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EDMG 498 Assignments, Revised April 2020

Course Project Part A- Week One

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE PROJECT

Overview:   As an emergency manager, one of your major duties will be to research and apply for grant monies in order to fund various tasks and initiatives to protect your community.   This course project acts as a final examination as well as a learning experience.  It is an opportunity for you to actually perform a (much) reduced series of tasks that are often part of the duties of an emergency manager, that is, risk and threat assessments and preparation of grant documents.  Your project is broken into five parts.  These are based around the application for a grant for improving your EOC (Emergency Operations Center) from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).  I am your FEMA contact on this, and I only have grades to give out, no money.  I will comment and review (grade) your submissions.

You are writing a grant proposal for the FEMA FY 2009 Emergency Operations Center Grant Program as found in the Fiscal Year 2009 Emergency Operations Center Guidance and Application Kit at .

          This is an individual assignment and you have been tasked with submitting this with no assistance.  I may amend that methodology slightly as the course progresses. 

DO NOT interview human sources as part of your research.

The majority of the Course Project has been divided into four component parts, Parts “A” through “D”, which you will be assigned during Weeks 1,2,3, and 5, respectively.  Your Course Project Final Submission, due Week 8, will be a cumulative document containing Parts A through D, revised as warranted in light of Instructor feedback and your further reflection, plus two other sections to be assigned later in the course.  You may think that eight weeks is not enough time for something like this but often federal grants open and close in an even shorter period of time.  I am providing a submission document for your use in the course documents that is highly simplified from the normal federal documents. 

     Read this carefully:  You will select a locality to use as the subject of your grant application.  Your community should be a political subdivision such as a county, parish, or large city.  The locality should be an entity appropriate as an applicant for a federal grant for the funding of an Emergency Operations Center.  Your community should be large and complex enough to afford you the opportunity to fully develop the various components included in the EOC Grant Outline which we will use in this course.   As an example, your community should be sufficient to allow for a meaningful and robust discussion of its vulnerable critical infrastructure features in Part D.  

Use the “Course Project EOC Grant Outline” as the format of your various “Course Project Part” Assignments, and your “Course Project Final Submission”.  Use the bolded and underlined headings and sub-headings contained in the outline (e.g., "Community Description", “Complete Description of Location and Boundaries”, etc.).  I would prefer you omit re-typing out the non-bolded descriptive instructions of each caption, e.g., "List the community's name and state (Your community will be…”, but you may include them if you wish.  DO NOT include or format an APA-compliant title page or abstract; just use the format of the template.

You may, and are certainly encouraged to, include figures and tables to supplement and accompany your narratives. Figures and tables supplement your narrative, they do not replace narrative. Be sure to make reference to your figures and tables, explain the pertinent points illustrated by your figures and tables, and properly caption your figures and tables. Consult APA Style guidance in formatting and captioning your figures and tables.

Cite all sources properly, in accordance with (IAW) APA Style, even though that may not be the way you would cite or footnote in a federal grant application.  Format in-text citations properly; include page numbers for direct quotes.  See APA guidelines if you need guidance or assistance.

Include a References section, IAW APA Style, started on a separate page at the end of your paper, containing properly formatted sources.  If you cite a source in your paper, ensure there is a corresponding source listed in the References section.  For all sources listed in the References section, ensure there is at least one in-text citation citing it.

Ensure each page is numbered.     

Your Course Project Final Submission, due Week 8, should be a cumulative document containing Parts A through D, edited as warranted based upon the Instructor’s comments and your further reflection, plus the two additional sections assigned later in the course.  Your Course Project Final Submission should be a single, integrated paper. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT: PART A REQUIREMENT

When applying for most Federal and State programs and grants you are required to submit a great deal of detailed information on your community.  Much of this is developed from the community’s threat assessment and identification of critical infrastructures and key resources.  This assignment will start the research necessary for your final assignment.  For this part you are to develop the following information concerning the Community Description of your selected community:

· Name of Locality: List the community’s name and state (your community should be a political subdivision such as a county, parish, or large city.

· Complete Description of Location and Boundaries: Completely describe the location and boundaries of your community. Make these as clear as possible and identifiable on a map.

· Map, or maps, of your community, showing its boundaries.  Your map(s) may also show any other perspectives or features you select. Caption your map(s) properly.

· Main Community Mission: Why does that community exist?  What is its raison d'etre? (Detail the reason for being a community, e.g., Manufacturing, Agriculture, Tourism, Services, ‘Bedroom Community’ for a nearby metropolis, Higher Education, etc.).

· Secondary Community Mission(s) (Detail the secondary reason(s) also).

Use the format, headings, and sub-headings of the "Course Project EOC Grant Outline", located in the "EDMG 498 Materials and Documents" folder of your Resources course tool, as the format for your paper.

Submit Part A as a Word attachment below.

The Grading Rubric is attached.

Supporting Materials

· (18 KB)

Course Project Part B- Week Two

Assignment Instructions

Week 2 Assignment: Part B Requirement

For this part you are to develop the following information concerning the Community Topography, Climate, Population, and Demographics of your community:  This assignment will continue the research necessary for your final assignment.  Much of this is developed from the community’s threat assessment and identification of critical infrastructures and key resources.  When applying for most Federal and State programs and grants you are required to submit a great deal of detailed information on your community.

    Climate and Weather Conditions: What is the climate and weather found in your community? What serious climate or weather conditions which may present hazards?

    Community Topography: Describe the Topography of your community. Include anything that might be a particular hazard.

    Populations and Demographics: What is the population, and what are the demographics of that population, in your community? Consider the demographic attributes which are of concern to emergency managers.

    Population at Risk/ Vulnerable Populations: What groups are at risk from, or vulnerable to, hazards, threats, or threat groups in your community? Why or how are these groups at risk? Think "all-hazards" when contemplating threats.

Use the format, headings, and sub-headings of the "Course Project EOC Grant Outline",

located in the Week #1 Assignment for the format for your paper.

Submit Part B as a Word attachment below.

The Grading Rubric is attached.

Supporting Materials

· (18 KB)

Course Project Part C – Week Three

Assignment Instructions

Week 3 Assignment: Part C Requirement

When applying for most Federal and State programs and grants you are required to submit a great deal of detailed information on your community.  Much of this is developed from the community’s threat assessment and identification of critical infrastructures and key resources.  This assignment will continue your research.

For this part you are to develop the following information concerning the Community Threats and Threat Groups of your community:

    Hazards, Threats, Risks, and Threat Groups:  What are the hazards, threats or threat groups which you see as potential problems for your community? Use an all-hazards approach.

    Targets/Vulnerable Populations:  What are the groups or population segments that these hazards and threats might target or harm?  Again, use an all-hazards approach.

     Use the format, headings, and sub-headings of the "Course Project EOC Grant Outline", located in the Week #1 Assignment as the format for your paper.

Submit Part C as a Word attachment below.

The Grading Rubric is attached.

Supporting Materials

· (18 KB)

Essay One- Week Four

Assignment Instructions

Essay One: From the perspective of being your county's/ parish’s Emergency Manager, write a clear, well thought-out, and APA-compliant essay on the following problem:

Your County Manager* has just gone to a federally sponsored program on getting volunteers to support the management and administrative side of disaster and recovery portions of emergency management. The Manager attended a seminar on a program called 'Professional Volunteer Disaster Survey Team (PRO-V-DST)' which had been developed in Texas in the mid-1990's. Your County Manager was quite enthusiastic about the program as it provides a network of professional building inspectors, structural engineers, and architects who form damage survey teams that could be used by State and local governments in need of help surveying damage and evaluating structures following a disaster. In assessing post disaster flood damage to structures in one county, PRO-V-DST impressed the county engineer of that county, who had been overwhelmed by the number of structures requiring a determination of substantial damage, by completing its evaluation in just two (2) days. After the last tornado your county suffered, it took weeks to get the survey done and then some of it had to be done over.

Your County Manager* was sold on this program because it would provide professional damage survey resources at what appears to be no expenses as the teams provide volunteer labor, and FEMA provides the funding for meals, lodging, and travel expenses.

*The County Manager is an administrative type; various titles around the country for a similar official may be County Executive, Commissioner, Board of Supervisors, Parish President, County Judge (in Texas), etc.

For information: The original write-up concerning the PRO-V-DST Program appeared on page 56 of , published December 1995 by FEMA.

From the perspective of being your county's/ parish’s Emergency Manager (or similarly titled official), address the following in your essay:

     *  What difficulties would you have to overcome in implementing a similar program in your county/ parish? What suggestions, if any, would you make to help overcome those challenges?

     *  Would this program really be an asset in your community? Would you recommend a similar program for your county/ parish, or not?

     *  How would you handle the County Manager?

In the alternative, IF your county or parish already has such a program in existence, describe how it works and make any suggestions for improvement or a recommendation for discontinuance, with reasons.

Your APA-compliant essay paper should include a properly-formatted title page, pagination, in-text citations, and a References section.  Do not include an Abstract.  Be sure to include a clear thesis or position statement, a body of text supporting your thesis, and a conclusion. See the APA Guidelines if you need guidance. 

Although there is not a specific page limit on this essay, you need to FULLY address the questions and mature your response adequately to demonstrate that you’ve contemplated and considered implementation of the program in your target jurisdiction. Works of less than two to three pages, exclusive of the title page and references section, likely cannot adequately accommodate such a narrative response.

Submit your paper as an Attachment below.

The Grading Rubric is attached.

Supporting Materials

· (18 KB)

Course Project Part D – Due at the end of Week Five

Assignment Instructions

Week 5 Assignment: Part D Requirement

For this part, you are to develop the following information concerning the Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources of your community.  Much of this is developed from the community’s threat assessment and identification of critical infrastructures and key resources.  When applying for most Federal and State programs and grants you are required to submit a great deal of detailed information on your community.

Develop the following information to complete the Critical Resources and Key Resources section of your EOC Grant Outline:

* Review the Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources in your community.

* Thinking as an Emergency Manager, choose and list your five priorities for protection and mitigation.

* Include the reasoning for each choice; address their attributes, value to the community, and their vulnerabilities.

Use the format, headings, and sub-headings of the "Course Project EOC Grant Outline", located in the Week #1 Assignment as the format for your paper.

Submit Part D as a Word attachment below.

The Grading Rubric is attached.

Supporting Materials

· (18 KB)

Essay Two- Week Six

Assignment Instructions

Essay Two:  Write a clear and well thought-out essay, based on the reference material and any other credible sources, on how to involve your “whole of community” in planning and exercises to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergency incidents.

Your APA-compliant essay paper should include a properly-formatted title page, pagination, in-text citations, and a References section.  Do not include an Abstract.  Be sure to include a clear thesis or position statement, a body of text supporting your thesis, and a conclusion. See the APA Guidelines if you need guidance. 

Although there is not a specific page limit on this essay, you need to FULLY address the questions and mature your response adequately to demonstrate that you’ve thoughtfully considered this issue in your jurisdiction. Works of less than three pages, exclusive of the title page and references section, likely cannot adequately address this matter in a high-quality fashion.

Submit Essay Two as a Word attachment below.

The Grading Rubric is attached.

Supporting Materials

· (18 KB)

Course Project Final Submission

Assignment Instructions

Although your Course Project Final Submission is not due until Week 8, I am opening this Assignment at this time to hopefully help you plan your work and manage your time with respect to this Project.

Course Project Final Submission: Due Week 8

Submit a Course Project Final Submission which is a comprehensive compilation of all your work on Parts A, B, C, and D, revised/ corrected/ edited as appropriate in view of the Instructor's comments on your submitted Parts A – D and your further reflection, together with the final two Conclusion sections "Investment Impact" and "Pre-Existing Planning", as described below.  Your Course Project Final Submission should be a single, integrated paper.  Please make sure that you consider revising each section according to the comments I made when you submitted them individually before submitting the final version.

The "Investment Impact" and "Pre-Existing Planning" sections  provide you an opportunity to exercise your vision and creative writing skills; the "Pre-Existing Planning" section need not be based on real conditions, but should address the elements indicated on the Course Project EOC Grant Outline and relate to a grant request for funding related to an appropriate Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for your community.

The sections of the grant that you will work on for the finishing touches of your Course Project Final Submission are as follows:

I. Investment Impact

Describe how the project efficiently enhances EOC capabilities in a response.

Page Limit:  Not to exceed a ½ page response   

Instructions:

Describe how the project will enhance emergency management capabilities for the State, local, or tribal applicant

Describe how the project will accomplish this in a cost-effective manner

II. Pre-Existing Planning

Describe any pre-existing planning efforts that have been conducted for this investment.

Response Type Narrative

Page Limit: Not to exceed ½ page response

Instructions

Description of any pre-existing planning that has taken place relative to the deficiencies noted in the facility assessment, including:

Architectural plans developed

Permits in Place

Description of any pre-existing planning that has taken place relative to the proposed project

Description of hazard-resistance design guidance utilized as part of the pre-existing planning, such as but not limited to:

FEMA 426/452 for identifying and mitigating man-made and terrorist threats

FEMA 361 and FEMA 543 for identifying and mitigating flood and wind hazards

FEMA 310 (ASCE 31) and FEMA 356 for identifying and mitigating seismic hazards

Description of any current activities that have taken place relative to rectifying the identified deficiencies or needs identified in the assessment

(18 KB)

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