National Conference on Community Preparedness- NCCP

Date:  August 9, 2009 - August 12, 2009

Location:  Arlington, Virginia

The 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness: The Power of Citizen Corps, is being hosted by FEMA's Community Preparedness Division on August 9-12, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA. The conference is intended to help communities become safer, stronger, and better prepared for all types of hazards.

Citizen Corps is in its eighth year. Its mission is to bring communities together in a grassroots effort to instill personal responsibility and build community resilience. It was founded upon the understanding that citizens are vital partners in the welfare of our communities and in building community resilience – while the government provides critical services for a safe and secure America, it cannot replace the value of a prepared, informed public.

Citizen Corps Councils bring together community leaders from local government, emergency management and emergency service providers, hospitals, schools, volunteer and service organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, and advocacy groups. Having all stakeholders at the table allows each community to be unified in its efforts to improve the health and safety of the community and to prepare for and respond to disasters through the tenants of civic engagement and personal responsibility.

 

 

The Challenge

The task of assuring the security of our homeland involves protecting the citizens of the United States, the nation's critical infrastructure and key assets. This is necessary to sustain the nation's vitality against terrorism and other threats. This protection must originate at the community level. It requires discovering, developing and deploying new technology that will support first responders and key decision makers in local communities.

The Mission

NIHS' mission is to discover, develop and deploy solutions that protect and preserve the critical infrastructure of the nation's communities.

The Institute

NIHS aligns projects and research objectives with the needs and requirements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The strategy is to manage a distributed research enterprise that effectively transitions research and development into solutions. NIHS works with DHS to determine technology needs at the community level. Then, teams are quickly assembled from multiple universities to develop solutions to the needs.

The Strategy

Through management of the Kentucky Critical Infrastructure Protections Program (KCI), the National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS) provides an ongoing, integrated program dedicated to developing new technologies and devices. NIHS works through qualified academic institutions to accomplish the technological objectives.