Technology is integral to nearly every aspect of modern life in the United States. FEMA is conducting a pilot project to incorporate voluntary technology resources as part of the disaster response team.

Goals:

  • Tech Corps will help to develop a national network of skilled, trained technology volunteers who can assist with critical technology gaps during community response and recovery efforts following a federally declared disaster.
  • On the federal side, the team will include two Tech Corps Liaisons on the national Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT). These individuals will be responsible for developing networks of technology volunteers from recognized organizations, and facilitating collaborative solutions to common issues like adopting a common baseline for training and certification.
  • Working with state, local, tribal, or territorial emergency managers and technology partners in the private sector, the Tech Corps liaisons will help to identify and define critical gaps and then help coordinate and connect volunteer technology resources.

Help us shape the program by providing your feedback on the following topics:

  • Appropriate roles and responsibilities of volunteer technology teams in response.
  • Training requirements (For example, there are some basic emergency management training courses that Tech Corps members will be expected to complete. Some of the courses include those listed below.)

Emergency Management overview (basics and policy):

Campaign: Private Sector Technology Volunteers Supporting Disaster Response

White House and Capital protection against drones

It was upsetting to read that a drone, with a bottle of liquid that could be radioactive, was found on the roof of the Japanese Prime Minister's Office. I would suggest that a modified version (with smaller rubber bullets) of the Phalanx CIWS advanced radar- controlled gun system be installed at both the White House and the Capital Building. We have the technology to stop these threats, let's get in front of this threat ...more »

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Campaign: Private Sector Technology Volunteers Supporting Disaster Response

U.S. National Grid - USNG

Here is an idea that may help speed up adoption of the USNG (U.S. National Grid) coordinate system. Below is a link that uses the familiar Google map interface and displays a USNG grid down to 100 meters as you zoom in. The grid lines are properly labeled on the left and bottom edge of the map and the grid lines are visible on both dark and light backgrounds. This link will work fine in most browsers on most devices, ...more »

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Campaign: Private Sector Technology Volunteers Supporting Disaster Response

Team Structure

It seems like this is an ARRL ARES team for IT instead of Amateur Radio Comms. Now, using some of the information in the original post as an example, a Tech Team would have to consist of the following people/roles, with minimum staff recommendations for a single location. - Network Administrators and/or Technicians (with Network+ and/or Security+ private-sector credentials at a minimum): Absolute Minimum of 2 (12 hour ...more »

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Campaign: Private Sector Technology Volunteers Supporting Disaster Response

Intergrate #VOST into FEMA Tech Corps

Many VOST teams have a proven track record of responding to disasters over the last few years. Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOST) as applied to emergency management and disaster recovery is an effort to make use of new communication technologies and social media tools so that a team of trusted agents can lend support via the internet to those on-site who may otherwise be overwhelmed by the volume of data generated ...more »

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