The National Resource Hub (NRH) is a suite of tools for organizations and jurisdictions to use in carrying out resource management preparedness activities.  
 
To learn about Resource Management Preparedness, visit  https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/nims-guideline-resource-management-preparedness.pdf. 
 
To learn more about the National Resource Hub, visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/national-resource-hub/.  

PrepToolkit is designed for use by the whole community who has a role in national preparedness, including all levels of government, non-profit groups, faith-based and community organizations, and schools and academia. To learn more about using PrepToolkit and creating an account, visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/help/preptoolkit-help/-/knowledge_base/preptoolkit-guides/creating-an-account-registration.  

Yes, the National Resource Hub tools are available to U.S.-based non-profits and NGOs. We are receiving requests from a number of non-profits and NGOs. These organizations are vital to incident management, emergency management response, and incident support. 

Providing the capability to authenticate through local systems is not anticipated due to the National Resource Hub being hosted in a secure, cloud-hosted, government-authorized environment. For security reasons, FEMA must ensure all authentication processes provide the appropriate level of assurance. The introduction of third-party authentication systems would not meet necessary security requirements. 

Please reference the National Resource Hub section of the PrepToolkit Terms of Use (https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/terms-of-use) for more information on the view-only information available to organizations and personnel who maintain vetted and verified accounts in PrepToolkit. 

Yes, there are many organizations/jurisdictions using the National Resource Hub suite of tools nationwide, including numerous urban areas. 

An Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is an entity that can create and administer processes to qualify, certify, and credential personnel for incident-related positions. AHJs include state, tribal, or Federal government departments and agencies, training commissions, NGOs, or companies, as well as local organizations such as police, fire, public health, or public works departments. In some cases, the AHJ may provide support to multiple disciplines that collaborate as a part of a team (e.g., an IMT). 

Yes. Other systems align with NQS including the All-Hazards Incident Management Teams Association Interstate Incident Management Qualifications System Guide (AHIMTA IIMTQS) and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group Incident Qualifications and Certification System (NWCG IQCS). 

The equivalent of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) PMS 310-1 are the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Guideline for the National Qualification System (NQS) and the FEMA-published Job Titles/Position Qualifications and Position Task Books (PTBs) in the Resource Typing Library Tool (RTLT).

Due to the Privacy Act, FEMA no longer accepts third party requests for completion verification, certificate reissue, or transcripts. Please have the student contact the FEMA Independent Study program office directly at 301-447-1200 or Independent.Study@fema.dhs.gov for their records. 

Complete Terms of Use for the National Resource Hub are available within PrepToolkit. 

The National Resource Hub supports existing resource management-related guidance, policies, practices, and mutual aid compacts. Use of the National Resource Hub does not change or modify any existing memorandums of agreement, mutual aid agreements or compacts, or other agreements or guidance. 

Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) using the National Resource Hub maintain full control over the deployment of their resources. The National Resource Hub, including OneResponder and RIS, is not a deployment system. It does not allow any individual or agency to request or deploy resources and personnel through the system.  

No. AHJs have the authority and responsibility to develop, implement, maintain, and oversee the qualification, certification, and credentialing process within their organization or jurisdiction. AHJs include state, tribal, or Federal Government departments and agencies, training commissions, NGOs, or companies, as well as local organizations, such as police, fire, public health, or public works departments. OneResponder is one tool that AHJs may use to support this management process.  

Participating organizations and personnel who maintain vetted and verified accounts in PrepToolkit will be granted view-only access to data for all organizations who voluntarily elect to use a National Resource Hub system. This includes the participating organization’s name and location as well as their number and type of qualified resources and personnel. This data is still owned by the collecting organization. If the AHJ and resource owner indicates that a resource is able to be requested and deployed outside the home agency, they are consenting and granting permission to make limited information about the resource viewable to other users of a National Resource Hub system within PrepToolkit. Limited information about this resource will be made available, such as: 

• Home Organization (or Authority Having Jurisdiction) 

• Resource or Position Name (Type or Title) 

• NIMS Typing Definition or Position Alignment 

• Resource or Position Category 

• Resource or Position Kind 

• Home Organization Location (Address and FEMA Region) 

• Home Organization Point of Contact (typically 24/7 Deployment POC Email and Phone) 

• Position Qualification Status (Trainee or Qualified) 

• Resource or Position Availability Status 

• Last Update Time Stamp 

Complete Terms of Use for the National Resource Hub are available within PrepToolkit. 

The National Resource Hub shares certain non-personally identifiable information with FEMA and its authorized programs on an as needed basis to support preparedness programs. Organizations and resource owners do not lose control or ownership of their resources or resource information through the use of the National Resource Hub. Use of the National Resource Hub does not change or modify any existing memorandums of agreement, mutual aid agreements or compacts, or other agreements or guidance. 

Complete Terms of Use for the National Resource Hub are available within PrepToolkit. 

Organizations have multiple options for customization. They can follow the FEMA NQS position task books (PTBs) and add additional requirements to the baseline requirements. Alternatively, they can create their own custom PTBs. 

This functionality is available, yes. For details, view the Responder-Initiated and Organization-Initiated Relationship Management sections within the OneResponder user guides (https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/help/oneresponder-user-guides). 

The PTB and Job Title/Position Qualification (JTPQ) work together. Completing a PTB is often a requirement of a JTPQ. PTBs provide a standardized method to document the successful performance of the specific tasks required for a particular incident-specific position. Someone can have a completed, approved PTB but not yet be qualified for a position if they have not completed the other pre-requisites on the JTPQ. 

Additional information on this relationship between the PTB and the Job Titles/Position Qualifications is documented in the “Qualification Criteria” section of the NIMS Guideline for NQS.  

OneResponder information is hosted in a secure cloud-hosted, government-authorized environment. Select information can be exported, as needed. If you have specific questions, you may reach out to FEMA-NIMS@fema.gov.  

Ultimately, this is up to the Authority Having Jurisdiction. However, each Job Title/Position Qualification has a Currency section listing out the baseline timelines. These timelines vary depending on the position but are usually between 2 and 5 years. The NIMS Guideline for NQS contains considerations for recertification. The Recertification section of the guide references a Qualification Review Board (QRB). A supplemental guide is provided for QRBs, as well.

If you have a PrepToolkit account that you use for OneResponder, it will also work to access other National Resource Hub tools, including RIS. However, you will also need to request that your organization be established in RIS if you have not already done so. 

Responders will need to register for PrepToolkit accounts. Providing the capability to authenticate through local systems is not anticipated due to OneResponder and the National Resource Hub being hosted in a secure, cloud-hosted, government-authorized environment. For security reasons, FEMA must ensure all authentication processes provide the appropriate level of assurance. The introduction of third-party authentication systems would not meet necessary security requirements. 

You can currently bulk import EMI training. The team is currently working to connect OneResponder with EMI's training completion systems to allow for a direct pull from NETC, EMI and CDP in the future. More information will be coming soon. 

Yes. Organization roles in OneResponder allow you to address workflows and processes at an organizational level. More information about organization roles and organization management can be found in the OneResponder user guides (https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/help/oneresponder-user-guides).  

Yes, you can access all NQS PTBs and can create "local" (i.e., organization-specific) PTBs as well. You will need an account for PrepToolKit and OneResponder if you don't already have access.  

Once an organization manager is assigned to an organization in OneResponder, the person in that role can begin inviting people to join. 

There are thorough user guides available for RIS at https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/help/ris-guides.  

Additionally, there is a RIS Onboarding Video that demonstrates an inventory and how it looks and works. The video may be accessed at https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/national-resource-hub/nrh-video-tutorials  

Providing the capability to authenticate through local systems in not anticipated due to RIS and the National Resource Hub being hosted in a secure, cloud-hosted, government-authorized environment. For security reasons, FEMA must ensure all authentication processes provide the appropriate level of assurance. The introduction of third-party authentication systems would not meet necessary security requirements. 

If you are unsure if your organization is already established in RIS, first check with your organization's qualifications or training manager, if applicable. If you are still unsure, please email FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov and we can check. 

RIS is synchronized whenever there is an update to the Job Titles/Position Qualifications or Resource Typing Definitions in RTLT. Note that RIS only integrates resource typing definitions and job titles/position qualification sheets. It does not integrate Position Task Book (PTB) templates. 

At this time, there is not a definitive timeline for RIS to support a parent/child or hierarchical organization relationship structure. Requirements are in the process of being gathered and analyzed for consideration. 

All National Resource Hub tools (except RTLT) require a PrepToolkit account. When a user registers for a PrepToolkit account, they are required to provide their affiliation, and name and contact information of their supervisor. This information is vetted before the requestor is granted access. 

RIS is a cloud-hosted and centralized resource inventory solution that is hosted in a government authorized environment.  

It is based on the IRIS technology. However, IRIS is a distributed software application which is hosted locally by the organization using it. RIS represents an upgrade in capability by being cloud-hosted and centralized. 

National Resource Hub information viewing and sharing is defined in the PrepToolkit Terms of Use (https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/terms-of-use). 

OneResponder is for managing personnel qualifications and credentials. RIS is for inventorying all resources, inclusive of personnel, teams, facilities, equipment, and supplies. However, RIS is not designed to support personnel qualifications management workflows. 

Once you have registered, your access will continue to be limited until your account is vetted and approved by a manager of PrepToolkit. Vetting of your account may take 1-2 days. Personal email accounts may take additional time to be vetted. 

We welcome feedback on your experience: FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov 

Currently, there are no geographic visualization tools inherent in RIS. However, GIS-compatible exports of the data are available and we are tracking the need for additional visualization and analysis capabilities. If you have specific needs or suggestions, we welcome comments and feedback. You may surface it here: https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/national-resource-hub/nrh-user-feedback-form 

Data and information created and managed in RIS can be exported in GIS-compatible formats that can be imported into GIS mapping tools. 
 
Additionally, Application Programming Interface (API) and data services are available for RIS on a restricted basis. These data services are GIS-compatible. To learn more about them, see the National Resource Hub API and Data Services Guide.

You can use RIS to create a "local" resource type. We use the term “local” to differentiate between FEMA resource typing (seen in RIS as "National" tier). But it can be a resource typing definition managed by any organization including national associations.