Victorian and US partnership for public safety

An alliance between the Victorian emergency management and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to advance information-sharing capabilities for public safety will continue after key members met to reaffirm the partnership.

Recently in Washington, Craig Lapsley, Emergency Management Commissioner, and Jane Garrett, Minister for Emergency Services, met with Under Secretary Dr Reginald Brothers from the DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate and Dr Melissa G Choi from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to formalise the alliance.

Over the next 12 months and beyond, the partnership will help facilitate the development of standards-based approaches for enabling public safety organisations to share information and improve decision-making capabilities, regardless of differences between hazards and technology.

“This effort with our international research partners will help us to provide front-line emergency managers and response personnel with faster access to critical information,” said Dr Brothers.

“This collaborative effort will also help increase effectiveness of international humanitarian assistance and disaster response resulting in saving lives and reducing property damage.”

In addition, Victorian emergency management and DHS will continue to explore the use of the Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS) technology to support public safety needs. Release of the open-source NICS software for the global community is anticipated later this year.

Commissioner Lapsley said the open-source licensing of the software, developed by DHS Science and Technology Directorate and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, provides a world-class platform on which Victoria is improving the way it delivers emergency information and advice.

“Victoria’s information strategy is to enable all stakeholders, including communities and businesses, to participate in providing improved intelligence and, in turn, gain better and more timely information to improve decision-making for all,” said Lapsley.

Other collaborative research between the partners will include mobile applications, improving communications in rural areas with low connectivity and disaster resiliency.

Source