ABSTRACT
Presidents issue directives to guide the work of the federal executive branch agencies in homeland security activities. PPD-8 defined how the executive branch would reform the approach to national preparedness for specified disasters. It also led to changes in the roles of elements of the executive branch, with a rise in the power of the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, a reduction of control over the development of the preparedness program in the Department of Homeland Security, and an omission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from the work of the directive. Changes included a focus on developing resilience, allowing local governments to define their threats and the responses to them, and including the whole community in the planning process. The refocusing on local jurisdictions included eliminating the Target Capabilities and creating Core Capabilities, and reforming the requirements for the training and exercise elements of preparedness. The Whole Community concept brought nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, and the business community into the preparedness planning process. The final product was the creation of four new frameworks for developing preparedness: prevention, protection, mitigation, and recovery, and a revision of the original National Response Framework.
