEMA incidents.
  • Defines the specific roles and responsibilities of the various participants.
  • Establishes standards for incident action planning during FEMA incidents.

Accurate, consistent, and complete application of this guide is essential to successful incident operations.

FEMA Response Levels

So far in this lesson, you have learned how FEMA differentiates between incident support and incident management, and how different components of FEMA doctrine apply to the incident, regional, and national levels. Through learning about the doctrine, you have also been introduced to the different response levels, facilities, and staff at those facilities. Now, let’s examine the different systems applied at those levels and facilities.

  • At the incident level, the IOF or JFO is staffed by an IMAT. Incident-level operations apply ICS.
  • At the regional and national levels, the NRCC and RRCCs are staffed by the NRCS or the RRCS. These facilities apply a Multiagency Coordination System (MACS). You will learn more about MACS on the next page.
Multiagency Coordination System (MACS) (1 of 2)

The MACS is a process that allows all levels of government and all disciplines to work together more efficiently and effectively. It occurs across the different disciplines involved in incident management, across jurisdictional lines, or across levels of government.

MACS coordinates activities above the incident-level and prioritizes incident demands for critical or competing resources, thereby assisting the coordination of the operations in the field. MACS integrates several elements into a common system including personnel (e.g., NRCS), procedures, protocols, facilities (e.g., NRCC), business practices, and communications.

Multiagency Coordination System (MACS) (2 of 2)

The MACS provides the following:

  • Planning and coordinating resources and other support for planned, notice, or no-notice events.
  • Defined business practices, standard operating procedures, processes, and protocols by which participating agencies will coordinate their interactions.
  • Dispatch procedures and protocols, command structure, and the coordination and support activities.
  • Support, coordination, and assistance with policy-level decisions to the incident-level operations.

A fully implemented MACS is critical for seamless multiagency coordination activities and essential to the success and safety of the response whenever more than one jurisdictional agency responds

Lesson Summary

Let’s summarize what you have learned in this lesson:

  • Doctrine is a belief, or set of beliefs, held by an organization about the best way to do things. FEMA's doctrine is driven by the organization's mission.
  • FEMA doctrine hierarchy includes (in order or higher hierarchy) Capstone, Keystone, Operational Manuals, and Procedures.
  • Key FEMA doctrine includes the Pub 1, IMSK, NISM, RISM, IAP Guide, and IMH.
  • Incident support refers to regional and national level operations and applies a MACS.
  • Incident management refers to incident level operations and applies the ICS.

Now that you’ve learned about FEMA doctrine, you will learn more about FEMA incident support in the next lesson.