Integration of Resiliency Prioritization Criteria at DHSEM
The Takeaways
When integrating resiliency prioritization criteria, tailor your approach to existing processes: DHSEM was able to incorporate the resiliency criteria into their scoring process once FEMA had reviewed and approved their approach.
Focus on benefits to the applicants and communities.
Be ready to answer questions: develop and distribute a Q & A as well to help guide stakeholders through changes in the application process.
The Case Study
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) has started to integrate the resiliency prioritization criteria defined in the Colorado Resiliency Framework into their project scoring process. DHSEM laid the groundwork for this process by including the resiliency prioritization criteria and defining their approach to integrating the criteria into the division’s review of grant applications in the State Hazard Mitigation Plan when the plan was updated between 2017 and 2018. DHSEM’s approach to prioritizing projects based on the resiliency criteria was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2018. Using the resiliency criteria will give DHSEM a more objective scoring methodology and that will make it easier to score projects and for applicants to understand why their project received the score that it did.
DHSEM used the resiliency criteria to prioritize proposed grant projects for the first time during the 2019 grant cycle. The division did not have time to provide the scoring criteria to applicants in advance, so one challenge was that applicants were not able to consider these criteria in their applications. To help reviewers, DHSEM provided example project applications and scores that showed how an application that was not prepared with the criteria in mind might be scored. After the scoring was completed, DHSEM sent their project list, which was prioritized in part using the resiliency criteria, to FEMA. FEMA may fund projects based on DHSEM’s scoring or according to their own scoring criteria.