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<br /> HSGP Appendix | February 2021 Page A-23
<br />place at the state, territorial, tribal, or UASI level. Recipients are discouraged from
<br />submitting AAR/IPs specific to local jurisdictions that reflect drills.
<br />o If a recipient endures a significant real-world incident during the calendar year that
<br />delays or prevents conduct of a grant-funded exercise, they can submit the AAR from
<br />that event in place of the exercise AARs. Jurisdictions submitting real world AARs
<br />should include an explanation with the AAR submission to hseep@fema.dhs.gov.
<br />o Recipients can access a sample AAR/IP template at:
<br />https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/hseep-resources/improvement-planning.
<br />
<br />Fusion Centers
<br />A critical component of the national response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks was the development of a
<br />national-level, decentralized, and coordinated terrorism-related information sharing environment (ISE).
<br />State and local governments, supported by federal investments from DHS, the Department of Justice
<br />(DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other federal agencies, established the
<br />National Network of Fusion Centers (National Network), which became the backbone of the national ISE.
<br />This National Network, comprised of 80 state and major urban area fusion centers, collaborates and
<br />shares information with partners from all levels of government and the private sector, as well as other
<br />field-based information sharing partners, including HIDTAs, RISS Centers, JTTFs, major city/county
<br />intelligence units, and real-time crime analysis centers, among others.
<br />
<br />National Network participation in the Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI) enables fusion centers to identify,
<br />receive and analyze suspicious activity reporting and other tips/leads from frontline public safety
<br />personnel, the private sector, and the public, and ensure the sharing of SARs with DHS and the FBI’s
<br />JTTFs for further investigation. In addition to those activities identified in the National Prevention
<br />Framework, fusion centers are also required to collaborate with those intelligence, operational, analytic,
<br />investigative, and information-sharing focused entities to combat a wide array of threats – noted below –
<br />in support of efforts to enhance capabilities for detecting, deterring, disrupting, and preventing acts of
<br />terrorism, targeted violence, and other threats. Such entities include, but are not limited to JTTFs, Area
<br />Maritime Security Committees, Border Enforcement Security Task Forces, Integrated Border
<br />Enforcement Teams, HIDTAs, and RISS Centers as well as other federal intelligence, operational,
<br />analytic, and investigative entities. Applicants should describe their collaboration plan and proposed
<br />efforts in their required Fusion Center project as part of the Intelligence and Information Sharing National
<br />Priority.
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<br />Today’s threats—including international and domestic terrorism, drugs, gangs, active shooters, targeted
<br />violence, transnational organized crime, and cyber—require federal, state, and local governments to
<br />leverage this national capacity to effectively respond to the evolving nature of the various national and
<br />homeland security threats confronting our Nation. Ultimately, timely identification and analysis of key
<br />indicators from local, state, and federal partners will enable all stakeholders to address emerging threats
<br />and develop and implement data-driven strategies to prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond
<br />effectively, while ensuring the protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
<br />
<br />To underscore the importance of the National Network as a critical component of our Nation’s distributed
<br />homeland security and counterterrorism architecture, FEMA preparedness grants will continue to
<br />prioritize support for designated fusion centers (http://www.dhs.gov/fusion-center-locations-and-contact-
<br />information) and the maturation of the ISE. Fusion centers must prioritize the following capabilities to
<br />further enable and mature this national asset and strengthen the collective capacity to identify, collect,
<br />analyze, and share information, and to disseminate actionable and strategic intelligence to key
<br />stakeholders:
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