Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program – United States

Deadline: 29-Feb-24

The Department of Homeland Security is inviting applications to increase climate literacy among the emergency management community, including awareness of natural hazard risks and knowledge of best practices for mitigation.

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The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program makes federal funds available for hazard mitigation activities. It does so with a recognition of the growing hazards associated with climate change, and of the need for natural hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to those hazards. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future.

Awards made under this funding opportunity will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure, which will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy by enhancing U.S. competitiveness, driving the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union, and ensuring stronger access to economic and environmental benefits for disadvantaged communities. The BIL appropriates billions of dollars to FEMA to promote resilient infrastructure, respond to the impacts of climate change, and equip the nation with the resources to combat its most pressing threats.

Objectives

Increase awareness of stakeholders and partners with capabilities to support mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
More innovative risk-informed mitigation projects are developed and completed, including multi-hazard resilience or nature-based solutions.
Communities identify and mitigate the risks to natural hazards and their own threats from climate change.
FEMA directs increased resources to eliminate disparities in equitable outcomes across underserved communities.

Priorities

For FY 2023, the priorities for the program are to incentivize natural hazard risk reduction activities to include those that address multi-hazards that mitigate risk to public infrastructure and disadvantaged communities as referenced in EO 14008; incorporate nature-based solutions including those designed to reduce carbon emissions; enhance climate resilience and adaptation; and increase funding to applicants that facilitate the adoption and enforcement of the latest published editions of building codes.
FEMA acknowledges the adoption and enforcement of building codes, specifications, and/or standards as an important mitigation activity that provides significant resilience benefits. Therefore, BRIC has dedicated additional funds through a State/Territory and Tribal Building Codes Plus Up for FY 2023 to carry out eligible building code adoption and enforcement activities. Additionally, in future BRIC grant cycles, FEMA may increase its emphasis on building codes criteria.

Funding Information

Available Funding for the NOFO: $1,000,000,000
State/Territory Allocation Subtotal: $ 112,000,000
Tribal Set-Aside Subtotal: $ 50,000,000
State/Territory Building Code Plus-Up Subtotal: $ 112,000,000
Tribal Building Code Plus-Up Subtotal: $ 25,000,000
National Competition Subtotal: $ 701,000,000
State/Territory Maximum Allocation & Activity Caps $ 2,000,000
Period of Performance: 36 months

Eligible Activities

FEMA will provide financial assistance to eligible BRIC applicants for the following activities:
- Capability and Capacity-Building activities – activities that enhance the knowledge, skills, and expertise of the current workforce to expand or improve the administration of mitigation assistance. This includes activities in the following subcategories: building codes, partnerships, project scoping, hazard mitigation planning and planning-related activities, and other activities;
- Hazard Mitigation Projects – cost-effective projects designed to increase resilience and public safety; reduce injuries and loss of life; and reduce damage and destruction to property, critical services, facilities, and infrastructure (including natural systems) from a multitude of natural hazards, including drought, wildfire, earthquakes, extreme heat, and the effects of climate change;
- Management Costs – financial assistance to reimburse the recipient and subrecipient for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs, and other administrative expenses associated with a specific mitigation measure or project

Performance Measures

The BRIC program supports risk reduction of both acute events and chronic stressors, exacerbated by natural hazard risk and climate change, which are either observed or expected.
The following key performance indicators provide strategic and relevant information to decisionmakers and stakeholders about BRIC’s progress and success toward achieving goals and objectives, and are based on metrics that are available or could be feasibly collected:
- Total number and population size of communities supported by direct technical assistance
- Percent of federal dollars spent in or otherwise benefiting Justice40 communities (output/operational indicator available through FEMA GO and the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST)
- Dollar amount of total expected benefits (medium-term outcome indicator based on Benefit-Cost Analysis submitted in applications in FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO))
- Dollar amount of losses avoided in projects or communities funded by BRIC subapplications (long-term outcome indicator, will require post-disaster analysis, or a case study approach in lieu of post-disaster, pending completion of evaluability assessment).

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants
- States
- District of Columbia
- U.S. territories
- Federally recognized tribal governments
States and territories that have had a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in the seven years prior to the annual application period start date are eligible to apply to FEMA for federal assistance under BRIC (applicants). As a result of numerous major disaster declarations, all states, territories, and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply in FY 2023.
Federally recognized tribal governments that have had a major disaster declaration under the Stafford Act in the seven years prior to the annual application period start date or are entirely or partially located in a state or territory that has had a major disaster declaration in the seven years prior to the annual application period start date are eligible to apply to FEMA for federal assistance under BRIC as applicants or subapplicants to eligible states and territories. As a result of numerous major disaster declarations, all federally recognized Tribal governments are eligible to apply in FY 2023.
Local governments are eligible to apply to eligible states and territories for federal assistance under BRIC (subapplicants).
Individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply for BRIC funds; however, an eligible applicant or subapplicant may apply for funding on behalf of individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
Applicants are required to have a FEMA-approved State or Tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan in accordance with Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 201 by the application deadline and at the time of obligation of the award. (Hazard mitigation planning subapplications submitted by applicants are exempt from this mitigation plan requirement).
Subapplicants are required to have a FEMA-approved Local or Tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan in accordance with 44 C.F.R. Part 201 by the application deadline and at the time of obligation of grant funds for hazard mitigation projects. Subapplicants are exempt from the hazard mitigation plan requirement for the following Capability and Capacity Building activity types: (1) hazard mitigation planning and planning related activities, (2) partnerships, and (3) building codes. Federally recognized Tribal governments, submitting as subapplicants to a state or territory, are included in this exemption.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.