Self Assessment

Background and Overview

The Self-Assessment Analysis builds upon the previous success of the SAFECOM program's 2006 National Interoperability Baseline Survey, which randomly surveyed 22,400 emergency response agencies across the country between May 2006 and July 2006. The 2006 National Interoperability Baseline Survey determined and measured interoperable communications nation-wide for the purpose of improving effectiveness for emergency response practitioners. To further assist agencies with improving their interoperable communications, the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) has developed the Self-Assessment Analysis specifically for agencies that did not participate in the 2006 National Interoperability Baseline Survey, but would like to evaluate their capacity for interoperability. The Self-Assessment Analysis consists of 13 questions, taken directly from the 2006 National Interoperability Baseline Survey, that allow agencies to both compare their progress against similar agencies surveyed and to measure their current capacity of interoperability.

Completing the Self-Assessment Analysis – Question Formats

The questions in the Self-Assessment Analysis are based on the questions from the 2006 National Interoperability Baseline Survey and address interoperability at three levels - with other disciplines ("disciplines" include law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services), with other jurisdictions, and between state and local governments. These levels are defined below, followed by an illustration of a completed question.

• With Other Disciplines—Interoperable wireless communications with another first responder organization of a different discipline within the same jurisdiction (e.g., within a city, fire department A can communicate with police department A)
• With Other Jurisdictions—Interoperable wireless communications with other organizations of the same discipline outside the jurisdiction, but at the same level of government (e.g., sheriff's deputies in one county can communicate with a responding deputy from a neighboring county). All local governments (including municipal, tribal, county, and special districts) are considered the same level of government. Special agencies such as campus and airport or harbor departments are also considered at the local government level for purposes of the Self-Assessment. This definition also includes state-to-state communication.
• Between State and Local Government—Interoperable wireless communications with other organizations of the same discipline at a different level of government (e.g., local investigators can communicate with state police).

Sample Question and Response: The following image illustrates how the questions are presented:

Please note the following:

• Select one response per row (not per column)
• Reading left to right, the first four responses are progressive. For example, to select the fourth response, an agency must have met or surpassed all of the attributes in the first three responses.

For each 2006 National Interoperability Baseline Survey question, a response scale was developed that included four progressive stages: early, moderate, full, and advanced. The stages were used to ensure that response scales were consistent across survey questions in measuring interoperability approaches. The stages were defined as follows:

• Early—Little or no activity in the category
• Moderate—Some progress in the category
• Full—Substantially complete progress in the category
• Advanced—Efforts to sustain and assure continuous improvement of interoperability into the future