As part of Nationwide Infrastructure Support Technical Assistance Consultants (NISTAC), a joint venture of Dewberry and URS Group, we've long been respected by the FEMA community for our technical capabilities and programmatic expertise in their Public Assistance (PA) Program. Dewberry has supported FEMA's disaster recovery programs for nearly 30 years and has gained the respect of FEMA and its staff, which includes FEMA's training institution, the Emergency Management Institute (EMI).

As a result of our reputation and long standing history with FEMA, NISTAC was selected to provide technical and programmatic support to manage, develop, and update fifteen courses from their Individual Assistance (IA) Program, an effort that included developing text and visuals for IA instructors' guides, student manuals, and testing materials. The IA Program, unlike the PA Program which provides aid to local and state governments after a disaster, is a separate program within FEMA that provides aid to individuals, families, and businesses whose property has been damaged or destroyed from a disaster.

A carefully selected team of NISTAC staff was challenged to assist with the effort—one that was not only challenging because it involved a new program area for NISTAC but also because of the extremely quick turnaround requirement. FEMA needed five of the IA courses ready by mid-2012 so they could begin training new employees hired under their new FEMA Corps Program. Our team was able to meet this compressed schedule and delivered the five courses this past May. Although some of the original fifteen courses have been placed on hold temporarily, NISTAC continues to proceed with development of the remaining IA courses and is on schedule to meet FEMA's next deadline.

Our dedication and support to FEMA continues to be rewarding. Our hard work and willingness to be involved in all areas of emergency management is one of the many key factors to NISTAC's continued success.