This article describes the findings of a national survey of State Hazard Mitigation Officers (SHMOs) in U.S. states and territories in order to gain a greater understanding of the roles that they play in assisting local governments to build the capacity required to successfully develop and implement Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants, an important but understudied aspect of hazard mitigation governance. The research questions focus on: (1) How states and territories enable local governments to develop and implement HMA grants and (2) SHMOs’ opinions regarding their perceived capacity and effectiveness in assisting local governments to develop and implement HMA grants. Results show that while states and territories are relatively well-equipped to perform general administrative duties required by FEMA, SHMOs expressed wide variation in their capacity to assist local governments to develop and implement HMA grants. This was particularly evident with regard to the delivery of specific technical assistance measures required to develop HMA grants. Survey responses also highlight modest levels of participation in FEMA-designed efforts to delegate responsibility to states and territories and low levels of participation in programs that offer pre-application funding to local governments to help them develop HMA grant applications. These findings should concern FEMA as the agency embarks on the implementation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, an ambitious pre-disaster hazard mitigation grant initiative.

中文翻译：

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州和领地在减灾中的作用的全国评估：建立地方能力以实施 FEMA 减灾援助拨款

本文介绍了对美国各州和领地的州减灾官员 (SHMO) 进行的全国性调查的结果，以便更好地了解他们在协助地方政府建立成功制定和实施联邦法规所需的能力方面所发挥的作用。紧急事务管理局 (FEMA) 资助的减灾援助 (HMA) 拨款，这是减灾治理的一个重要但尚未充分研究的方面。研究问题集中在：（1）州和领地如何使地方政府能够制定和实施 HMA 拨款，以及（2）SHMO 对其在协助地方政府制定和实施 HMA 拨款的能力和有效性方面的看法。结果表明，虽然各州和领地相对有能力履行 FEMA 要求的一般行政职责，但 SHMO 在协助地方政府制定和实施 HMA 拨款的能力方面表现出很大差异。这在提供制定 HMA 赠款所需的具体技术援助措施方面尤为明显。调查答复还突出显示，FEMA 设计的将责任下放给各州和领地的努力的参与程度适中，以及向地方政府提供预申请资金以帮助他们开发 HMA 拨款申请的计划的参与程度较低。随着 FEMA 着手实施“建设弹性基础设施和社区”计划，这些调查结果应引起 FEMA 的关注，