D.1. Capability- and Capacity-Building

The following assistance strategies can be used to develop mitigation activities. For a complete description of eligibility criteria for each of these categories, refer to Part 11.

Natural hazard mitigation planning consists of the process used by state, local and tribal governments to engage stakeholders, identify hazards and vulnerabilities, develop a long-term strategy to reduce risk and future losses, and implement the plan, taking advantage of a wide range of resources. New plan creation and plan update activities must result in a mitigation plan adopted by the jurisdiction(s) and approved by FEMA. New plan creation and plan updates are eligible under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire, BRIC and FMA.

To strengthen hazard mitigation across the country, FEMA supports a variety of planning-related activities under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire and BRIC. This assistance provides flexibility to state, local and tribal governments to reduce risk and integrate hazard mitigation principles into planning for resilience.

Project scoping/advance assistance refers to the same set of activities that enable applicants and subapplicants to develop mitigation strategies and obtain data to prioritize, select and develop complete applications in a timely manner.

Financial technical assistance awards are only available under FMA and are meant to allow applicants to maintain a viable FMA program over time.^[97] Eligible activities include program promotion, site visits, application development and review, planning and grants management workshops and staff assistance.

Non-financial technical assistance is available under BRIC to allow communities to support mitigation outcomes to improve resilience to natural hazards, sustain successful mitigation programs, submit high-quality applications and implement innovative activities to reduce risk.^[98] Through non-financial Direct Technical Assistance, FEMA will provide support for both activity-specific needs and community-wide resilience needs. Refer to the applicable Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for more information.

Community resilience cannot be achieved without leveraging a broad network of partners that include (but are not limited to) all levels of government, the private sector, private nonprofits, and educational institutions. These partners are key to driving investments in mitigation projects, building capability through training and technical assistance, planning for increased resilience, promoting mitigation activities, and sharing information to promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared nation.

To ensure applicants and subapplicants can build partnerships to support their mitigation efforts, partnership activities may be eligible under BRIC and FMA. For more information, refer to Part 11 and the applicable BRIC and FMA NOFOs.

Partnership activities are not eligible under HMGP.

FEMA will fund the development, adoption, evaluation, enhancement and enforcement of building codes and standards through HMA. Assistance for building code-related activities is available through the HMGP, HMGP Post Fire and BRIC programs. Eligible activities under these three programs are generally the same; program-specific restrictions are detailed in Part 11.