NIMS Activity 7: Use existing resources to coordinate and deliver NIMS training

K-12 schools and IHEs will use existing resources such as programs, personnel, partners, and training facilities to coordinate and deliver NIMS training.

PREPAREDNESS: TRAINING

Activity 7: Use existing resources such as programs, personnel, partners, and training facilities to coordinate and deliver NIMS training requirements.

K-12 schools and IHEs will use existing resources such as programs, personnel, partners, and training facilities to coordinate and deliver NIMS training.

Association to NIMS

NIMS equips multiple jurisdictions and disciplines with a diverse and varied set of roles, responsibilities, and resources throughout all phases of the IHE and school emergency management cycle. The NIMS unifying framework is built upon the mutual goals and responsibilities shared by all agencies.

NIMS preparedness and training activities validate and maintain plans, policies, and procedures. Plans form the basis of training and should be exercised periodically to ensure that all individuals involved in response are able to execute their assigned roles and tasks in the event of an emergency. Therefore, training opportunities should closely mimic potential and probable all-hazards scenarios and use actual programs, processes, partners, equipments, etc, as a means to maximize training opportunities, capture current capacity, and identify gaps in the plans. Use of existing resources, both internal resources and partner resources, will not only increase the quality of training delivered and knowledge outcomes, but will also increase effective response through familiarity by response officials.

Implementation Guidance

Training opportunities are designed to improve incident response through knowledge and integration of 1.) NIMS and its key concepts and principles, and 2.) the emergency management plan and its related processes and protocols.

School and IHE emergency management teams should look for opportunities to integrate existing resources such as personnel, facilities, and equipment into all training opportunities as a means to increase familiarity with those resources. Integrating these resources may help conserve resources, create a more realistic training environment, foster positive working relationships, and increase familiarity of the additional resources needed and used during a response. Therefore, some schools and IHEs may be able to incorporate NIMS training requirements with existing training requirements, programs, and delivery methods. For example, some schools and IHEs might expand traditional professional development programs (such as new teacher orientation) to include NIMS training, integrate NIMS training with initial training activities at the launch of the academic year, or include NIMS training as a requirement of a related role or responsibility.

Schools and IHEs can pursue opportunities to participate in State and local training programs or leverage the knowledge and expertise of their community partners as they design the training plan and facilitate the provision of training opportunities for key personnel. For example, many State, tribal, and local emergency management agencies administer in-person training programs.

Because K-12 schools' and IHEs' mission and primary functions differ from those of traditional response agencies, they present a unique set of resources that may be integrated into training efforts and activities. Although schools and campuses vary across the nation and from community to community, some may have resources that can be of support to the broader emergency management discipline, including local emergency management agencies/authorities. For example, school and IHEs facilities may be available during non-instructional hours and days offering classrooms for training or even an empty building which will directly increase familiarity in the event of an emergency. Additionally, school and IHE classrooms are designed and equipped to facilitate teaching and learning and could be equally valuable for training opportunities (for example, many have large computer labs which can be used to administer independent study courses on NIMS).