National Emergency Communication

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Emergency Communications

The National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) is the Nation's strategic plan to strengthen and enhance emergency communications capabilities. The NECP navigates the complex mission of maintaining and improving emergency communications capabilities for emergency responders and serves as the Nation's roadmap for ensuring emergency communications interoperability at all levels of government. The NECP establishes a shared vision for emergency communications and assists those who plan for, coordinate, invest in, and use operable and interoperable communications for response and recovery operations. This includes traditional emergency responder disciplines and other partners from the whole community that share information during incidents and planned events.

Title XVIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended, requires that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) develop the NECP to provide recommendations regarding how the United States should support and promote the ability of emergency response providers and relevant government officials to continue to communicate in the event of disasters and to ensure, accelerate, and attain interoperable emergency communications nationwide. The law also directs CISA to develop and periodically update the NECP in coordination with federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, and private sector stakeholders.

NECP Vision

Enable the Nation's emergency response community to communicate and share information securely across communications technologies in real time, including all levels of government, jurisdictions, disciplines, organizations, and citizens impacted by any threats or hazardous events.

National Priorities

Enhance effective governance among partners with a stake in emergency communications, embracing a shared responsibility of the whole community from traditional emergency responders and supporting entities to the citizens served.
Address interoperability challenges posed by rapid technology advancements and increased information sharing, ensuring the most critical information gets to the right people at the right time.
Build resilient and secure emergency communications systems to reduce cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.

NECP Goals

Governance and Leadership: Develop and maintain effective emergency communications governance and leadership across the Emergency Communications Ecosystem
Planning and Procedures: Develop and update comprehensive emergency communications plans and procedures that address the evolution of risks, capabilities, and technologies across the Emergency Communications Ecosystem
Training, Exercises, and Evaluation: Develop and deliver training, exercise, and evaluation programs that enhance knowledge of and target gaps in all available emergency communications technologies.
Communications Coordination: Improve effective coordination of available operable and interoperable public safety communications capabilities for incidents and planned events.
Technology and Infrastructure: Improve lifecycle management of the systems and equipment that enable emergency responders and public safety officials to share information efficiently and securely.
Cybersecurity: Strengthen the cybersecurity posture of the Emergency Communications Ecosystem.

Webinars: Implementing the National Emergency Communications Plan

Implementing the National Emergency Communications Plan webinars are designed to provide the public safety community with practical solutions intended to help organizations improve their emergency communications capabilities through the implementation of the NECP. Presented in partnership with the public safety community, CISA is conducting webinars to cover distinct NECP implementation topics:

How does your agency start to improve its cybersecurity posture? Implement the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework.
Make the most of your organization's investments: Lifecycle Planning for Emergency Communications.
EXERCISE! EXERCISE! EXERCISE! Learn how to turn evaluations into real-world communications improvements.
Money Talks: Funding Your Emergency Communications Capabilities.
5G is Here! How Will This Impact Emergency Communications?
Train and Exercise to Help Public Safety Personnel Overcome Information Overload, Stress, and Trauma

All are welcome to participate. Learn more about the NECP webinars.

NECP Spotlights

The goal of the spotlights is to communicate the benefits of the NECP, increase national awareness by highlighting stakeholder successes, and motivate increased participation. The spotlights highlight real-world examples detailing how the NECP enhances the Nation's emergency communications capabilities.

NECP Resources

Nationwide Communications Baseline Assessment

CISA developed the Nationwide Communications Baseline Assessment (NCBA) to evaluate the Nation's ability to communicate during a variety of response operations. The purpose of the assessment is to improve understanding across all levels of government of the capabilities needed and used by today's emergency response providers to establish and sustain communications operability, interoperability, and continuity. More information on the NCBA can be found in the NCBA Frequently Asked Questions and the NCBA Fact Sheet. CISA partnered with SAFECOM to gather assessment data by conducting the 2018 SAFECOM Nationwide Survey (SNS). Results from both the SNS and the NCBA, combined with input from key stakeholder organizations, lessons learned from 2008 and 2014 implementation and real-world events, informed the NECP's goals, objectives, and success indicators. Find additional information about the SNS on the SAFECOM website.