On Thursday, the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) released the 2012 SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants (SAFECOM Guidance). In coordination with federal agency partners and state and local stakeholders, OEC develops the annual SAFECOM Guidance to provide technical information and program guidance for entities applying for federal grant funding for emergency communications projects.

The purpose of the FY 2012 SAFECOM Guidance is to provide guidance to grantees on:

• Emergency communications activities that can be funded through federal grants;
• Technical standards that facilitate interoperability; and
• Recommendations for planning, coordinating, and implementing emergency communications projects.

The FY 2012 SAFECOM Guidance has been revised to make it more useful for grantees seeking federal funding. Section 1.3 highlights key changes that have been made to the document since its last publication. It provides recommended priorities for funding, a review of the current federal grant climate, an updated list of grants that fund emergency communications and grant resources. The Guidance also includes updated technology standards.

The SAFECOM Guidance provides a list of emergency communication priorities. Grantees are encouraged to target funding toward these priorities to preserve recent gains to emergency communications, and to secure funding for future improvements. In FY 2012, grantees are strongly encouraged to target grant funding toward the following priorities:

• Priority 1: Leadership and Governance;
• Priority 2: Statewide Planning for Emergency Communications;
• Priority 3: Emergency Communications Training and Exercises;
• Priority 4: Other Integral Emergency Communications Activities;
• Priority 5: Standards-Based Equipment; and/or
• Priority 6: Planning for Investments in Broadband and Other Advanced Technologies.

Investments in these areas not only help to improve emergency response, but also align to federal funding initiatives that can support emergency communications.

The Guidance also states, “Grantees should consider investments in broadband and advanced technologies, in order to continue to improve emergency communication capabilities in their jurisdiction. The use of the 700 MHz spectrum will allow public safety to adopt broadband technologies that support high-speed data transmission across long distances creating access to video mapping, global positioning system (GPS) applications, and more.”