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IPEM Application Process

Download the IPEM Application

The applicant must address each of the following:​

Education Requirements

Submit a copy of the applicant’s highest educational degree/diploma. This could include a BS/BA, associates degree, high school or GED diploma. (If the diploma is unavailable, the applicant should submit whatever documentation they have available to show completion of one of these levels.

Training Requirements

The following training courses must be successfully completed:

  • Illinois Professional Development Series Certificate
  • G/K 2300 Intermediate Emergency Operation Center Functions
  • Disaster Assistance Process
  • Debris Management
  • EOP Development and Review 
  • IS 393.a/b Introduction to Mitigation
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • IS 700.a Introduction to NIMS
  • IS 29.a Public Information Officer Awareness (Replaces IS 702.a)
  • IS-5.A: An Introduction to Hazardous Materials
  • IS 703.a NIMS Resource Management
  • IS 800.b National Response Framework, An Introduction
  • ICS 400*
  • Additional 12 hours of IEMA/FEMA/IESMA, or other related agency, sponsored training.**

* Either Command and General Staff or All Hazard Incident Management Training courses can be substituted for ICS 400. ​

** Only eight hours (a minimum of two hours per course) can come from non-IPEM required FEMA Independent Study courses. 

*** Successfully completed college level courses, including those emphasizing disaster/emergency management or management, homeland security or management-related, can be used to meet the 12 additional required hours. Please see the following scale:

Number of Semester Hours: 1 Number of Additional Training Hours: 12


To validate these courses, the applicant is required to submit the following:

  • Official college transcript identifying courses/number# of semester hours
  • Official course description and agenda

Exercise Requirements

The list of approved exercise-related positions is included below. Please access the link to the position that you were assigned to view a drop-down box listing the required narrative information, exercise-related documents and verification letter.

Exercise Director/Co-Director

Narrative:

Why were you selected? What was your previous experience/training relevant to this position? Did you choose this position or were you assigned? What do you feel you could have done to better prepare yourself for this position? If you were assigned to identify a person to fill this position in future exercises, what previous experience and/or training do you think would allow a person to be best prepared?

What was your involvement in determining the need for this exercise?

What entities were included on your exercise design team? What was your involvement and what were the selection criteria? What was your involvement in the selection of the controllers and evaluators and what were the selection criteria? What was your involvement in the selection of actors and what were the selection criteria? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on if you are involved in the selection of controllers, evaluators and actors in future exercises. Please explain your response.

What planning conferences/briefings were you involved with, or that you scheduled/conducted, and what was your role? Do you feel these were productive or could have been more productive and why you feel that way? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on if you are involved in conducting these planning conferences/briefings in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Describe your role in developing the exercise documents. Which specific documents were you involved with developing and what was your level of involvement? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when developing these documents in future exercises. Describe your role during the exercise. Was there any interaction with the controllers, evaluators, members of the exercise design team or simulation cell? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when interacting with those positions. Please explain your response.

Were you involved in the exercise Hot Wash? If so, what was your level of involvement? Were you involved in the development of the AAR/IP? If so, how did your involvement and guidance contribute to the completion of the AAR/IP? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when conducting an exercise Hot Wash and developing AAR/IPs in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Identify any additional lessons that you learned as the Exercise Director/Co-Director that will allow you to improve your capabilities in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Documents:

Copies of the following documents should be included:

  • All pre-exercise documents, in HSEEP format, that the applicant was involved with developing.
  • AAR/IP using the HSEEP format.
  • Any other exercise-related documents appropriate for the applicant.
  • Letter from the jurisdiction conducting the exercise or IEMA regional/central staff verifying the exercise was conducted and that the applicant served in the position described.

Lead Evaluator

Beginning with the 2019 applications, those submitting the Lead Evaluator position will meet the following additional criteria: Being an active member of the exercise design team, identified in the exercise documents as the Lead Evaluator for the entire exercise and provide a detailed narrative how they selected, trained, coordinated, briefed and debriefed all additional evaluators.

Narrative:

Why were you selected? What was your previous experience/training relevant to this position? Did you choose this position or were you assigned? With the additional evaluators, what was your involvement in their selection and what were the selection criteria? What do you feel you could have done to better prepare you for this position? If you were assigned to identify a person to fill this position in future exercises, what previous experience and/or training do you think would allow a person to be best prepared?

What briefings were you involved with or that you scheduled/conducted and what was your role? With the additional evaluators, what process was used to assign what they were evaluating and what directions were they given? With the additional evaluators, were there any pre/post-exercise briefings conducted with them? If so, what was your role? Do you feel these were productive or could have been more productive? Please explain your response. Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on if you are involved in conducting these briefings in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Describe your role during the exercise. Was there any interaction with the controllers, evaluators, members of the exercise design team or the simulation cell? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when interacting with those positions in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Were you involved in the exercise Hot Wash? If so, what was your level of involvement? Were you involved in the development of the AAR/IP? If so, how did your involvement and guidance contribute to the completion of the AAR/IP? How were the completed EEGs used in completing the AAR/IP?

Identify any additional lessons you learned as the Lead Evaluator that will allow you to improve your capabilities in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Documents:

Copies of the following documents should be included:

  • All HSEEP formatted documents that list the applicant as the Lead Evaluator.
  • Letter from the Exercise Director/Co-Director or IEMA regional/central office staff verifying that the event took place and the applicant served in the position described.

Lead Controller

Beginning with the 2019 applications, those submitting the Lead Controller position will meet the following additional criteria: Being an active member of the exercise design team, identified in the exercise documents as the Lead Controllor for the entire exercise and provide a detailed narrative how they selected, trained, coordinated, briefed and debriefed all additional controllers.

Narrative:

Why were you selected? What was your previous experience/training relevant to this position? Did you choose this position or were you assigned? With the additional controllers, what was your involvement in their selection and what were the selection criteria? What do you feel you could have done to better prepare you for this position? If you were assigned to identify a person to fill this position in future exercises, what previous experience and/or training do you think would allow a person to be best prepared?

What briefings were you involved with, or that you scheduled/conducted, and what was your role? Do you feel the briefings were productive or could have been more productive? Please explain your response. With the additional controllers, were there any pre-exercise briefings conducted with them? If so, what was your role? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on if you are involved in conducting these briefings in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Describe your role during the exercise. With the additional controllers, how did you interact with them? What was your interaction with the Exercise Director/Co-Director, evaluators or others? Was there a simulation cell established? If so, describe your interaction with it? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when interacting with the Exercise Director/Co-Director, evaluators and the simulation cell in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Identify and describe any post-exercise conferences/meetings and what your role was during those conferences/meetings.

Identify any additional lessons you learned as the Lead Controller that will allow you to improve your capabilities in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Documents:

Copies of the following documents should be included:

  • All HSEEP formatted documents that list the applicant as the Lead Controller.
  • Letter from the Exercise Director/Co-Director or IEMA regional/central office staff verifying that the event took place and that the applicant served in the position described.

Injects Writing/Master Sequence of Events List (MSEL) Team

Narrative:

Why were you selected? What was your previous experience/training relevant to this position? Did you choose this position or were you assigned? If you were assigned to identify a person to fill this position in future exercises, what previous experience and/or training do you think would allow a person to be best prepared?

What entities were included on the Injects Writing/MSEL Team? Were there other entities that you felt should have been included? Please explain your response.

What conferences/meetings were you involved with and what was your role? Do you feel these were productive or could have been more productive and why? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when participating in these types of conferences/meetings in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Describe your role in developing the exercise documents. Which specific documents were you involved with developing and what was your level of involvement? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when being a member of the Injects Writing/MSEL Team in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Describe your role during the exercise. Was there any interaction with the controllers, evaluators, members of the design team or simulation cell? Describe what you felt you did well and what you need to improve on when interacting with those entities in future exercises. Please explain your response.

Identify any additional lessons you learned as a member of the Injects Writing/MSEL Team that will allow you to improve your capabilities in future exercises along with why.

Documents:

Copies of the following documents should be included:

  • MSEL Document
  • Letter from the Exercise Director/Co-Director or IEMA regional/central office staff verifying that the event took place and that the applicant served in the position described.

After reviewing the drop-down box for the applicant’s assigned position, please submit the following items:

  • Narrative: A double-spaced, single-sided Word document that addresses all of the required narrative information listed. This detailed narrative will allow the applicant to provide an in-depth picture of their involvement, with special attention directed to what the applicant felt they did well and what challenges they faced.  These “lessons learned,” along with “why” they felt that way, provide the applicant with a baseline of their strengths and what areas they look to improve on during future exercises. The length of the narrative will depend on how long it takes the applicant to address all of the required information for the position they were assigned, with special attention to the “lessons learned.” If the required information is not provided, the narrative will be returned to the applicant for revision and re-submittal.
  • Exercise-related Documents: Copies of the specific documents listed in the drop-down box. 
  • Verification Letter: A letter as described in the drop-down box.

Reference Letter and Experience Requirements

A letter validating the documented role* and number of years in the role, along with a copy of current job description. Acceptable sources of the letter include: current supervisor or past supervisor (within the required number of years), emergency management officials (municipal, county, state or federal), and chief elected official in your jurisdiction. The following scale represents the minimum number of years depending on the applicant’s role:

  • Three years emergency management role at the municipal, county, state, or federal level (full, part-time, or volunteer). At least one year must be Illinois-based.
  • Two years emergency management role, with a bachelor’s degree in emergency management or homeland security, at the municipal, county, state, or federal level (full, part-time or volunteer). At least one year must be Illinois-based.
  • Five years public safety role law enforcement, fire, EMS, public health, military, national weather service, human services, non-governmental organizations.* At least one year must be Illinois-based.
  • Five years private sector role: Risk Management, safety, emergency management preparedness specialist, security/emergency response specialist, security coordinator or access control coordinator.* At least one year must be Illinois-based.

*Applicant may petition IPEM Application Review Committee for roles not listed above.

IPEM Application Submittal Process

An IPEM application must be received by IEMA with a post mark no later than July 15 for consideration of accreditation for that particular year. The IPEM application must include the following:

  • A letter to the Director of IEMA requesting IPEM accreditation.
  • A copy of the completed application form.
  • A copy of the applicant’s highest educational degree/diploma.
  • A copy of all appropriate training course completion certificates that are not currently listed on the applicant's IEMA training transcript. It is the responsibility of the applicant to maintain a record of course completion certificates or other appropriate supporting documentation.  The applicant is asked to review their IEMA training transcript to assist in ensuring that all required training has been completed.
  • A copy of the required exercise documentation.
  • A copy of the required exercise narrative, exercise-related documents and verification letter.
  • A copy of the information/documentation required for only five professional contributions.
  • A copy of the reference letter verifying the applicant’s documented role and number of years in the role, along with a copy of current job description.

Please submit only the documents required as listed above staple free and unbound.​

Applicant is asked to access the Application Review Process to be aware of the review process once the application has been received by IEMA.

The application packet should be mailed to:

IEMA Director
2200 South Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, Illinois 62703-4528
Attn: IPEM Application