Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Program - HQ | DHS 21 MT 045 00 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for DHS 21 MT 045 00 01

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Program - HQ is a FEMA grant opportunity under the Department of Homeland Security designed to improve how flood hazards are identified, mapped, communicated, and ultimately reduced through stronger partnerships that support the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The core idea of the CTP Program is that FEMA can produce better, more trusted flood risk information and get more real-world mitigation outcomes when it works side-by-side with capable state, tribal, regional, and local partners rather than relying on a purely top-down approach. Through cooperative agreements, the program helps partners contribute technical data, local knowledge, and community engagement capacity to strengthen flood mapping and risk communication efforts, which in turn supports smarter planning and investment decisions that reduce flood losses and improve resilience.

This opportunity is closely tied to FEMA's Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) program objectives for FY 2021. It emphasizes a sharpened focus on two things: first, advancing mitigation actions (meaning it is not just about producing maps, but about using risk information to drive on-the-ground steps that lower risk), and second, improving the technical credibility of flood hazard data while engaging communities throughout the full Risk MAP lifecycle. In practice, this means the program prioritizes partnerships that can help FEMA target the right places, improve the quality and usefulness of flood hazard datasets, and ensure that the information leads to decisions and actions that measurably reduce risk.

The FY 2021 approach described in the notice highlights several practical priorities. One is initiating new projects in watersheds that have high risk and significant needs for updated flood hazard data, reflecting the reality that some areas are changing quickly due to development patterns, storm intensity, drainage modifications, sea level rise in coastal areas, or improved understanding of watershed hydrology. Another priority is integrating mapping data produced by partners and other stakeholders into broader mitigation planning, local risk assessments, and the development of actionable mitigation strategies, so that the data does not sit on a shelf and instead becomes a foundation for capital planning, land use choices, building standards, and project prioritization. The program also aims to help generate community actions to reduce flood risk by pairing credible data with outreach and engagement that motivates and enables local action. Finally, a key theme is maximizing the impact of dollars across levels of government by coordinating investments and reducing duplication, so federal, state, and local efforts complement each other rather than repeating the same work.

From a policy alignment standpoint, FEMA frames the CTP Program as supporting broader national preparedness and resilience goals. It advances the DHS 2020-2024 Strategic Plan goal to Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience, and it is also positioned as supportive of the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (which is tied to Presidential Policy Directive 8 on National Preparedness). It further aligns with FEMA strategic priorities such as building a culture of preparedness and readying the nation for catastrophic disasters. The connecting thread across these strategies is that reducing flood risk requires consistent, technically defensible information and sustained collaboration across jurisdictions and sectors, especially because flooding is one of the most frequent and costly natural hazards in the United States.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement, indicating FEMA expects ongoing collaboration with award recipients rather than a hands-off grant. The opportunity number is DHS-21-MT-045-00-01, and it is categorized under disaster prevention and relief as well as natural resources, with CFDA number 97.045. Eligible applicants are broad and include state governments; counties; cities and townships; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in that nonprofit category). The notice lists an award ceiling of $1,400,000, with an expectation of about five awards, suggesting a competitive selection process focused on a limited number of high-impact partnerships or projects. The opportunity was created on March 31, 2021, and the original application closing date was May 31, 2021.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a way for FEMA to invest in strong mapping and mitigation partnerships that improve flood hazard data, make that data more usable for community decisions, and translate risk information into tangible actions that reduce flood losses. It targets efficiency (less duplication, better coordination), credibility (technically sound datasets), and outcomes (mitigation and resilience), all in service of strengthening the NFIP and helping communities better understand and manage flood risk.

• The Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security - FEMA in the disaster prevention and relief, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Program - HQ" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 97.045.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 31, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 31, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

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