9
C. Qualifying, Certifying and Credentialing Personnel
The NIMS Guideline for the National Qualification System (NQS) expands upon the content in
NIMS to provide specific instructions on how to build a qualification system. It also provides an
overview on how jurisdictions can use NIMS Position Task Books (PTB), which are the primary
tools for qualifying personnel. NQS does not replace current qualification systems but provides
an option for jurisdictions that do not have one in place—or serves as a supplement for a
jurisdiction’s existing system. For more information, see the NIMS Guideline for the NQS.
D. Planning for Resources
Jurisdictions and organizations work together before incidents occur to develop plans for
identifying, managing, estimating, allocating, ordering, deploying and demobilizing resources.
The planning process includes identifying resource requirements based on threats to, and
vulnerabilities of, the jurisdiction or organization. To plan for resources, jurisdictions and
organizations estimate their current capabilities, assess their resource management gaps,
establish resource management planning priorities and utilize mutual aid agreements to address
those gaps.
Capability Planning
Planning for resources requires finding ways to fill the gaps between current capabilities and
resource demands during a large-scale incident. Planning involves the processes and mechanisms
for requesting and managing response and recovery resources. Planning can help a jurisdiction or
organization identify what kinds of resources and what capabilities may be necessary if an
incident’s demands exceed current capabilities.
The planning process includes estimating capabilities, identifying departments and agencies
responsible for specific resource management functions and identifying gaps in capabilities.
Capability planning helps answer the following questions:
• What do we need to prepare for?
• What resources do we have that allow us to achieve our targets?
• What resources can we obtain through mutual aid to be prepared to meet our targets?
Understanding what resources might be necessary is the first step in identifying the sources for
procuring those resources. Aligning the jurisdiction’s or organization’s current capabilities with
estimated resource needs is a critical step in the preparedness planning process.
Using Mutual Aid Agreements
Once a jurisdiction or organization has identified gaps in resource capabilities, it can utilize
mutual aid agreements to fill those gaps. Resource owners should work with their state
National Qualification System (NQS)
The NIMS Guideline for the NQS describes the components of a qualification and certification system,
defines a process for certifying the qualifications of incident personnel, describes how to establish and
implement a peer review process and introduces the process of credentialing personnel. The document
resides here: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/components#nqs.