MIP FAQs: Sequencing / Procurement Action Lead Time (PALT) Tools

What is the MIP Sequencing Tool?
What is the MIP PALT Tool?
How and when do updates in the Sequencing Tool affect data in the PALT Tool?
What happens to the data in the PALT Tool once we enter into a new fiscal year?
How and when are projects which are zeroed–out in the Sequencing Tool removed from the PALT Tool? What are the consequences of this removal?
In Sequencing, what are the differences between the Working Dataset and the Approved Dataset for a particular region?
How is data in the Approved Dataset of the Sequencing Tool used?
What Sequencing data can be exported?
What exactly is a Sequencing baseline?
Why don’t changes made in Sequencing and/or PALT push through to the MIP Workflow?
How are MMMS funds tracked in Sequencing and PALT?

1. What is the MIP Sequencing Tool?

The MIP Sequencing Tool is an online database system through which FEMA’s Regional Offices and associated Regional Management Centers (RMCs) upload and edit their Sequencing data. Data captured in the Sequencing Tool identify projected dates, funding years, FEMA Funds, leveraged funds, appropriated funds, and statistical data associated with flood map development for every county in the Nation (although some counties will not be receiving a map update). This set of data is used for many purposes which include producing the Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification Plan (MHIP). It should be noted that the data in the Sequencing Tool is dynamic and can be changed at any time by the Regional Offices and/or RMCs. Each MHIP update is, by comparison, a static set of data which reflects a periodic “snapshot” of the Sequencing data. As a result, MHIP updates may not reflect recent changes to the “live” MIP Sequencing environment.

The Sequencing Tool also serves to provide a planned project cost for the relevant fiscal year at the county level which is used as a point of comparison with funds tracked in the MIP PALT Tool. In the Sequencing Tool, the FEMA Funds amount for a particular county or Special Project for a given fiscal year is the amount that shows up in the PALT Tool for that same county or Special Project in the same fiscal year.

2. What is the MIP PALT Tool?

The MIP PALT Tool is a tool within the MIP in which specific dollar amounts allocated to each FEMA Region for mapping activities are recorded and tracked. Regions use the PALT Tool to record dates by which they plan to perform each of the steps associated with obligating funds. The Regions also record the dates by which the tasks are actually completed along with the dollar amounts they actually obligated. The PALT Tool continuously reads the FEMA Funds amount for a particular county or Special Project from the Sequencing Tool and displays this in the PALT Tool as the total planned cost of a county or Special Project in the relevant fiscal year. This value is then used as a point of comparison with funds tracked in the PALT Tool.

There are three main reasons for PALT.

PALT provides Acquisitions lead time to CRB
PALT reports provide FEMA HQ with a status of obligated funds
PALT may be used as a planning tool by the Regions to plan their mapping activities

3. How and when do updates in the Sequencing Tool affect data in the PALT Tool?

Any updates to Sequencing funding data by a RMC Sequencing Lead must first be approved by a FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead through the Sequencing Tool approval process before those changes are reflected in the PALT Tool. Once this approval occurs, the updates in the Sequencing Tool in the relevant fiscal year are reflected immediately in the PALT Tool under County Mapping Activities.

Any changes made to the Sequencing data by a FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead, MOD team Sequencing Lead, or FEMA HQ are automatically approved in the Sequencing Tool approval process, so changes made to the Sequencing funding data by these users are reflected immediately in the PALT Tool under County Mapping Activities.

The PALT Tool continuously reads the Last Approved Values for a county or Special Project from the Sequencing Tool.

4. What happens to the data in the PALT Tool once we enter into a new fiscal year?

The PALT Tool is constantly reading the projected cost of a county or Special Project for the current fiscal year from the Last Approved Values in the Sequencing Tool. On October 1st of each successive fiscal year, the PALT Tool will automatically read the Sequencing data associated with the new fiscal year. These new values will appear in the PALT Tool under County Mapping Activities. This is an automatic process that facilitates the comparison of projected costs from the Sequencing Tool with funds tracked in the PALT Tool for the current fiscal year.

It is possible within the PALT Tool, however, to view and edit data for prior fiscal years. This can be accomplished by selecting the desired fiscal year from the drop-down menu on any one of the three main PALT tabs. Note that when a user first logs into the PALT Tool, the current fiscal year’s data is loaded by default.

5. How and when are projects which are zeroed–out in the Sequencing Tool removed from the PALT Tool? What are the consequences of this removal?

If a user with a RMC Sequencing Lead role removes all FEMA funds for a county for a given fiscal year in the Sequencing Tool, the regional dataset, which contains the zeroed-out county, must be submitted to and approved by the FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead before the change will be reflected in the PALT Tool. Once this initial approval occurs, the county will still appear in PALT, but it will have a Total Planned Cost of $0 in the County Mapping Activities screen. The purpose of having the $0 Total Planned Cost appear in the PALT Tool is to act as a flag to PALT users to let them know that a particular county was recently zeroed-out in the Sequencing Tool. This way, PALT users can then redistribute any funding that was associated with tasks tracked in the PALT Tool for that county.

In order for the zeroed-out county to be removed from the PALT Tool, a second round of approval must occur. For a second time, then, the RMC Sequencing Lead must submit the regional dataset for approval. Once the FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead approves the data this second time, the county will be removed from PALT entirely.

An alternate flow of events is encountered when all FEMA funds for a county are removed by a user with the FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead, MOD team Sequencing Lead, or FEMA HQ role. Because changes made by these users are automatically approved in the Sequencing Tool, once any of these users zeroes out a county, that county immediately shows up in PALT as having $0 Total Planned Cost. A second round of approval must still occur, however, in order for the county to be completely removed from the PALT Tool. This second round of approval occurs when any of the FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead, MOD team Sequencing Lead, or FEMA HQ roles completes Sequencing activities for the zeroed-out county again, in which case a second round of automatic approval will have occurred. Only after this second round of approval is completed will a county be removed from the PALT Tool.

It should be noted that, regardless of the type of Sequencing user, two rounds of approval must occur in order for a county zeroed-out in the Sequencing Tool to be removed from the PALT Tool.

Assuming that two rounds of approvals have occurred in the Sequencing Tool for a zeroed-out county, that county will be removed from the PALT Tool. When this happens, all data in PALT that is associated with that county will be automatically removed. This means that any task descriptions and user-entered funding amounts associated with mapping activities for that county in PALT will be automatically deleted from PALT.
Group IDs in PALT exist only as long as they have activities associated with them.

If an activity associated with a zeroed-out county is the only activity associated with a Group ID in PALT, when that county disappears from PALT, the mapping activity will disappear in PALT, and that particular Group ID will be deleted.

(This scenario also applies to Special Projects)

6. In Sequencing, what are the differences between the Working Dataset and the Approved Dataset for a particular region?

The Working Dataset for a region is the data which can be viewed and edited in the Sequencing Tool. Whenever any Sequencing user makes changes to the Sequencing data, they are editing the Working Dataset.

The Approved Dataset for a region contains data values from the Working Dataset that have been approved manually by the FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead. The Approved Dataset for a region may also contain data from the Working Dataset that has been automatically approved in response to changes made by a FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead, MOD team Sequencing Lead, or FEMA HQ. Note that any changes made to the Working Dataset by any of these three Sequencing users automatically become part of the Approved Dataset. In contrast, changes made to the Working Dataset by a RMC Sequencing Lead must first be approved by a FEMA Regional Sequencing Lead in order for the changes to become part of the Approved Dataset.

7. How is data in the Approved Dataset of the Sequencing Tool used?

8. What Sequencing data can be exported?

The only data that can be exported is the Working Dataset and the Baseline Dataset. In order to export the Baseline Dataset, the data must be selected via the dataset drop-down menu in the Sequencing Tool.

9. What exactly is a Sequencing baseline?

A Sequencing baseline is essentially a “snapshot” in time of the Approved Dataset of the Sequencing Tool. When the MOD team Sequencing Lead creates a baseline, the Sequencing Tool captures all the Sequencing data in the Approved Dataset and “freezes” it so that it is view-only and un-editable for all Sequencing Users. The baseline is then used for analysis and preparation of the next MHIP release.

Baselines may be accessed using the dataset drop-down menu in the Sequencing Tool.

10. Why don’t changes made in Sequencing and/or PALT push through to the MIP Workflow?

Neither the Sequencing Tool nor the PALT Tool is connected to the MIP Workflow. For this reason, then, changes made in Sequencing or PALT are not propagated to the MIP Workflow.

11. How are MMMS funds tracked in Sequencing and PALT?

In the Sequencing Tool, MMMS funds are tracked using Special Projects. As long as MMMS Special Projects have FEMA Funding values entered for a particular FY, those projects will show up in PALT for the same FY.