The National Response Framework is a guide to how the Nation responds to all types of disasters and emergencies. It is built on scalable, flexible, and adaptable concepts identified in the National Incident Management System to align key roles and responsibilities across the Nation. This Framework describes specific authorities and best practices for managing incidents that range from the serious but purely local to large-scale terrorist attacks or catastrophic natural disasters. The National Response Framework describes the principles, roles and responsibilities, and coordinating structures for delivering the core capabilities required to respond to an incident and further describes how response efforts integrate with those of the other mission areas.
The NRF provides context for how the whole community works together and how response efforts relate to other parts of national preparedness. It is one of the five documents in the suite of National Planning Frameworks. Each covers one preparedness mission area: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response or Recovery.
The NRF is composed of a base document, Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes, Support Annexes, and Incident Annexes. The Annexes provide detailed information to assist with the implementation of the NRF.
- ESF Annexes describe the Federal coordinating structures that group resources and capabilities into functional areas that are most frequently needed in a national response.
- Support Annexes describe the essential supporting processes and considerations that are most common to the majority of incidents.
- Incident Annexes describe the unique response aspects of incident categories.
The Federal ESFs bring together the capabilities of Federal departments and agencies and other national-level assets. GSA is the Primary Agency, along with FEMA Logistics, for ESF 7 Logistics and is a Support agency to nine other RESFs.
As the co-lead agency for Logistics, GSA provides:
- Emergency relief supplies
- Facility space
- Office equipment
- Office supplies
- Telecommunications support
- Contracting services
- Transportation services
- Personnel required to support immediate response activities
- Support for requirements not specifically identified in other ESFs, including excess and surplus property
The Office of Mission Assurance is the lead unit within GSA for coordinating GSA response activities across the agency.
U.S. General Services Administration