This summer tested our mettle—and our air-conditioners—with its record heat. It also tested the nation’s first responders. Tampa and Charlotte both rose to the considerable challenge of coordinating dozens of agencies to craft communications plans that helped them successfully host the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Other jurisdictions had to step up in a moment’s notice when wildfires raged, storms became violent or the screening of a summer blockbuster turned unthinkably tragic. It was a summer that reminded us why we continuously plan, prepare, train, adopt new technology and strive to do it all even better.

The Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP) is one of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Emergency Communications’ (OEC) most important and enduring programs. Its work to support states, cities, counties and tribal communities as they assemble and refine the plans, tools and systems they need to communicate effectively and across agencies has helped fuel the progress we collectively have made in interoperable emergency communications, and it will continue to do so in the years to come.

Requests for service: OEC’s Technical Assistance (TA) program is supported by federal funding and is provided at no cost to the requesting jurisdiction or organization. To receive TA, state and local agencies coordinate with their Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC) to submit up to five requests for services each calendar year. OEC then works with requestors to prioritize requests.

Since it was transferred to OEC from the Office of Domestic Preparedness in 2007, ICTAP has completed more than 700 offerings in all 56 U.S. states and territories, and the program will complete dozens more in the coming year. Support includes instruction from subject matter experts and on-site assistance with the planning, governance, operational and technical aspects of developing and implementing interoperable communications.

The program supports Statewide Communication Interoperability Plans (SCIPs) and assists first responders as they work to meet the goals of the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP). ICTAP provides an objective, third-party review of current practices, policies and procedures as well as technologies.

Catalog & custom assistance: OEC strives to make ICTAP’s offerings responsive to stakeholder feedback, needs identified by those in the field, and changes in laws and technology. To that end, the OEC TA Catalog will no longer be issued only once a year, but will be continually and regularly updated.

The newest catalog includes updates to the popular Communications Unit Leader (COML) and Communications Unit Technician (COMT) courses and a course on working within the NIMS/ICS structure for volunteer amateur radio operators. OEC/ICTAP also initiated train-the-trainer offerings for both the COML and COMT courses in 2012.

Broadband offerings include a basic overview, an RFP requirements matrix for broadband technologies, and development of governance structures for public safety broadband. Broadband Systems Support, initiated in 2011, complements NG9-1-1, a new offering in 2012, designed to help PSAPs, dispatch centers, and emergency operations centers better assess and integrate next-generation technologies into their daily operations.

ICTAP offerings can also be combined or tailored to meet specific needs. In March, the Tampa Bay Regional Domestic Security Task Force requested assistance with a six-hour functional exercise to test its communications planning and preparation for a significant event. It was part of addressing NECP Goal 3, but it was also a way to identify strengths and deficiencies in the region’s specific plan for the August 2012 RNC.

Online tools: Public Safety Technical Assistance Tools online (www.publicsafetytools.info) complement on-site TA offerings. For example, as the FCC’s narrow­banding deadline draws ever nearer, OEC’s Narrowband License Status Tool allows users to view VHF and UHF licensing data. The Frequency Mapping Tool analyzes weekly FCC licensing data to provide narrowband licensing status for agencies on their progress.

Other online resources include:

• Communications Assets Survey and Mapping Tool (CASM), a secure, Web-based application.
• National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG), which can even be downloaded to a smartphone.
• Response Level Communications Tool, which facilitates SWIC and county-level reporting of capabilities and performance data in response to NECP Goal 2.
• Video-based awareness programs on COMU awareness, project management and auxiliary communicators’ support to public safety within NIMS.

Take advantage: OEC’s no-cost TA program is designed to address and adapt to stakeholder needs and the evolving nature of emergency communications. I hope your agency will explore the ICTAP site and the free resources it offers.

Chris Essid

CHRIS ESSID is deputy director of the DHS Office of Emergency Communications. He can be reached at oec@dhs.gov. For more on OEC, visit www.dhs.gov, keyword OEC.

This article originally appeared in November 2012 Public Safety Communications.