The Universal Task List (UTL) is an important tool in the Capabilities- Based Planning process being implemented under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8: National Preparedness by Office for Domestic Preparedness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Fifteen National Planning Scenarios (key risk scenarios), developed under the leadership of the Homeland Security Council, are being used as planning tools to define the nature and scope of incidents for which we must prepare. The scenarios were used to define the tasks that need to be performed at every level of government to prevent, respond to, and recover from large-scale incidents. Nationally representative teams identified tasks based on criticality. Most of the tasks identified through the scenario analysis are common across scenarios. All unique tasks have been combined into a menu called the UTL. It defines all the tasks that need to be performed by someone in response to an Incident of National Significance, but no single jurisdiction or agency would be expected to perform every task. Subsets of tasks are selected based on specific roles, missions and functions. They serve as the foundation for learning and exercise objectives, as well as for operational planning, evaluations and assessments of performance. The UTL will continue to be refined and expanded as additional activities are addressed, to include those performed by the private sector. (DHS, UTL 2.0, Dec 2004, p. iii)