Smart, Safe Growth Training Materials
OPD is continuing to work with FEMA, USEPA, and interagency partners to update the 2018 SSG Guidance to include lessons learned from Super Typhoon Yutu and provide recommendations for demonstrating compliance with the newly adopted 2018 International Building Code. The project scoping and review matrix is being revised and upgraded so that it can be geospatially referenced and more easily incorporate available environmental and regulatory data. This will not only help to support long-term comprehensive planning efforts, but this centralized information will further facilitate coordinated project scoping and review, expediting the environmental assessment and thus the project permitting and development process. You can access the 2018 Smart, Safe Growth Guidance Manual here.
In July 2022, over 90 individuals from various government agencies and organizations participated in a training centered around “Smart, Safe Growth” (SSG). The training was separated into six modules with repeating “hybrid” sessions, allowing for maximum agency attendance and participation.
Modules 1 to 4 gave training attendees an in-depth look into what SSG is and the benefits of implementing it in the CNMI. These modules focused on SSG's connection to the Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan (CSDP), the SSG Guidance Manual, and SSG in the context of applicable CNMI government agencies' regulations.
In Module 5, training attendees were provided resources and taught communication techniques to support advocating for and training colleagues in SSG. Afterward, training attendees were given the opportunity to practice their skills and teach back material from the previous modules to fellow attendees and the trainers.
Module 6, which was hosted in the Department of Public Lands' conference room, was a hands-on tutorial of a web-based SSG evaluation tool available on the ArcGIS Survey123 platform that leads users through criteria and questions to quantify a project's conformance with SSG. The evaluation tool is still in development, and one objective is to integrate it into the CNMI government's EnerGov system to ensure quick and simple access to the tool.
You can access the 2023 revision of the Evaluation Tool in Excel here.
You can view the training modules as PDFs and find training videos linked below and access the project summary report here. For questions or to receive information about future SSG trainings and updates please email with “SSG” in the subject line.