The intent of the first phase of this study was to develop a framework for a local support-planning tool for use by local military and civilian planners. Site visits were made to five locations to examine how communities actually engage in disaster preparedness. In addition to these visits, separate reviews of Web sites, documents, and existing preparedness-oriented support tools were conducted. From these reviews, it was determined that the tool being developed in this phase of the study will have the following characteristics based on perceived user needs. It will leverage existing models and tools whenever desirable, automate linkages for planning activities across disaster phases, and be applicable to all U.S. communities, regardless of size. It will be easy to use and require minimal technical expertise. It will be designed in a Microsoft Excel framework; there will be no barriers to gaining access to the tool. It will run on nearly any computing platform; and it will automate use of planning guidance for civilian and military agencies. The tool will assist local planners by automating four key outputs: (1) automate the process of linking risk assessment to capabilities-based planning; (2) generate resources needed, and, on an optional basis; (3) perform a gap analysis between resources needed and resources available; and (4) generate a community disaster preparedness network map, highlighting networking opportunities and a roster of key actors. Based on this framework, the next steps in this study will be to develop and field test a prototype tool that will focus on risk-informed capabilities-based planning. Figures, tables, appendixes, and bibliography