3. Assess current capacities: Conduct an assessment and inventory of existing local agency resources related to homeland security/emergency management and identify potential gaps in preparation, response, or recovery capabilities at the local level of government.

4. Gather stakeholder input: Engage stakeholders from various disciplines (e.g., law enforcement, fire services, public works, healthcare/public health) to provide input into needs assessments, priorities for resource allocation and development goals associated with meeting identified mission requirements outlined above in step 1).

5. Identify key strategies: Develop an action-oriented set of strategies which address known gaps between present reality and desired end-state capacity levels necessary to meet stated objectives and goals described previously in Step 2). This might include identifying anchor concepts such as “all hazards preparedness” or “multi-agency coordination.”

6. Create timeline & budgeting plan: Further refine each strategy by creating a timeline for implementation along with associated budgetary estimates needed to pursue these initiatives at the local level over a reasonable timeframe commensurate with impact upon existing operating budgets within respective departments or jurisdictions owned by partner agencies involved in executing these plans (i.e., leveraging short term grants versus long term funding commitments).