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Chapter V
NIMS - Communications
and Information Managment
Effective
communications, information management, and information and
intelligence sharing are critical aspects of domestic incident
management. Establishing and maintaining a common operating
picture and ensuring accessibility and interoperability are
principal goals of communications and information management.
A common operating picture and systems interoperability provide
the framework necessary to:
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formulate
and disseminate indications and warnings;
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formulate,
execute, and communicate operational decisions at
an incident site, as well as between incident management
entities across jurisdictions and functional agencies;
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prepare
for potential requirements and requests supporting
incident management activities; and
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develop
and maintain overall awareness and understanding
of an incident within and across jurisdictions.
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Prior
to an incident, entities responsible for taking appropriate
preincident actions use communications and information
management processes and systems to inform and guide various
critical activities. These actions include mobilization
or predeployment of resources, as well as strategic planning
by preparedness organizations, multiagency coordination
entities, agency executives, jurisdictional authorities,
and EOC personnel. During an incident, incident management
personnel use communications and information processes
and systems to inform the formulation, coordination, and
execution of operational decisions and requests for assistance.
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A.
CONCEPTS and PRINCIPLES.
1.
A Common Operating Picture Accessible Across Jurisdictions
and
Functional Agencies.
A common operating picture allows incident managers at all levels
to make effective, consistent, and timely decisions. Integrated
systems for communication, information management, and intelligence
and information sharing allow data to be continuously updated during
an incident, providing a common framework that covers the incident’s
life cycle across jurisdictions and disciplines. A common operating
picture helps ensure consistency at all levels of incident management
across jurisdictions, as well as between various governmental jurisdictions
and private-sector and nongovernmental entities that are engaged.
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2.
Common Communications and Data Standards.
Common communications and data standards and related testing and
compliance mechanisms are fundamental to an effective NIMS. Communications
interoperability in the context of incident management is also
critical. Effective communications outside the incident structure—between
other levels of government and between government and private entities—for
resources and other support is also enhanced by adherence to such
standards. Although much progress has been made in these areas,
much more work remains to be done. Additional progress toward common
communications and data standards and systems interoperability
will be accomplished over time through a sustained collaborative
effort facilitated by the NIMS Integration Center.
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B. MANAGING
COMMUNICATIONS and INFORMATION.
NIMS communications
and information systems enable the essential functions
needed to provide a common operating picture and interoperability
for incident management at all levels in two ways:
1.
Incident Management Communications.
Preparedness organizations must ensure that effective communications
processes and systems exist to support a complete spectrum of incident
management activities. The following principles apply:
a.
Individual Jurisdictions.
These will be required to comply with national interoperable
communications standards, once such standards are developed.
Standards appropriate for NIMS users will be designated by
the NIMS Integration Center in partnership with recognized
standards development organizations (SDOs).
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b.
Incident Communications.
These will follow the standards called for under the ICS.
The IC manages communications at an incident, using a common
communications plan and an incident-based communications
center established solely for use by the command, tactical,
and support resources assigned to the incident. All entities
involved in managing the incident will utilize common terminology,
prescribed by the NIMS, for communications.
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2.
Information Management.
The NIMS Integration Center is charged with facilitating the definition
and maintenance of the information framework required to guide
the development of NIMS-related information systems. This framework
consists of documented policies and interoperability standards.
a.
Policies
(1)
Preincident Information.
Preincident information needs are met at the Federal,
State, local, and tribal levels, in concert with private-sector
and nongovernmental organizations, primarily through
the preparedness organizations described in Section
III.B.1.
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(2)
Information Management.
The information management system provides guidance,
standards, and tools to enable Federal, State, local,
tribal, and private-sector and nongovernmental entities
to integrate their information needs into a common
operating picture.
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(3)
Networks.
Indications and warnings, incident notifications and
public communications, and the critical information
that constitute a common operating picture are disseminated
through a combination of networks used by EOCs. Notifications
are made to the appropriate jurisdictional levels and
to private-sector and nongovernmental organizations
through the mechanisms defined in emergency operations
and incident action plans at all levels of government.
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(4)
Technology Use.
Agencies must plan in advance for the effective and
efficient use of information management technologies
(e.g., computers and networks) to tie together all
command, tactical, and support units involved in incident
management and to enable these entities to share information
critical to mission execution and the cataloguing of
required corrective actions.
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b.
Interoperability Standards.
Facilitating the development of
data standards for the functions described
below, including secure communications when
required, is the responsibility of the NIMS
Integration Center described in Chapter VII.
Standards will be developed in accordance
with the following design goals:
(1)
Incident Notification and Situation
Report.
Incident notification takes place at all levels. Although
notification and situation report data must be standardized,
it must not prevent information unique to a reporting
organization from being collected or disseminated.
Standardized transmission of data in a common format
enables the passing of appropriate notification information
to a national system that can handle data queries and
information and intelligence assessments and analysis.
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(2)
Status Reporting.
All levels of government initiate status reports (e.g.,
Situation Reports [SITREPS] and Pollution Reports [POLREPS])
and then disseminate them to other jurisdictions. A
standard set of data elements will be defined to facilitate
this process.
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(3)
Analytical Data.
Analytical data, such as information on public health
and environmental monitoring, is collected in the field
in a manner that observes standard data definitions.
It is then transmitted to laboratories using standardized
analysis processes. During incidents that require public
health and environmental sampling, multiple organizations
at different levels of government often respond and
collect data. Standardization of sampling and data
collection enables more reliable laboratory analysis
and improves the quality of assessments provided to
decision-makers.
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(4)
Geospatial Information.
Geospatial information is used to integrate assessments,
situation reports, and incident notification into a
coherent common operating picture. Correct utilization
of geospatial data is increasingly important to decision-makers.
The use of geospatial data must be tied to consistent
standards because of the potential for coordinates
to be transformed incorrectly or otherwise misapplied,
causing inconspicuous, yet serious, errors. Standards
covering geospatial information should also be robust
enough to enable systems to be used in remote field
locations, where telecommunications capabilities may
not have sufficient bandwidth to handle large images
or are limited in terms of computing hardware.
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(5)
Wireless Communications.
To ensure that incident management organizations can
communicate and share information with each other through
wireless systems, the NIMS will include standards to
help ensure that wireless communications and computing
for Federal, State, local, and tribal public safety
organizations and nongovernmental organizations are
interoperable.
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(6)
Identification and Authentication.
Individuals and organizations that access the NIMS
information management system and, in particular, those
that contribute information to the system (e.g., situation
reports), must be properly authenticated and certified
for security purposes. This requires a national authentication
and security certification standard for the NIMS that
is flexible and robust enough to ensure that information
can be properly authenticated and protected. While
the NIMS Integration Center is responsible for facilitating
the development of these standards, different levels
of government and private organizations must collaborate
to administer the authentication process.
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(7)
National Database of Incident Reports.
Through the NIMS Integration Center, Federal, State,
local, and tribal organizations responsible for receiving
initial incident reports will work collaboratively
to develop and adopt a national database of incident
reports that can be used to support incident management
efforts.
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IV - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Chapter VI - SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES >>
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