As part of an ongoing research project, SCIPP is collaborating with the National Hazard Mitigation Association (NHMA) and FEMA Region VI to address the resource and capacity needs of hazard mitigation planners in the interior South Central United States. This focus group-based study, titled “Building Capacity for Hazard Mitigation Planning in Low-Capacity Communities”, involved 31 participants who worked in one or more low-capacity jurisdictions (that is, those that lacked grant management or technical capacity, resources, or public or political support with respect to hazard mitigation) across Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. Participants were planners, emergency managers, and related officials whose work spanned approximately 160 jurisdictions.
On October 22, 2025, NHMA hosted a webinar where SCIPP’s Rachel Riley presented a formal update on the project. Approximately 90 people attended the webinar and were also given the opportunity to submit questions ahead of the event. During the webinar, Riley showcased new resources relevant to the project, including:
- A white paper supplying an overview of the study and an explanation of ongoing actions taken to improve hazard mitigation.
- A hazard mitigation planning guide to support professionals making local hazard mitigation plans.
- A list of eight training objectives for regional practitioners.
- A list of hazard mitigation messaging techniques to help communicate the importance of hazard mitigation.
- A design concept for a hazard mitigation action database to potentially allow professionals to search for the proper mitigation action for their region.
Following the presentation, a panel discussion gave insight on local and state practitioner perspectives regarding training needs and strategies to strengthen local resilience efforts. The panel included perspectives from Annie Mack Vest of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Tracee McKenna of the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District, and Tina Cole of the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District.
The discussion concluded with input regarding the future of hazard planning and underscored the importance of distributing the proper training and resources to professionals in the hazard mitigation field.
For more information, visit the full description of the project and the full webinar recording on the NHMA website.