APCO would like to direct our member’s attention to the following project that will be jointly undertaken by IJIS and APCO.  The abridged notice below was recently published by IJIS and interested members will note the reply date is November 15^th, 2010.  This joint project is a follow-up to the highly successful PSDI project. Participants will need to have a strong background in CAD.  Members who have questions concerning the UCADS project can contact Stephen Wisely, APCO Director of Comm Center & 9-1-1 Services, at wiselys@apcointl.org.  Bill Hobgood will be the primary APCO staff member for this project.

This notice is an invitation to express interest in participation in the IJIS Institute/Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Public Safety Data Interoperability – Unified CAD Functional Specifications (UCADS) Project, sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

If you have  the appropriate skill sets, as specified below, will  be  available during the anticipated period of performance for this engagement, you are encouraged to submit a resume  package to Stephen J. Wisely, at wiselys@apcointl.org

All   resumes submitted will be evaluated and scored using the selection criteria specified in the mandatory and desired skills sections below. It is very important that your submission clearly identify experience in all of the specified skill set areas. Candidates will be notified as soon as practical as to whether or not they have been selected. Please do not hesitate to contact Steve if you have any questions about this effort.

Scope of Work
Sponsor: This project is being funded by BJA, award number 2010-DB-BX-K147, Unified Computer Aided Dispatch Functional Specifications (UCADS) Project.

Point of Contact: Paul Holcombe, paul.holcombe@ijis.org and Stephen Wisely, wiselys@apcointl.org

Background: In 2003, the Law Enforcement Information Technology Standards Council (LEITSC) identified the need for a national standard for computer aided dispatch functional specifications to: provide a starting point for law enforcement agencies to use when developing CAD requests for proposal (RFP); level the playing field when working with industry solution providers; and promote system interoperability. This recognition ultimately led to the creation of the Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems through the cooperation of a number of partner organizations and with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

In 2009, the IJIS Institute’s Public Safety Data Interoperability Project, in partnership with APCO and with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, identified the need to expand the original document to include fire service and EMS CAD functional specifications. Through a series of meetings and collaborative efforts, the Revision Assessment for the Incorporation of Fire and EMS Functions into the Law Enforcement CAD Functional Specifications was created. This Revision Assessment not only identified functional specifications that should be added to the existing document, but also a number of areas where the existing law enforcement‐focused document should be altered to be timely and accurate.

The next step in the process is the development of the document that will replace the Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems with input and direction from the Revision Assessment for the Incorporation of Fire and EMS Functions into the Law Enforcement CAD Functional Specifications.

Overview
The IJIS Institute, in partnership with APCO, will conduct this engagement on behalf of BJA. The goal of this engagement is to develop the Unified Computer Aided Dispatch Functional Specifications (UCADS), and the Recommendations for the Maintenance of the UCADS Document. It is envisioned that these documents will be of immense importance to the emergency communications, law enforcement, fire service, and emergency medical service (EMS) communities by supporting the planning, acquisition, and management of computer aided dispatch (CAD) software applications. The UCADS document will use the existing Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems (Version I) document published by LEITSC as a starting point, and the Revision Assessment for the Incorporation of Fire and EMS Functions into the Law Enforcement CAD Functional Specifications document as a guide for the effort. Both of these documents are attached.

The UCADS Work Group participants will be:

• 3 emergency communications representatives
• 3 law enforcement representatives
• 3 fire service representatives
• 3 EMS representatives
• 3 industry representatives
• 1 BJA representative
• Project support staff from the IJIS Institute and APCO International

Level of Effort/Commitment: The estimated commitment for representatives is as follows:

• Participation in one 2½ day face-to-face meeting in a location TBD (not including travel time);
• Nine web conferences at 1.5 hours each; and
• Additional non-scheduled time to review and comment on document drafts (estimated 8-15 hours per month).

Location: TBD for face-to-face meeting, plus numerous remote web conferences.

Period of performance: The project activities are expected to begin Dec. 15, 2010, and conclude on or about Aug. 31, 2011.

Tentative Schedule:

Skill Requirements
Mandatory Skills:

1. Familiarity with CAD software product(s).
2. Familiarity with software functionality required for law enforcement, fire service, and EMS dispatching.
3. Experience working with multiple practitioner agencies in a collaborative environment.
4. Technical writing and document review skills.

Desired  Skills:

1. General knowledge of best technology practices for CAD environments.
2. General knowledge of best business practices for CAD environments.
3. Familiarity with emergency communications technologies such as NG9-1-1.
4.  Experience working with multiple public safety software providers in a collaborative environment.

Selection criteria: The IJIS Institute has a standardized selection methodology. This methodology uses a formula that takes into consideration the following criteria and weighting. Evaluation will be made based on the respondent’s level of compliance with these items.

Mandatory Skills: 50%
Desired Skills: 30%
Recent Engagements Adjustment: 20%

Compensation: All related travel, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses will be covered per the applicable GSA Per Diem Schedule, and in accordance with the IJIS Institute reimbursement policy, for selected work team members. No other expenses are authorized and all work performed will be considered time volunteered in support of the IJIS Institute’s nonprofit mission.

Highlight on proposed GIS attribute change in NENA i3
The public review and comment period for the NENA Next Generation 9-1-1 i3 specification will remain open until November 17, 2010.  During the past two weeks significant discussion has been taking place with regard to an additional GIS attribute that is being proposed within the i3 document.  The new attribute, Street Type Prefix,  is listed in Appendix B near the end of the document and is highlighted in the chart below.  The Street Type Prefix will change how addressing authorities parse street names going forward.  Examples of street names that would be affected are names such as “Avenue A”,  “Avenue of the Americas”, “Route 95” etc.  The portions of these street names such as “Avenue” and “Route” would be parsed as a separate element under this proposal.  A standardized list of values has not been established for the street type prefix and the proposal is to allow local addressing authorities to assign values as they deem appropriate.  APCO staff has expressed concern with the proposal to implement this new GIS element before further research can be done to assess the impact to existing PSAP GIS systems, products such as CAD & RMS, backward compatibility impact to records retention systems and integration with existing IETF standards.  We encourage all of our members to provide comments to NENA on the i3 specification and how this particular change will potentially impact or benefit critical systems support operations.

The link to the i3 specification document is http://www.nena.org/sites/default/files/TSD%20i3%20Stage%203%20Public%20Review%20093010.pdf

Comments may be submitted via the comment tracking form at http://www.nena.org/sites/default/files/Comment%20Tracking%2008-003%20i3%20stage%203%20Public%20Review.xls