EMAP Accreditation: Is 2020 Your Year to Start (or Finish) the Process?

Hard work. Dedication. Time. These are the things that go into earning certification through the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). It’s the highest honor that organizations involved in emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation can receive. And, it’s yours to be had (perhaps as early as next year if you’ve already started the process).

There are five steps to the EMAP accreditation process. These include:

1) Subscription – Provides an emergency management program access to the Program Assessment Tool and other services.

2) Self-Assessment and Application – Involves a review of the applicant’s program against each of the 64 standards within the Emergency Management Standard.

3) On-Site Assessment – Allows for an assessment team to review and verify information provided in the program’s application and documentation materials, and prepare findings in an assessment report (it will be shared with the program and the EMAP Program Review Committee).

4) Committee Review and Commission Decision – Results in recommendation for full accreditation (compliance with all 64 standards); conditional accreditation (areas of non-compliance must be addressed within nine months); or accreditation denied.

5) Accreditation and Maintenance – Completes the accreditation process and commits programs to maintaining compliance with the standards for the next five years. The reaccreditation process involves essentially the same steps as the original application process.

Earning and keeping EMAP accreditation is no small undertaking. But, it’s not unattainable either. Many state, local and federal government programs as well as higher education and private sector programs have made it all the way. Yours can too.

So, whether you’re just now thinking about starting the EMAP accreditation process, or simply picking up where you left off this year, let 2020 be the year to advance your emergency management program. The reward will be well worth the hard work, dedication and time you put into it.

BOLDplanning’s experienced and highly credentialed consultants, coupled with its online planning platform, routinely support organizations wanting to obtain EMAP certification.