2025 is here. But at the tail end of 2024, the emergency management and disaster recovery community got a major policy document.
It was the most recent National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), put out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). What’s in the NDRF?
Read on to find out.
What does the National Disaster Recovery Framework do?
The NDRF, now in its third edition, seeks to provide a structured approach to supporting disaster-affected jurisdictions in the U.S., whether those jurisdictions are states, Tribal Nations, territories, and/or localities.
Although structured, the NDRF is intended to be flexible, too. It’s a national framework, after all, meaning it describes high-level disaster recovery roles and responsibilities.
And the purpose of the Framework is to enable disaster recovery that’s unified, inclusive, and effective, by fostering collaboration across the whole community, including all of government, non profits, businesses, as well as the broader emergency management community.
Indeed, the guiding principle of the NDRF, applying to pre- and post-disaster activities alike, is that disaster recovery is most successful when it’s organized around community-driven and locally defined goals promoting fairness and supporting resilient outcomes.
What’s the National Preparedness Goal?
The NDRF, when it comes down to it, explains how the federal government will mobilize for disaster recovery. These prep-planning efforts contribute to the larger National Preparedness Goal (NPG).
What’s that?
As the name suggests, the National Preparedness Goal defines what it means for the whole community to be prepared for all types of disasters and emergencies. As written, the Goal is for “a secure and resilient nation within the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.”
Risks, here, run the gamut from natural disasters, public health crises, chemical spills to other man-made hazards like terrorism and cyber attacks.
How then does the NDRF fit in the with the National Preparedness Goal?
The NPG outlines the following five mission areas and their corresponding core capabilities:
- Prevention
- Protection
- Mitigation
- Response
- Recovery
By incorporating principles of resilience, the NDRF enhances the coordination of disaster recovery efforts in a way that strengthens whole-community resilience contributing to the National Preparedness Goal.
5 key features of the National Disaster Recovery Framework
How, exactly? Well, it’s beyond the scope of this article to summarize the entirety of the NDRF, a 60-plus page document. But one thing to know are the five key features that underlie the Framework. These features include:
1. Comprehensive federal support
Outlines how the federal government supports recovery efforts across states, local governments, territories, and Tribal Nations to provide effective disaster recovery assistance.
2. Flexible and unified structure
Provides a flexible structure that enables disaster recovery managers to operate collaboratively across diverse recovery environments.
3. Focus on complex recovery dynamics
Addresses the multifaceted and interdependent nature of recovery operations, emphasizing the challenges posed by the increasing frequency and severity of disasters.
4. Emphasis on resilience and sustainable recovery planning
Highlights recovery planning as a critical opportunity to rebuild communities in a resilient and sustainable manner.
5. Recognition of recovery’s cyclical nature
Acknowledges that recovery is not a linear process. Recovery, response, and rebuilding often happen simultaneously, demonstrating the ongoing nature of community throughout the disaster lifecycle.
So, how are other countries thinking about disaster resilience as threats increase globally?
Last year, if you’ll remember, a Senate committee examining Australia’s disaster resilience released its long-awaited report to Parliament, Boots on the ground: Raising resilience. For a summary of that Select Committee report including recommendations made to improve disaster resilience, check out our article on the topic.