Dear CIS members,

The Tactical Interoperability Communication Scorecard Report was released by DHS today for each of the 75 urban/metropolitan areas within the U.S.

The scorecard assesses a region's level of maturity for Governance, SOPs, and Usage elements of the SAFECOM Interoperability Continuum. The Boston UASI Region scored with "Established Implementation" (3 out of 4 quarters) in each of the three areas, which I believe is both a fair assessment and one to be proud of because of the great work you all have done.

The scorecard's definition of "Established Implementation" is as follows:

• SOPs: Existing regional SOPs were reviewed and included in the TICP, and are in use by included agencies. NIMS compliant command and control has been instituted by all agencies and disciplines in the region. Despite minor issues, all SOPs were successfully demonstrated during exercise(s).
• Usage: First responders use interoperability solutions regularly and easily. The region demonstrated successful multi-agency (which may have included state, federal, and support organizations) communications during exercise(s).
• Governance: Formal agreements outline the roles and responsibilities of a decision making group, which has an agreed upon strategic plan that addresses sustainable funding for collective, regional interoperable communications needs.

Our scorecard is located on page A-46 (or page 64 if you are viewing online) of the report.  As you are reviewing the full report and the scoring of other regions, I am sure you will, as I was, be disappointed that we did not make it into the top 5 most highly ranked regions. As with any scoring process, this one isn't perfect...for example, I know some stakeholders in our region disagreed with the validity of some of the Poseidon After-Acton Report findings, which contributed to our rating. 

On the other hand, I was pleased to see that our own proactive and recent reflections during the past two CIS meetings are aligned with several of the recommendations suggested by the DHS evaluators.  We have already identified and launched operational initiatives that will address the recommendations, and will continue to develop a plan to implement your ideas to sustain the CIS over the long-term. 

I would appreciate hearing any comments you have on the scorecard, and look forward to working with you over the upcoming year to address the recommendations.

Best,

Cynthia

Cynthia Chang

Mayor's Office of Emergency Preparedness

Metro Boston Homeland Security Region

Boston City Hall, Room 603

Boston, MA 02201

617.635.1400 voice

617.635.2974 fax

617.635.4500 24 hr emergency