National Response Plan—Fact Sheet

Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5 directed the development of a new National Response Plan (NRP) to align federal agencies and resources into a unified, all-discipline, and all-hazards approach to domestic incident management. The NRP enhances the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents by incorporating best practices and procedures from incident management disciplines—homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting, public works, public health, responder and recovery worker health and safety, emergency medical services, and the private sector—into an integrated, unified structure. It describes how various government agencies (federal, state, local, and tribal) will work together to respond to natural and manmade incidents. Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security, said that the NRP “…embodies our nation’s commitment to the concept of one team, one goal—a safer and more secure America.”

The NRP uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to establish standardized training, organization, and communication procedures for multijurisdictional interaction and clearly identifies authority and leadership responsibilities. Together, the NRP and NIMS establish incident management processes to:

• Improve coordination and integration between federal, state, local, tribal, regional, private sector, and nongovernment organization partners;

• Integrate the federal response to catastrophic events;

• Improve incident management communications and increase cross-jurisdictional coordination and situational awareness;

• Improve federal-to-federal interaction and emergency support;

• Maximize use and employment of incident management resources; and

• Facilitate emergency mutual aid and federal emergency support to state, local, and tribal governments.

The NRP was developed by teams of experts from federal departments and agencies; state, local, and tribal officials; incident response; and private sector communities.

For more information about the National Response Plan:

View and download a PDF copy: [National Response Plan]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute offers an online course designed to introduce the National Response Plan to responders [online course]