A. CONCEPTS and PRINCIPLES.
The process for managing and maintaining the NIMS ensures that all users and stakeholders—including various levels of government, functional disciplines, and private entities—are given the opportunity to participate in NIMS Integration Center activities. To accomplish this goal, the NIMS Integration Center will be multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary and will maintain appropriate liaison with private organizations.
The NIMS management and maintenance process relies heavily on lessons learned from actual incidents and domestic incident management training and exercises, as well as recognized best practices across jurisdictions and functional disciplines.
B. STRUCTURE AND PROCESS.
The Secretary of Homeland Security will establish and administer the NIMS Integration Center. Proposed changes to the NIMS will be submitted to the NIMS Integration Center for consideration, approval, and publication. The Secretary has ultimate authority and responsibility for publishing revisions and modifications to NIMS-related documents, including supplementary standards, procedures, and other materials, in coordination with other Federal, State, local, tribal, and private entities with incident management and emergency responder responsibilities, expertise, and experience.
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C. Responsibilities
The NIMS Integration Center will be further responsible for
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developing a national program for NIMS education and awareness, including specific instruction on the purpose and content of this document and the NIMS in general;
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promoting compatibility between national-level standards for the NIMS and those developed by other public, private, and/or professional groups;
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facilitating the development and publication of materials (such as supplementary documentation and desk guides) and standardized templates to support implementation and continuous refinement of the NIMS;
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developing assessment criteria for the various components of the NIMS, as well as compliance requirements and compliance timelines for Federal, State, local, and tribal entities regarding NIMS standards and guidelines;
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facilitating the definition of general training requirements and the development of national-level training standards and course curricula associated with the NIMS, including the following:
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the use of modeling and simulation capabilities for training and exercise programs
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field-based training, specification of mission-essential tasks, requirements for specialized instruction and instructor training, and course completion documentation for all NIMS users
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the review and recommendation (in coordination with national professional organizations and Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities) of discipline-specific NIMS training courses
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facilitating the development of national standards, guidelines, and protocols for incident management training and exercises, including consideration of existing exercise and training programs at all jurisdictional levels; |
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facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a publication management system for documents supporting the NIMS and other NIMS-related publications and materials, including the development or coordination of general publications for all NIMS users, as well as their issuance via a NIMS publication management system; |
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reviewing (in coordination with appropriate national professional standards-making, certifying, and accrediting organizations and with input from Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector and nongovernmental entities) of the discipline-specific publication management requirements submitted by professional organizations and associations; |
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facilitating the development and publication of national standards, guidelines, and protocols for the qualification and certification of emergency responder and incident management personnel, as appropriate; |
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reviewing and approving (with the assistance of national professional organizations and with input from Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities), as appropriate, the discipline-specific qualification and certification requirements submitted by emergency responder and incident management organizations and associations; |
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facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a documentation and database system related to qualification, certification, and credentialing of incident management personnel and organizations, including reviewing and approving (in coordination with national professional organizations and with input from the Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector and nongovernmental entities), as appropriate, of the discipline-specific requirements submitted by functionally oriented incident management organizations and associations. |
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establishment of a data maintenance system to provide incident managers with the detailed qualification, experience, and training information needed to credential personnel for prescribed “national” incident management positions; |
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coordination of minimum professional certification standards and facilitation of the design and implementation of a credentialing system that can be used nationwide; |
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facilitating the establishment of standards for the performance, compatibility, and interoperability of incident management equipment and communications systems, including the following:
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facilitating, in coordination with appropriate Federal agencies, standards-making, certifying, and accrediting organizations, and appropriate State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations, the development and/or publication of national standards, guidelines, and protocols for equipment certification (including the incorporation of standards and certification programs already in existence and used by incident management and emergency response organizations nationwide)
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reviewing and approving (in coordination with national professional organizations and with input from Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities) lists of equipment that meet these established equipment certification requirements
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collaborating with organizations responsible for emergency responder equipment evaluation and testing
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facilitating the development and issuance of national standards for the typing of resources; |
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facilitating the definition and maintenance of the information framework required to guide the development of NIMS information systems, including the development of data standards for the following: incident notification and situation reports, status reporting, analytical data, geospatial information, wireless communications, identification and authentication, and incident reports, including “lessons learned” reports; |
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coordinating the establishment of technical and technology standards for NIMS users in concert with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security and recognized SDOs; |
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integrating into the national R&D agenda, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, the incident management science and technology needs of departments, agencies, disciplines, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations operating within the NIMS at all levels; and |
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establishing and maintaining a repository and clearinghouse for reports and lessons learned from actual incidents, training, and exercises, as well as for best practices, model structures, and model processes for NIMS-related functions. |
Appendix A - THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM >>
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