SAFECOM Leaders Meet to Discuss SAFECOM 2017 Strategic Plan

Chief Gerald Reardon

SAFECOM Chair

SAFECOM Technology Policy Chair

SAFECOM At-Large, City of Cambridge (MA) Fire Department

On December 6, 2016, the Office of Emergency Communications and SAFECOM leadership, to include the SAFECOM Chair and Vice Chairs as well as each of the four SAFECOM Committee Chairs, met in-person in Arlington, Virginia, to discuss SAFECOM’s strategic plan for 2017. SAFECOM’s role in the public safety arena has become more important than ever due to the increasing difficulties with funding, T-Band, land mobile radio (LMR) and long-term evolution (LTE) integration, and the evolving ecosystem. It is SAFECOM’s responsibility to continue working towards addressing these concerns.

During the meeting, SAFECOM leadership reviewed the list of proposed 2017 SAFECOM products and activities developed during the October 26, 2016, in-person committee meetings in Norman, Oklahoma. SAFECOM leadership prioritized the top priorities on which each committee will focus for 2017. The Education and Outreach Committee will continue to focus on updating SAFECOM’s educational materials and building out the website. The Governance Committee will be developing a Membership Demographics Factsheet and Intellectual Capital Assessment to showcase SAFECOM’s wealth of knowledge. The Committee will also focus on finalizing SAFECOM’s annual documents, such as the 2016 Annual Report and 2017 Strategic Plan. The Joint Funding and Sustainment Committee will concentrate on developing materials on funding, life cycle planning, and maintenance models. Finally, the Joint Technology Policy Committee will develop materials on encryption, public safety grade, information overload, and broadband technologies.

Thank you to SAFECOM’s Leadership for taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend this informative meeting and I look forward to working with everyone in 2017 to improve public safety communications.