Fiscal Year 2023 Emergency Management Baseline Assessment Grant (EMBAG) | DHS 23 NPD 131 00 99

Opportunity Information: Apply for DHS 23 NPD 131 00 99

The Fiscal Year 2023 Emergency Management Baseline Assessment Grant (EMBAG) is a FEMA cooperative agreement designed to strengthen emergency management nationwide by pushing the consistent use of recognized, national-level standards. The central idea is preparedness before disaster strikes: FEMA wants state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) communities to have accredited emergency management programs and certified emergency managers in place ahead of incidents, whether those incidents are natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other human-caused emergencies. Rather than focusing on response equipment or short-term operational support, this opportunity is aimed at improving the underlying quality, consistency, and accountability of emergency management programs through structured standards and formal assessment.

EMBAG supports communities and the emergency management profession by funding voluntary, consensus-based standards and peer review assessment processes. In practice, that means the grant is meant to help jurisdictions and programs measure their emergency management capabilities against nationally recognized benchmarks, identify gaps and shortfalls, and then lay out a practical path toward meeting those benchmarks. The emphasis on "voluntary" and "consensus-driven" standards signals that FEMA is prioritizing frameworks that are broadly accepted, maintained over time, and updated through established professional or standards-setting processes rather than one-off or proprietary checklists. The peer review angle is also important: the program is meant to encourage credible assessments that benefit from external expertise and structured evaluation, not just self-attestation.

The funding priorities fall into three main buckets. First, EMBAG supports the national-level standards themselves and the peer review processes used for emergency preparedness and response, specifically when those standards are driven, established, validated, and revised through consensus. Second, it supports actual assessments of SLTT emergency management programs and emergency managers against those national standards. This is the "baseline assessment" component: taking a hard look at current capability, maturity, and compliance, then documenting what needs to improve. Third, it supports outreach and training for emergency management programs and emergency managers that take part in EMBAG-funded work, which helps ensure jurisdictions understand the standards, know how to navigate the assessment process, and can build internal capacity to sustain compliance over time.

Legally, the opportunity is tied to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, specifically the provision that allows "other assistance" to build tribal, local, state, regional, and national capabilities needed to respond to disasters and terrorism (6 U.S.C. 313(b)(2)(G)). That reference helps clarify why FEMA is funding standards, accreditation pathways, and professional certification efforts: they are viewed as capability-building activities that improve readiness and coordination before an emergency occurs.

From an administrative standpoint, this is an earmark-category opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning recipients should expect substantial FEMA involvement or collaboration during performance compared with a more hands-off grant. The funding activity category is listed as Disaster Prevention and Relief, and the CFDA/Assistance Listing number is 97.131. The award ceiling is $1,000,000, with an expected total of two awards, suggesting a relatively small number of higher-impact recipients rather than many small grants. The posting shows a creation date of July 5, 2023, and an original application closing date of August 4, 2023.

Eligibility is broadly labeled as "Others," with clarification expected in the full notice under an additional eligibility section, so interested organizations would need to confirm they fit the eligible applicant types described in the official announcement. Applications are submitted through FEMA Grants Outcomes (GO) at https://go.fema.gov/, which is FEMA's standard online system for submitting and managing grant applications. Overall, EMBAG is best understood as an investment in emergency management program quality and professionalization, using nationally recognized standards and credible assessment methods to help communities identify where they stand and what they need to do to reach stronger, more consistent levels of preparedness.

• The Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security - FEMA in the disaster prevention and relief sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2023 Emergency Management Baseline Assessment Grant (EMBAG)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 97.131.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 05, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 04, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for DHS 23 NPD 131 00 99

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