ASFPM Releases Strategic Planning Guide for State Floodplain Management Programs
Whether you’re a fan of the Alice in Wonderland quote: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there” or Yogi Berra is more your thing: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else”, a strategic plan can serve as an effective road map to help prioritize efforts, provide structure to day-to-day decisions, and advance your broader mission to ensure you get where you want to go.
For state floodplain management programs, strategic planning can put states in the best position to effectively and efficiently manage flood risk and floodplain resources in line with evolving approaches to floodplain management at the federal, state, and local levels. The strategic planning process is driven by the three questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? And, how do we get there?
To guide states through the process, ASFPM has published Strategic Planning Guidance and Methodology for State Floodplain Management Programs. An updated and expanded version of the 2010 edition, this resource is intended for those who make policy decisions and set priorities for state floodplain programs. It can help states align their floodplain management programs with community needs and the 10 guiding principles for effective state floodplain management programs as well as FEMA’s Tiered State Framework characteristics.
Although the FEMA-funded guide provides a recommended method for strategic planning that incorporates NFIP coordination with overall effective state floodplain management, it can also be used by state programs that are currently not participating in CAP-SSSE and/or for a portion of the state’s overall floodplain management effort (i.e., for floodplain management programs that are undertaken by a single state agency). Lastly, the approaches highlighted in the guide can be adapted to fit other strategic planning methods, if your state agency has its own preferred or prescribed model.
State and territorial floodplain management programs vary widely across the nation. Some programs were established by state laws that pre-date the creation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and include dozens of staff implementing multiple programs such as state permitting, flood mapping, flood mitigation grant program administration, and NFIP coordination. Others have one or two staff members working under the framework of a Governor’s Executive Order for the purpose of acting as the state coordinator of the NFIP.
Regardless of size or structure, if a state participates in the Community Assistance Program – State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) or not, all state floodplain management programs could benefit from going through the exercise of strategic planning, as all state programs will evolve over time – and strategic planning can help position states to be prepared for any necessary transition.
Spanning 125 pages, Strategic Planning Guidance and Methodology for State Floodplain Management Programs is organized into 10 parts, one for each of the guiding principles for effective state floodplain management programs, and it walks users through the five phases of strategic planning – review, analysis, visioning, planning, and implementation – along with prompts for working through each phase. The guide also features templates, worksheets, and checklists as well as a real world example of a state’s completed plan, thanks to the generosity of the State of Missouri’s Emergency Management Agency for its willingness to share its strategic plan for FY 2021-2024.
ASFPM hopes this practical guide can help states align their floodplain management programs with the 10 guiding principles for effective state floodplain management programs and, if applicable, FEMA’s NFIP coordination activities for states, such as the Tiered State Framework characteristics. And in the end, create effective state programs that reduce losses and damage from floods, and protect natural floodplain resources.
