Continue to promote the capabilities-based preparedness planning paradigm. A candid assessment is the necessary foundation for effective improvement planning. The target capability list (TCL) is a fair starting point. However, DHS should move forward with TCL 3.0, which uses classes to introduce risk into the process and avoid the one-size-fits-all approach of the current TCL 2.0 performance metrics. The process becomes more flexible and accurate by allowing a jurisdiction to select the class it belongs to along with the associated performance metrics for each capability.
Implementation of any planning paradigm at the national, state, and local levels takes time. Any cyclical system should be fine tuned with every iteration and as a result the data will become more accurate. However, to be embraced at the local level, where personnel, funding, and time is in short supply, a capability assessment tool has to be easy to use and provide meaningful data. If the basic preparedness planning paradigm becomes a constantly moving target, states and local jurisdictions are unlikely to adopt it.
