ESF #15 integrates the Public Affairs, Congressional Affairs, and Intergovernmental Affairs (local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular areas) components of federal departments and agencies with the private sector as External Affairs. ESF #15 affects all federal departments and agencies that may require incident communications and external affairs support or whose external affairs assets may be employed during incidents requiring a coordinated federal response.
ESF #15 coordinates the development and release of accurate, timely, and accessible information and instructions to affected audiences, including the government, media, NGOs, the private sector, and the local populace (including children, those with disabilities, limited mobility, the homeless, individuals with limited English proficiency, etc.). This includes content related to:
- Federal assistance to the incident-affected area
- Federal departmental/agency response
- National preparations
- Protective measures
- Impact on non-affected areas
When ESF #15 is activated at the federal level, External Affairs efforts are coordinated by the DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs or the FEMA Director of External Affairs, and the DHS Public Affairs’ National Joint Information Center (NJIC) serves as the federal incident communications coordination center. The DHS/FEMA External Affairs Ready Room is also activated as needed in incidents when DHS/FEMA is the lead federal agency for coordinating communications.
When the NRT JIC model and ESF #15 are both activated, the two align functions and communications efforts.