ILT Adaptations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person classroom environments were not practical and often not available. In January 2021, there was no ongoing effort at FEMA to convert existing in-person classroom-based courses to a virtual format. Yet completion of certain courses continued to be required for State personnel to maintain their floodplain mitigation certification. FEMA’s Managing Floodplain Development through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) course is one such required course for state Floodplain Administrators (FPAs).

Bloomsburie converted the existing 4-day classroom course into a newly titled NFIP 101: Introduction to Floodplain Management, a 17-hour web-based training (WBT). This enables students to set their own learning pace with the added flexibility of working virtually. The course has a high degree of interactivity and includes immersive scenarios where FPAs work in a variety of contexts (e.g., rural, urban) and demonstrate a variety of responsibilities based on the needs of their community.

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Having a web-based option was critical to FEMA mission success during the pandemic and continues to allow for a better balance of work and studies and saves on travel costs for geographically dispersed students. The NFIP 101 course enables FEMA to ensure an educated cadre of floodplain management professionals who support responsible floodplain and flood-risk management across the nation. A beneficial impact comes from the State of Indiana passing a law in 2024 that recognizes completion of the NFIP 101 WBT as one of three options to meet the training requirements to serve as a Floodplain Administrator of a county or a municipality.