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<br />Preparedness Grants Manual
<br />8.5.Fusion Centers (Homeland Security Grant Program)
<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
<br />(ISE). State and local governments, supported by federal investments from DHS, the Department of
<br />Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other federal agencies of the
<br />national ISE. This National Network, comprised of 80 state and major urban area fusion centers,
<br />collaborates and shares information with partners from all levels of government and the private
<br />sector, as well as other field-based information sharing partners, including High-Intensity Drug
<br />Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Centers, Joint Terrorism Task
<br />Forces (JTTF), major city/county intelligence units, and real-time crime analysis centers, among
<br />others.
<br />National Network participation in the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) enables
<br />fusion centers to identify, receive and analyze Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) and other tips/leads
<br />from frontline public safety personnel, the private sector, and the public, and ensure the sharing of
<br />SARs with DHS and the FBI’s JTTFs for further investigation. In addition to those activities identified
<br />in the National Prevention Framework, fusion centers are also required to collaborate with those
<br />intelligence, operational, analytic, investigative, and information-sharing focused entities to combat a
<br />wide array of threats—noted below—in support of efforts to enhance capabilities for detecting,
<br />deterring, disrupting, and preventing acts of terrorism, targeted violence, and other threats. Such
<br />entities include, but are not limited to JTTFs, Area Maritime Security Committees (AMSC), Border
<br />Enforcement Security Task Forces, Integrated Border Enforcement Teams, HIDTAs, and RISS Centers
<br />as well as other federal intelligence, operational, analytic, and investigative entities. Applicants
<br />should describe their collaboration plan and proposed efforts in their required Fusion Center project
<br />as part of the Intelligence and Information Sharing National Priority.
<br />Today’s threats—including international and domestic terrorism, drugs, gangs, active shooters,
<br />targeted violence, transnational organized crime, and cyber—require federal, state, and local
<br />governments to leverage this national capacity to effectively respond to the evolving nature of the
<br />various national and homeland security threats confronting our Nation. Ultimately, timely
<br />identification and analysis of key indicators from local, state, and federal partners will enable all
<br />stakeholders to address threats and develop and implement data-driven strategies to prevent,
<br />protect against, mitigate, and respond effectively, while ensuring the protection of privacy, civil
<br />rights, and civil liberties.
<br />To underscore the importance of the National Network as a critical component of our Nation’s
<br />distributed homeland security and counterterrorism architecture, FEMA preparedness grants will
<br />continue to prioritize support for designated fusion centers and the maturation of the ISE. Fusion
<br />centers must prioritize the following capabilities to further enable and mature this national asset and
<br />strengthen the collective capacity to identify, collect, analyze, and share information, and to
<br />disseminate actionable and strategic intelligence to key stakeholders:
<br />.Addressing Threats: Fusion centers provide a national level, decentralized, and coordinated ISE
<br />across all levels of government and disciplines that can be leveraged and applied to address
<br />threats to homeland security, national security, public safety, and/or public health, and
<br />especially those threats that may have little or no warning. Fusion centers should leverage and
<br />build upon their terrorism-focused analytic and information-sharing capabilities so they can be
<br />applied to address threats across the DHS mission space, including threats from both
<br />international terrorism and domestic violent extremists, threats to life and targeted violence,
<br />transnational organized criminal activity, cyber threats, and natural hazards, among others that
<br />require close collaboration with DHS operational, investigative, and analytic entities such as CBP,
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