National Incident Management System
"Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5, Management ofDomestic Incidents,
directed the development and administration of the National Incident Management
System (NIMS). Originally issued on March 1, 2004, by the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable Federal,
State , tribal, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the
private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity.

HSPD-5 also required DHS to establish a mechanism for ongoing coordination to provide strategic direction for, and oversight of, NIMS. The National Integration Center's (NIC)Incident Management Systems Integration Division (lMSI)-formerly the NIMS Integration Center-was established to support both routine maintenance and the
continuous refinement of NIMS."