The SNS Is Live!
Influence the future of emergency communications by participating in the SNS! Any agency or organization that is charged with a public-safety related mission and uses emergency communications technology is encouraged to take the survey.
Survey Resources
Documentation designed to help organizations complete the survey with ease.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Features FAQs on how to complete the survey.
Glossary
The SNS glossary provides clarity on terms used throughout the survey.
Survey Section Descriptions
The 2023 SNS is organized into eight topic areas. Each topic area includes questions tailored to your organization’s level of government.
About the SNS
The SAFECOM Nationwide Survey (SNS) is a nationwide data collection effort to obtain actionable and critical data that drives our nation’s emergency communication policies, programs, and funding. SAFECOM will leverage the collected data to identify gaps and inform development of the program’s strategic priorities and inform the Nationwide Communication Baseline Assessment (NCBA) developed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
In accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended (6 U.S.C. § 573(a)), Congress directs CISA to assess federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments emergency communications every five years. The data collected from the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey will be utilized to conduct the NCBA. The assessment focuses on:
Analyzing the current state of emergency communications capabilities;
Identifying nationwide gaps; and
Measuring the evolution of emergency communications since the last iteration of the SNS
Who Should Take the SNS
Any agency or organization that is charged with a public-safety related mission and uses emergency communications technology is encouraged to take the survey. To achieve statistical validity of results, we need respondents from various disciplines, geographies, and levels of government.
In particular, the survey targets participation from the following disciplines:
Emergency Communications Centers
Emergency Management
Law Enforcement
Emergency Medical Services
Fire and Rescue
Benefits to Your Organization
SNS results help government officials and emergency responders better understand emergency communications needs so they can make data-driven funding, policy, and programmatic decisions to strengthen emergency communications capabilities. SNS data helps:
Shape policy and funding
Tailor programs and services
Build knowledge and awareness of capabilities and gaps
Uses of SNS Data
Participant responses and data gathered from the SNS help public safety officials better understand emergency communications needs.
SNS data is used in a variety of ways:
Budget development
Reports/studies
Influence training
Determine resource needs
Drive technology decisions
Congressional grant funding guidance
Additionally, the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey (SNS) data will be shared, as appropriate, with emergency communications public safety partners.
2018 Survey Results
The SAFECOM Nationwide Survey (SNS) was a data collection initiative the Department of Homeland Security Emergency Communications Division (ECD) conducted from late 2017 thru March 2018 in order to enable the assessment of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments in regards to emergency communications. Results from the SNS support ECD's development of the Nationwide Communications Baseline Assessment (NCBA) in accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended (6 U.S.C. §573(a)).