InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization & Interoperability (IAB) MeetingArlington, VANovember 9, 2011

Robert P. Griffin Jr., Ph.D.

Director, First Responders Group

DHS Science and Technology Directorate

First Responders Group: Solution Development

Process and Project Responder Findings

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DHS S&T Mission

Strengthen America’s security and resiliency by

providing innovative science and technology solutions

for the Homeland Security Enterprise

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DHS S&T Goals

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Homeland Security Enterprise and First Responders Group Goals

Objectives: Better understand the needs and requirements of first responder

communities, including those on the front lines of border protection and transportation security

Create high-impact technologies and knowledge products–such as standards and protocols–that facilitate the safety, effectiveness, and ease with which first responders conduct their work

Advance the interoperability of communications equipment for first responders

Increase first responders’ access to information on best practices and product performance standards

Strengthen the Homeland Security Enterprise and First Responders’ capabilities to protect the homeland and respond to disasters

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• DHS S&T has developed the Solution Development Process for delivering solutions to the emergency preparedness and response community that focuses our resources on priority capability gaps.

• DHS S&T will work with the emergency preparedness and response community to identify and prioritize capability gaps.

• S&T will effectively engage working groups (FRRG, IAB, NPSTC, and the SAFECOM EC/ERC) consisting of representatives from the emergency preparedness and response community to generate and prioritize requirements based on the capability gaps.

• S&T will develop, manage, and complete projects based on the requirements gathered for those gaps.

Requirements Generation & Partnerships

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Purpose for First Responder Solution Development Process  

• Creates the pathway to be able to coordinate FRG projects with those of other federal programs, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) grant programs

• Maximizes our ability to spend our funding dollars on those priorities identified by the first responder community

• Creates rigor and coordination before projects are funded so that similar and related projects are coordinated saving time and money

• Answers and documents the strategic objectives defined by the first responder community

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Process Focuses S&T Resources on Priority Projects  

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Project Responder Overview  

• Initially funded in 2001, Project Responder is a systematic effort aimed at identifying gaps between current emergency response capabilities and those capabilities required to respond to a catastrophic incident.

• Several hundred emergency responders from a broad spectrum of both traditional response agencies and non-traditional partners have participated in the three phases of Project Responder over the last decade.

• The purpose of Project Responder 3 (the third iteration of Project Responder) is to ensure that investments by DHS S&T and FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate are prioritized to address the most critical capabilities required for catastrophic incident response.

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Project Responder Objectives 

• Identify change and continuity in missions and capabilities since the last Project Responder workshops in 2007.

• Determine the roles and priorities of Project Responder stakeholders, including local, tribal, state, and territorial governments as well as the Federal Government (DHS S&T and FEMA Preparedness Directorate).

• Identify gaps between current and required capabilities for catastrophic incident response.

• Prioritize areas of investment to address or reduce capability gaps and improve the Nation’s ability to respond to catastrophic incidents.

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Prioritization Results • Priorities can be grouped into two tiers:

– Tier 1 priorities are a sub-set of 12 capability gaps identified as top priorities across domains.

– Tier 2 priorities are additional high-priority capability gaps also of importance to many responders.

• While this list represents the consensus view of the workshop participants, there was notable variation between participants regarding the importance of individual statements.

• The Project Responder list is not in priority order.

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Top Forty Capability Gaps (1 of 4)• The ability to securely pass intelligence information up, down, and across domestic fusion

centers and other organizations that use intelligence.

• The ability to de-conflict many disparate, complex, and varied plans across jurisdictions and levels of government so they can function effectively.

• Readily accessible, high-fidelity simulation tools to support training and exercises in incident management and response.

• Clothing and equipment for all first responders that protects against multiple hazards.

• The ability to detect, monitor, and analyze passive and active threats and hazards at incident scenes in real time.

• An effective way to capture, analyze, retain, and share lessons learned and institutional knowledge.

• The ability to monitor the status of resources and their functionality in current conditions, in real time.

• A system that helps an incident commander recognize when the characteristics and complexity of an incident are different than they appear to be.

• The ability to predict the evolution of an incident, the impacts of decisions, and the results of response actions in real time.

• The ability to remotely scan an incident scene for signs of life and decomposition to identify and locate casualties and fatalities.

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Top Forty Capability Gaps (2 of 4)• The ability to identify trends, patterns, and important content from large volumes of information from

multiple sources (including non-traditional sources) to support incident decision making.

• The ability to assess infrastructure interdependencies and the impacts of infrastructure loss to support risk assessments.

• The ability to identify what resources are available to support a response (including resources not traditionally involved in response), what their capabilities are, and where they are, in real time.

• An integrated suite of tools to facilitate the development of emergency response plans in a standard form.

• The ability to evaluate the resiliency of individual responders so we can assure they will perform effectively in the face of acute and chronic stressors.

• The ability to develop standardized, actionable intelligence products that meet the requirements of the emergency services community.

• The ability to monitor and evaluate the mental and physical status of responders during an incident in real time.

• Better-quality voice and data communication systems.

• The ability to evaluate the resource needs and resource management efforts from past incidents, and share lessons about problems and solutions.

• A financial system that allows incident managers to share and draw on multiple sources of funds to pay for needed assets in advance of reimbursement.

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Top Forty Capability Gaps (3 of 4)

• The ability to rapidly determine and disseminate alternate standards of care based on incident conditions.

• A “clearing house” that connects those who need resources with those who can fulfill those needs in real time during an incident.

• Consistent and coordinated guidelines for use of risk assessment methodologies and development of risk assessments.

• The ability to prepare future executives to exercise command and control in a multidisciplinary and multi-jurisdictional collaborative setting.

• The ability to remotely monitor the tactical actions and progress of all responders involved in the incident in real time.

• The ability to predict, assess, and anticipate resource needs and rates of consumption for all types of catastrophic events.

• Communications systems that are hands-free, are ergonomic, and can be integrated into personal protective equipment.

• The ability to communicate clearly about resources using common terminology across disciplines and jurisdictions.

• The ability to track the location, condition, and status of patients for the entire time they are in the care of the medical response system.

• The ability to identify responders (including volunteers), validate their credentials, and put them to work.

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Top Forty Capability Gaps (4 of 4)

• The ability for responders to obtain information about the status of their families, and for their families to obtain information about them, in real time.

• The ability to protect and access sensitive and proprietary data required for risk assessments.

• The ability to know the location of responders and their proximity to risks and hazards in real time.

• The ability to incorporate information from multiple and non-traditional sources (e.g., crowdsourcing and social media) into the intelligence system.

• Decision support tools that allow incident commanders to vet courses of action and make evidence-driven operational decisions during an incident.

• The ability to rapidly identify hazardous agents and contaminants.

• An integrated suite of tools to support risk assessments and risk-based decisions in the planning process.

• The ability to communicate information to the families of survivors early, and to reunite survivors and families quickly.

• A national information sharing system to which all emergency response entities have access that integrates multiple disparate data and intelligence sources.

• The ability to communicate with responders in any environmental conditions (including through barriers, inside buildings, and underground).

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Tier 1 Capability Gaps The top 12 capability gaps can be grouped into three tiers:

• Tier 1A represents those capability gaps of the highest importance.

• Just below this top tier of capability gaps, four more gaps were identified as very high priority (Tier 1B).

• Next, a set of four additional capability gaps (Tier 1C) were seen as among the most important of the forty gaps (although ranking below the preceding eight capabilities).

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Tier 1 Capability Gaps

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Tier 1A

• Readily accessible, high-fidelity simulation tools to support training in incident management and response

• The ability to remotely monitor the tactical actions and progress of all responders involved in the incident in real time

• The ability to know the location of responders and their proximity to risks and hazards in real time

• The ability to communicate with responders in any environmental conditions (including through barriers, inside buildings, and underground)

Tier 1B

• Protective clothing and equipment for all first responders that protects against multiple hazards

• The ability to detect, monitor, and analyze passive and active threats and hazards at incident scenes in real-time

• The ability to identify what resources are available to support a response (including resources not traditionally involved in response), what their capabilities are, and where they are, in real time

• Communications systems that are hands-free, ergonomically-optimized, and can be integrated into personal protective equipment

Tier 1C

• The ability to monitor the status of resources and their functionality in current conditions, in real time

• The ability to identify trends, patterns, and important content from large volumes of information from multiple sources (including non-traditional sources) to support incident decision-making

• The ability to rapidly identify hazardous agents and contaminants

• The ability to remotely scan an incident scene for signs of life and decomposition to identify and locate casualties and fatalities

Capability Gaps Tier 1A • Readily accessible, high-fidelity simulation tools to support

training in incident management and response.

• The ability to remotely monitor the tactical actions and progress of all responders involved in the incident in real time.

• The ability to know the location of responders and their proximity to risks and hazards in real time.

• The ability to communicate with responders in any environmental conditions (including through barriers, inside buildings, and underground).

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Crosswalk: Capability Gaps Tier 1A 

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IAB(2010)

PR FRRG Project Responder Capability Gap

X X X Readily accessible, high-fidelity simulation tools to support training in incident management and response 

X X X The ability to remotely monitor the tactical actions and progress of all responders involved in the incident in real time

X X X The ability to know the location of responders and their proximity to risks and hazards in real time

X X XThe ability to communicate with responders in any environmental conditions (including through barriers, inside buildings, and underground)

S&T R&D Funding

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FY 2013 Budget (Final RAD)($ in thousands)

Research Develompment and Innovation Enacted CR FinalPresident's

BudgetHouse Mark

Senate Mark

FY10 FY11 FY12 FY12 FY12

569,922 459,627 550,850 106,500 439,783

The IAB plays an important role in the Solution Development Process• Step 1: IAB will identify, prioritize, and validate capability

gaps

• Step 2: IAB will review prioritized capability gaps and help define requirements for S&T solutions

• Step 3: IAB will assist in the development of ORDs and help prioritize proposed projects

• Step 4: S&T project selection and approvals

• Step 5: IAB will work with S&T to provide feedback on the projects, conduct field assessments, and inform the responder community about the solutions

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Back Up Slides

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Capability Gaps Tier 1B 

• Protective clothing and equipment for all first responders that protects against multiple hazards.

• The ability to detect, monitor, and analyze passive and active threats and hazards at incident scenes in real time.

• The ability to identify what resources are available to support a response (including resources not traditionally involved in response), what their capabilities are, and where they are, in real time.

• Communications systems that are hands-free, ergonomically-optimized, and can be integrated into personal protective equipment.

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Capability Gaps Tier 1C 

• The ability to monitor the status of resources and their functionality in current conditions, in real time.

• The ability to identify trends, patterns, and important content from large volumes of information from multiple sources (including non-traditional sources) to support incident decision making.

• The ability to rapidly identify hazardous agents and contaminants.

• The ability to remotely scan an incident scene for signs of life and decomposition to identify and locate casualties and fatalities.

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