Chapter VI NIMS - Supporting Technologies Technology and technological systems provide supporting capabilities essential to implementing and continuously refining the NIMS. These include voice and data communications systems, information systems (i.e., record keeping and resource tracking), and display systems. These also include specialized technologies that facilitate incident operations and incident management activities in situations that call for unique technology-based capabilities. Ongoing development of science and technology is integral to continual improvement and refinement of the NIMS. Strategic research and development (R&D) ensures that this development takes place. The NIMS also relies on scientifically based technical standards that support the nation's ability to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents. Maintaining an appropriate focus on science and technology solutions as they relate to incident management will necessarily involve a long-term collaborative effort among NIMS partners. A. CONCEPTS and PRINCIPLES The NIMS leverages science and technology to improve capabilities and lower costs. It observes five key principles: 1. Interoperability and Compatibility Systems must be able to work together and should not interfere with one another if the multiple jurisdictions, organizations, and functions that come together under the NIMS are to be effective in domestic incident management. Interoperability and compatibility are achieved through the use of such tools as common communications and data standards, digital data formats, equipment standards, and design standards. 2. Technology Support Technology support permits organizations using the NIMS to enhance all aspects of incident management and emergency response. Technology support facilitates incident operations and sustains the research and development (R&D) programs that underpin the long-term investment in the nation's future incident management capabilities. 3. Technology Standards Supporting systems and technologies are based on requirements developed through preparedness organizations at various jurisdictional levels (see Section III.B.1). National standards for key systems may be required to facilitate the interoperability and compatibility of major systems across jurisdictional, geographic, and functional lines. 4. Broad-Based Requirements Needs for new technologies, procedures, protocols, and standards to facilitate incident management are identified at both the field and the national levels. Because these needs will most likely exceed available resources, the NIMS provides a mechanism for aggregating and prioritizing them from the local to the national level. These needs will be met across the incident life cycle by coordinating basic, applied, developmental, and demonstration research, testing, and evaluation activities. 5. Strategic Planning for R&D Strategic R&D planning identifies future technologies that can improve preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery capabilities or lower the cost of existing capabilities. To ensure effective R&D, the NIMS Integration Center, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, will integrate into the national R&D agenda the incident management science and technology needs of departments, agencies, functional disciplines, private-sector entities, and nongovernmental organizations operating within the NIMS at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels. B. SUPPORTING INCIDENT MANAGEMENT WITH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Supporting technologies enhance incident management capabilities or lower costs through three principal activities: operational scientific support; technology standards support; and research and development support. 1. Operational Scientific Support Operational scientific support identifies and, on request, mobilizes scientific and technical assets that can be used to support incident management activities. Operational scientific support draws on the scientific and technological expertise of Federal agencies and other organizations. Planning for this category of support is done at each level of government through the NIMS preparedness organizations described in Section III.B.1. Operational scientific support is requisitioned and provided via the NIMS through various programs coordinated by the Department of Homeland Security and other organizations and agencies. 2. Technical Standards Support Technical standards support efforts enable the development and coordination of technology standards for the NIMS to ensure that personnel, organizations, communications and information systems, and other equipment perform consistently, effectively, and reliably together without disrupting one another. The NIMS Integration Center will coordinate the establishment of technical standards for NIMS users. The following principles will be used in defining these standards: a. Performance Measurements as a Basis for Standards Performance measurement—collecting hard data on how things work in the real world—is the most reliable basis for standards that ensure the safety and mission effectiveness of emergency responders and incident managers. Within the technology standards process, a performance measurement infrastructure develops guidelines, performance standards, testing protocols, personnel certification, reassessment, and training procedures to help incident management organizations use equipment systems effectively. b. Consensus-Based Performance Standards A consensus-based approach to standards builds on existing approaches to standards for interoperable equipment and systems and takes advantage of existing SDOs with long-standing interest and expertise. These SDOs include the National Institute of Justice, National Institute for Standards and Technology, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, American National Standards Institute, American Society for Testing and Materials, and National Fire Protection Association. The NIMS, through the NIMS Integration Center, establishes working relationships among these SDOs and incident management organizations at all levels to develop performance standards for incident management technology. c. Test and Evaluation by Objective Experts NIMS technology criteria will rely on private- and public-sector testing laboratories to evaluate equipment against NIMS technical standards. These organizations will be selected in accordance with guidelines that ensure that testing organizations are both technically proficient and objective (free from conflicting interests) in their testing. The NIMS Integration Center will issue appropriate guidelines as part of its standards-development and facilitation responsibilities. d. Technical Guidelines for Training Emergency Responders on Equipment Use Inputs from vulnerability analysts, equipment developers, users, and standards experts are employed to develop scientifically based technical guidelines for training emergency responders on how to use equipment properly. Based on incident management protocols, instruments, and instrument systems, these training guidelines reflect threat and vulnerability information, equipment and systems capabilities, and a range of expected operating conditions. In addition, performance measures and testing protocols developed from these training guidelines provide a reproducible method of measuring the effectiveness of equipment and systems. 3. Research and Development to Solve Operational Problems R&D planning will be based on the operational needs of the entire range of NIMS users. These needs represent key inputs as the nation formulates its R&D agenda for developing new and improved incident management capabilities. Since operational needs will usually exceed the resources available for research to address them, these needs must be validated, integrated, and prioritized. The preparedness organizations described in Section III.B.1 perform these functions. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for integrating user needs at all levels into the national R&D agenda. Chapter VII NIMS - Ongoing Management and Maintenance HSPD-5 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a mechanism for ensuring the ongoing management and maintenance of the NIMS. To this end, the Secretary will establish a multijurisdictional, multidisciplinary NIMS Integration Center. This center will provide strategic direction for and oversight of the NIMS, supporting both routine maintenance and continuous refinement of the system and its components over the long term. The center will include mechanisms for direct participation from and/or regular consultation with other Federal departments and agencies; State, local, and tribal incident management entities; emergency responder and incident management professional organizations; and private-sector and nongovernmental organizations. The NIMS Integration Center will also be responsible for developing a process for ongoing revisions and updates to the NIMS. Revisions to the NIMS and other corrective actions can be proposed by •local entities (including their preparedness organizations; see Chapter III); •State entities (including their preparedness organizations; see Chapter III); •regional entities (including their preparedness organizations; see Chapter III); •tribal entities (including their preparedness organization; see Chapter III); •Federal departments and agencies; •private entities (including business and industry, volunteer organizations, academia, and other nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations); and •NIMS-related professional associations. A. CONCEPTS and PRINCIPLES The process for managing and maintaining the NIMS ensures that all users and stakeholders—including various levels of government, functional disciplines, and private entities—are given the opportunity to participate in NIMS Integration Center activities. To accomplish this goal, the NIMS Integration Center will be multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary and will maintain appropriate liaison with private organizations. The NIMS management and maintenance process relies heavily on lessons learned from actual incidents and domestic incident management training and exercises, as well as recognized best practices across jurisdictions and functional disciplines. B. STRUCTURE AND PROCESS The Secretary of Homeland Security will establish and administer the NIMS Integration Center. Proposed changes to the NIMS will be submitted to the NIMS Integration Center for consideration, approval, and publication. The Secretary has ultimate authority and responsibility for publishing revisions and modifications to NIMS-related documents, including supplementary standards, procedures, and other materials, in coordination with other Federal, State, local, tribal, and private entities with incident management and emergency responder responsibilities, expertise, and experience. C. Responsibilities The NIMS Integration Center will be further responsible for: •developing a national program for NIMS education and awareness, including specific instruction on the purpose and content of this document and the NIMS in general; •promoting compatibility between national-level standards for the NIMS and those developed by other public, private, and/or professional groups; •facilitating the development and publication of materials (such as supplementary documentation and desk guides) and standardized templates to support implementation and continuous refinement of the NIMS; •developing assessment criteria for the various components of the NIMS, as well as compliance requirements and compliance timelines for Federal, State, local, and tribal entities regarding NIMS standards and guidelines; •facilitating the definition of general training requirements and the development of national-level training standards and course curricula associated with the NIMS, including the following: -the use of modeling and simulation capabilities for training and exercise programs -field-based training, specification of mission-essential tasks, requirements for specialized instruction and instructor training, and course completion documentation for all NIMS users -the review and recommendation (in coordination with national professional organizations and Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities) of discipline-specific NIMS training courses •facilitating the development of national standards, guidelines, and protocols for incident management training and exercises, including consideration of existing exercise and training programs at all jurisdictional levels; •facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a publication management system for documents supporting the NIMS and other NIMS-related publications and materials, including the development or coordination of general publications for all NIMS users, as well as their issuance via a NIMS publication management system; •reviewing (in coordination with appropriate national professional standards-making, certifying, and accrediting organizations and with input from Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector and nongovernmental entities) of the discipline-specific publication management requirements submitted by professional organizations and associations; •facilitating the development and publication of national standards, guidelines, and protocols for the qualification and certification of emergency responder and incident management personnel, as appropriate; •reviewing and approving (with the assistance of national professional organizations and with input from Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities), as appropriate, the discipline-specific qualification and certification requirements submitted by emergency responder and incident management organizations and associations; •facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a documentation and database system related to qualification, certification, and credentialing of incident management personnel and organizations, including reviewing and approving (in coordination with national professional organizations and with input from the Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector and nongovernmental entities), as appropriate, of the discipline-specific requirements submitted by functionally oriented incident management organizations and associations. •establishment of a data maintenance system to provide incident managers with the detailed qualification, experience, and training information needed to credential personnel for prescribed "national" incident management positions; •coordination of minimum professional certification standards and facilitation of the design and implementation of a credentialing system that can be used nationwide; •facilitating the establishment of standards for the performance, compatibility, and interoperability of incident management equipment and communications systems, including the following: -facilitating, in coordination with appropriate Federal agencies, standards-making, certifying, and accrediting organizations, and appropriate State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations, the development and/or publication of national standards, guidelines, and protocols for equipment certification (including the incorporation of standards and certification programs already in existence and used by incident management and emergency response organizations nationwide) -reviewing and approving (in coordination with national professional organizations and with input from Federal, State, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities) lists of equipment that meet these established equipment certification requirements -collaborating with organizations responsible for emergency responder equipment evaluation and testing •facilitating the development and issuance of national standards for the typing of resources; •facilitating the definition and maintenance of the information framework required to guide the development of NIMS information systems, including the development of data standards for the following: incident notification and situation reports, status reporting, analytical data, geospatial information, wireless communications, identification and authentication, and incident reports, including "lessons learned" reports; •coordinating the establishment of technical and technology standards for NIMS users in concert with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security and recognized SDOs; •integrating into the national R&D agenda, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, the incident management science and technology needs of departments, agencies, disciplines, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations operating within the NIMS at all levels; and •establishing and maintaining a repository and clearinghouse for reports and lessons learned from actual incidents, training, and exercises, as well as for best practices, model structures, and model processes for NIMS-related functions.