Subject: [NEXTEL-1] PROJECT SAFECOM

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 13:26:08 -0400

April 2004
PROJECT SAFECOM
Key Cross-Agency Emergency
Communications Effort Requires
Stronger Collaboration

While its overall objective of achieving communications interoperability
among emergency response entities at all levels of government is a
challenging task that will take many years to fully accomplish, Project
SAFECOM, in its 2-year history, has made very limited progress in
addressing this objective. OMB’s e–government objectives of improving
operating efficiency and achieving budgetary savings within federal
programs have also been largely stymied.

Two major factors have contributed to the project’s limited progress:
(1) lack of consistent executive commitment and support, and (2) an
inadequate level of interagency collaboration. In its 2 1/2-year
history, Project SAFECOM has had four different management teams in
three different agencies (see figure). In recent months, the current
project team has pursued various near-term activities that are intended
to lay the groundwork for future interoperability, including
establishing a governance structure that emphasizes collaboration with
stakeholders and developing guidance for making grants that can be used
to encourage public safety agencies to plan for interoperability.
However, it has not yet reached written agreements with several of its
major stakeholders on their roles in the project or established a stable
funding mechanism. Until these shortcomings are addressed, the ability
of Project SAFECOM to deliver on its promise of improved
interoperability and better response to emergencies will remain in
doubt.

Time Line of Major Project SAFECOM Management Changes

One of the five priorities in the
President’s Management Agenda is
the expansion of electronic
government (e–government)—the
use of Internet applications to
enhance access to and delivery of
government information and
services. Project SAFECOM is one
of the 25 initiatives sponsored by
the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to implement this
agenda. Managed by the
Department of Homeland Security,
the project’s goal is to achieve
interoperability among emergencyresponse
communications at all
levels of government, while at the
same time realizing cost savings.
GAO assessed the government’s
progress in implementing Project
SAFECOM.
To enhance the ability of Project
SAFECOM to improve
communications among first
responders at all levels of
government, GAO recommends
that the Secretary of Homeland
Security direct the Under Secretary
for Science and Technology to
complete agreements with the
project’s federal and nonfederal
stakeholders that define how they
will contribute to SAFECOM and
measure program progress.
Commenting on a draft of this
report, the department provided
information about the project’s
recent activities and noted that
draft agreements had been sent to
all of the project’s federal funding
partners.

http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d04494high.pdf

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