Analysing and Evaluating the Disaster Grants Management Process

An agency of the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for coordinating the U.S. government’s response to disasters. Its mission is to ensure that the nation is adequately prepared for, protected against, and capable of responding to and recovering from disasters. An important aspect of FEMA’s work involves grants administration. It provides Individual and Public Assistance (PA) Grants, which support larger-scale cost-intensive projects, such as infrastructure reconstruction. FEMA engaged a Capstone team to generate evidence-based information about the expenses and human resource investments involved in the PA grant administration process. The team conducted an extensive literature review of FEMA’s PA grant process, used data to quantify costs associated with various components of grants administration, and determined important patterns and trends that are associated with the process. The team’s final report outlined recommendations for streamlining and enhancing the efficiency of the grants administration process, specifically the management of time, money, and personnel.