These resources are available to help state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to identify available funding sources, plan emergency communications projects for federal grants, and inform decision-makers on the importance of funding and sustaining public safety communications systems..
Emergency Communications Grant Guidance
FY 2021 SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants
This document is updated annually to provide current information on national policies, eligible costs, best practices, and technical standards for state, local, tribal, and territorial grant recipients investing federal funds in emergency communications projects.
- SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides an overview of the SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants, including its six recommended investment priorities. - SAFECOM Guidance Frequently Asked Questions: Understanding P25 Standards and Compliance
This document provides public safety agencies and grant applicants with information on Project 25 (P25) standards and compliance. - Improving Grant Management: SAFECOM Recommendations for Public Safety Agencies
This document highlights findings from the DHS Office of the Inspector General’s report on states’ and urban areas’ management of Homeland Security Grant Programs, as well as SAFECOM recommendations on grant management.
Roadmap to the Envisioned State of Emergency Communications
This roadmap outlines key considerations of converging emergency communications initiatives, including systems, technology and policy. It is an educational tool and resource for program managers and grant applicants, which outlines issues and steps towards realizing the National Emergency Communications Plan's vision.
Communications Continuity and Resiliency Informational Primer for Grant Recipients
This primer provides guidance for grant recipients to ensure consistent investments for public safety communications technologies, equipment purchase and compliance enforcement. It includes background on communications continuity and resiliency, best practices, and resources for additional information.
List of Federal Financial Assistance Programs Funding Emergency Communications
This list identifies federal financial assistance programs (e.g., grants, loans, cooperative agreements) that support emergency communications investments. It summarizes program descriptions including funding amounts, application deadlines, eligible applicants, and allowable cost that may relate to emergency communications. Periodic updates are posted throughout the year as new programs are announced.
Sustaining Public Safety Communications Systems
Emergency Communications System Lifecycle Planning Guide
Developed in 2011, this Lifecycle Guide is intended to be a high-level review of the considerations relevant to each step of the system lifecycle and is based on a Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) model. The guide considers relevant emergency communications lifecycle planning documents, as well as industry best practices for lifecycle planning methodologies, such as Closed Loop Lifecycle Planning, System Development Lifecycle, and TLM.
- Emergency Communications System Lifecycle Planning Guide Compendium: Best Practices, Considerations and Recommended Checklist
Developed in 2018, this compendium to the Lifecycle Guide assists stakeholders in their efforts to fund, plan, procure, implement, support, and maintain public safety communications systems, and eventually to replace and dispose of system components. - Emergency Communications System Lifecycle Planning Guide Fact Sheet
This document provides an overview of the Emergency Communications System Lifecycle Planning Guide. - Life Cycle Planning Tool
This companion document to the Lifecycle Guide provides a template for public safety agencies to complete when considering funding during each phase of the system lifecycle.
Emergency Communications Systems Value Analysis Guide
This guide is designed to help public safety agencies evaluate the cost-effectiveness of emergency communications systems components (e.g., infrastructure, fixed station equipment, devices, accessories, features, software and data storage). The guide provides recommendations, best practices, and a Value Analysis Checklist to assist agencies in making these decisions.
- Understanding the Value of Public Safety Communications Systems: A Brochure for Elected Officials and Decision-Makers
This accompanying brochure provides key considerations and trade-offs between the cost and value of communications systems components. The brochure serves as a leave-behind for decision-makers to better understand public safety requirements and solutions aligned with their strategic goals, while allowing agencies to save costs where possible.
Funding Mechanisms Guide for Public Safety Communications
This guide is designed to assist public safety agencies in identifying funding sources (e.g., bonds, special taxes, surcharges) for emergency communications projects. The resource highlights strengths, challenges, opportunities, and other considerations for each funding mechanism to help agencies determine if the strategy is suitable for their community.
Sustaining Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Trio and Supporting Materials
These documents provide an overview of radio systems, including information on their importance to public safety communications, as well as challenges to consider when upgrading systems.
- LMR 101, Part I: Educating Decision Makers on LMR Technologies, includes basic information for use in educating decision-makers about the importance of LMR technologies. The paper includes simple diagrams, terminology, history, and current usage of LMR technologies by public safety agencies.
- LMR for Decision Makers, Part II: Educating Decision Makers on LMR Technology Issues, provides information about emerging technologies, and the impact such technologies will have on LMR systems as they evolve. Information includes a discussion of the LMR-to-LTE transition, and the need to sustain mission-critical voice through such transition.
- LMR for Project Managers, Part III: A P25 Primer for Project Managers and Acquisition Managers, delivers an introduction about standards-based purchasing, and an overview of the P25 standard explaining its importance to public safety interoperability.
- Funding and Maintaining Public Safety Radio Systems Brochure
This brochure was developed as a handout for state, local, tribal, and territorial government decision-makers and elected officials to explain the importance of funding and sustaining public safety radio systems. The brochure is available in both a web version (online format) or a print version (ready to download and print). - Land Mobile Radio Action Memorandum
This action memorandum provides public safety agencies with basic information to provide state, local, tribal, and territorial government decision-makers and elected officials to explain the importance of funding and sustaining public safety radio systems.
Interoperability Business Case: An Introduction to Ongoing Local Funding
This document advises the public safety community on the elements needed to build a strong business case to demonstrate the need for funding interoperable communications.
Contingency Considerations When Facing Reductions in Emergency Communications Budgets
To help state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies maintain or adjust their budgets in a time of constrained funding, SAFECOM and the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) developed this fact sheet to provide a series of contingency considerations to justify investment in four mission-critical resource categories: personnel, operating costs, equipment, and software.