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Exercises

COVID-19 Exercise Tools

FEMA’s Preparedness in a Pandemic Exercise Starter Kit helps whole community partners by providing sample documents state, local, tribal and territorial governments can use to conduct their own workshops on preparedness in a pandemic. The questions and considerations contained in the guide were developed from FEMA’s COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season.

As organizations across the country plan for how to return to full operations and protect the wellbeing and safety of their employees and communities, FEMA’s National Exercise Division and the National Continuity Programs have collaborated to develop an Exercise Starter Kit on Reconstituting Operations. This Exercise Starter Kit is designed to be shared across the whole community to help organizations, including government agencies, conduct their own planning workshops to navigate the complexities of returning to full operations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

What is the Exercise Starter Kit (ESK) on Reconstituting Operations?

  • A virtual toolkit designed to help any organization across the community facilitate their own conversations around planning considerations for resuming operations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
  • A set of sample conduct slides and a sample facilitator guide that organizations can adapt and customize for their own needs depending on the organization type and current situation.
  • A toolkit organized into four discussion areas: people, facilities, messaging/communications and resources/logistics that guides organizations through helpful questions such as:
    • What resources are needed to return to full operations?
    • How should we communicate with our staff and the public?
  • A toolkit developed based on the Guidelines for Opening Up America Again and the FEMA fact sheet, “Planning Considerations for Organizations in Reconstituting Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

DEM Weekly “I Wonder” Webinar Series 

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many exercises have been postponed or canceled. The Utah Division of Emergency Management is hosting a weekly webinar series aimed at providing local emergency managers with relevant content and opportunities to enhance their capabilities. Webinars will be live for Q&A, and will be recorded for later viewing on the DEM website and YouTube channel. Most of these webinars will be workshops with a hands on portion which will allow emergency managers to test a DEM product or process. Contact Tracy Bodily (tbodily[at]utah.gov) for the login information to watch live.

I Wonder Webinar Title Screen ImageNovember 12, 2020 – “I Wonder” what is an IPPW and IPP?

November 19, 2020 – “I Wonder” how flood risk maps are created & updated for my jurisdiction.

Exercise Assistance Request Form 

Please use this form to request DEM assistance for your exercise. We will contact you after receiving your request to let you know what assistance we can provide.

Exercise Templates

***NEW HSEEP Tools***
Latest release of HSEEP Doctrine
2020 HSEEP Information Sheet
2020 HSEEP Frequently Asked Questions

The Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Preparedness Toolkit is a website with all of the available templates related to the HSEEP policy & guidance. DEM has adopted HSEEP as a best practice for exercise design and development, conduct, evaluation and improvement planning. A graphic representation of the HSEEP Exercise Cycle includes over 18 elements to include in an exercise process (pdf graphic). HSEEP is part of the National Preparedness System (pdf graphic).

DEM has created versions of some of the HSEEP templates to include instructions and links to relevant supporting documents. These templates include:

Exercise Types

There are seven exercise types. Four are discussion based and three are operations based. These exercises increase in their complexity. Here are a few exercise tools that may be used as aids for determining which exercise type is appropriate.

Other Training & Exercise Program Management and TEPW Tools  

Integrated Preparedness Planning Workshop (IPPW) – Formerly known as a Training and Exercise Planning Workshop (TEPW)

    • 2020 Integrated Preparedness Planning Workshop – Worksheet
      • This worksheet can be used as a guide to support your Integrated Preparedness Planning Workshop. More detailed information will be shared in early 2021.
        (For any information on how to facilitate an IPPW or to create an Integrated Preparedness Plan, please contact Tracy Bodily tbodily@utah.gov)

EMPG Sub-recipients are required to provide exercise reports utilizing the content found in the HSEEP templates for the exercises that they report. DEM recommends the use of HSEEP for all exercises conducted at the local, county tribal and state level even if they will not be utilized for grant reporting.

The table below includes links to the DEM exercise templates.

**Planned/Real-World Event Approval Form

EMPG Exercise
Reporting Requirements
Exercise Plan
* which should include
an Exercise Overview page
After Action Report
Improvement Plan
* which should include
an Exercise Overview page
Participant Roster*
Seminar
(This Exercise Type
is an informational briefing)
Not Required
Either AAR/IP or
Executive Summary*
At a minimum, names of participants
and agencies in AAR
Workshop
(A Product is Developed
During this Exercise Type)
Not Required
Either AAR/IP or
Executive Summary*
At a minimum, names of participants
and agencies in AAR
Tabletop
Not Required
Required
Required: See template
Drill
(usually single agency,
single function)
Not Required
Required
Required: See template
Functional
Required
Required
Required: See template
Full-Scale
Required
Required
Required: See template
Planned Event**
Not Required
Required
Required: See template
Real World Event**
Not Required
Required
At a minimum, names of participants
and agencies in AAR

**Planned/Real-World Event Approval Form

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Report on exercises for EMPG credit on WebEOC