Each year, the Science and Technology (S&T) SubGroup and the Standards Coordinating SubGroup (SC) support and coordinate the IAB's efforts to identify and to prioritize research and development (R&D) and standards requirements within the First Responder community, respectively.

To do so, each SubGroup conducts its own rigorous survey of the IAB. After the respective gaps are identified across all IAB SubGroups the gaps are then evaluated using a standardized survey questionnaire. The survey responses are statistically analyzed, and a rank order is established for each gap selected for the evaluation. The end products of the surveys are two lists of priorities, vetted by the IAB membership: the IAB Research and Development Priorities and the IAB Standards Development Priorities.

These priority lists are shared with the S&T community to help focus R&D needs and the standards community to help focus existing and potential standard needs.