COMMUNICATION & INTEROPERABILITY ARCHIVES
Hidden Barriers to Public Safety Interoperability
Gabe Elias
April 23, 2025
Decades of work have improved public safety’s ability to share information. However, the journey toward better interoperable communication requires uncovering additional hidden barriers.
A Regional Approach to Public Safety Communications Planning
Charles (Charley) Bryson
April 16, 2025
Despite significant investments in public safety, critical training gaps for first responders persist. Regional planning committees, established by the FCC in the 1980s to manage public safety radio frequencies, remain key to improving interoperability. Learn about ongoing efforts—both regional and national—to close communication gaps and improve coordinated emergency response.
A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency Communications
William Chapman
April 16, 2025
“PACE” planning helps organizations fail gracefully, but systems thinking reduces the likelihood of failure altogether. Combining both approaches helps organizations build resilience, regardless of threat or hazard.
Know the Audience: Five Keys to Effective Communication
Marc Hill
April 9, 2025
Effective communication starts with understanding your audience—who they are, what they know, why they’re listening, and what they need to hear. Learn how this awareness can help you deliver a message your audience will understand, connect with, and remember.
AI Software in 911 Dispatch Centers: An Innovative Solution
Tanya M. Scherr
April 2, 2025
Coupled with continued staffing challenges, mental health and work-life balance difficulties in emergency call centers are cause for concern. By allowing artificial intelligence (AI) to take some of the burden off from existing staff and leadership, focus can be returned to where it is most needed within each center.
The Human Factor in Cybersecurity Events: Critical Education Components
Dan Scherr and Tanya M. Scherr
March 5, 2025
When considering cyberattack risk, understanding the primacy of the human factor is central in developing plans for continuity of operations and incident response. With the increasing cost of data breaches, it is increasingly important to educate users on best practices and to employ robust security programs.
Back to the Basics: Navigating Crisis Leadership
Andrew Pence
February 19, 2025
From historic catastrophes to today’s challenges, crises pose significant public threats. By returning to the basics and prioritizing deliberate preparation, organizational leaders can build greater resilience, enhance performance, and lead effectively when it matters most.
Imagining the U.S. Without Power: A Dual-World EMP Exercise
Charles (Chuck) L. Manto, K. Luke Reiner and Dave Hunt
February 12, 2025
A dual-world tabletop exercise simulating an electromagnetic pulse event in Chicopee, Massachusetts, revealed startling discrepancies in outcomes between the city’s current preparedness and a moderate-preparedness simulation.
The Forefront of Innovation in Training & Exercises: Disaster Gaming
Arthur J. Simental
February 12, 2025
Disaster wargaming may significantly change the future of tabletop exercises in emergency management and homeland security. Long used effectively to win and prevent wars throughout history, wargaming offers more realistic and engaging scenarios for emergency managers to prepare for real-world disasters.
Keeping Humans in the Loop: The Future of Emergency Management
Justin Kates and Emily Martuscello
February 5, 2025
The emergence of powerful artificial intelligence tools generates excitement and apprehension, raising profound questions about the future of emergency response. By adopting the joint cognitive systems paradigm, emergency managers are offered a new way of thinking about their work in this environment.
Overcoming Communications Challenges: A Hurricane Helene Success
Jarod Rosson
January 29, 2025
As part of the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s Hurricane Helene Incident Support Task Force, Emergency Management Coordinator Jarod Rosson experienced firsthand what it is like to respond to a disaster when all ground-based forms of communication are offline.
All at Once: Multi-Incident Simultaneous Response and Recovery
Tucker Berry
January 29, 2025
As demonstrated by hurricanes Helene and Milton, jurisdictions unaccustomed to compounding incidents can bolster their readiness to simultaneously respond and recover by proactively examining and preparing for unique challenges posed by such a scenario.
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