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Since the earliest days of civilization, people
have sought to fund new technologies that would help governments better
protect their citizens and enforce their laws. In 21st century America, that
pursuit has taken on a new level of professionalism, as technology has grown
to play a role in more of the functions of public safety than ever. As
police, fire, and EMS agencies continue to develop technologically, they
face new obstacles to funding, including lack of top level support and a
shift in funding from “law enforcement” to “homeland security.” An agency
that wants to increase funding for IT will need to understand both to be
successful.
Top Level Support
With the role of CIO becoming standard in many agencies, the role of finding
funding for the technology has also evolved away from the top executive of
the agency and onto the shoulders of that CIO. This approach works as long
as there is sufficient budget within the agency or technology-specific
grants. However, for better or worse, most grant funding for public safety
is not technology-specific. Instead, it tends toward a particular function
or solving an identified problem: clandestine meth labs, weeding out high
crime areas, improving fire operations and firefighter safety, or increasing
the capacity of rural EMS agencies.
In these common cases, the agency can submit only one application for
funding, and they must choose a single approach to propose. The technology
project competes with equipment purchases and staffing for inclusion in the
application. Often, the technology loses out, even though it may be the most
effective way to achieve desired outcomes. If this story sounds familiar,
that’s because it plays out every day in public safety agencies across the
country…the IT project lacks top-level support (and often understanding), so
it goes unfunded.
Fortunately, this is an easy problem to solve. Increased communication will
help bridge the gap, but the communication needs to be in the form of a
business case, rather than a technology architecture. The CIOs and others
who are most successful at obtaining funds for their tech projects
articulate those projects in a clear, outcome-oriented way that aligns with
the mission on the agency itself, the community, and its citizens.
Educating the agency (and municipal) leadership, as well as the public, on
the technology and its benefits will not only provide you with leverage and
support for your project; it may also open up additional funding streams.
If, for example, you are seeking to implement a records management software
package, you may discover in your outreach that two other similar agencies
in adjacent counties or even different agencies in you own neighborhood want
to join with you on the project, offsetting some of your costs and
potentially opening up additional funding sources.
Shift in Funding
It’s probably not news that the older sources of funding (Byrne, COPS, even
Fire Act) have been trending downward, and some (COPS MORE) have been
completely “de-funded.” Meanwhile, funding for homeland security is
continuing to rise, causing many public safety agencies, especially police
departments to state their cases for funding in terms of how the money will
help them prepare for, deter, and respond to terrorist attack.
First responder funding certainly covers the communication, data sharing,
and equipment needs that also correspond to day-to-day policing, but
orienting your projects to meet the requirements of homeland security will
make you more likely to receive a larger piece of the pie. Rather that
taking your law enforcement projects and trying to make them fit with
homeland security, better to bite the bullet and develop plans that
synthesize the benefit to prepare for man-made and non-man-made incidents.
Despite what you’ve seen in the past (the laundry list of authorized
equipment), as the Department of Homeland Security takes into account more
and more threats, including bioterrorism and cyber threats, the response
matrix and the equipment required begin to look very similar to what is most
public safety officials know they need already.
# # #
Mr. Paddock is a graduate of Syracuse
University and has been involved in grants development since 1993. Since
that time he has consulted with numerous nonprofits, municipalities and
corporations around the United States. Michael serves on the US Interagency
Electronic Grants Committee's State and Local Sub-committee and he helped
found the New York State E-Grants project. Michael is a regular contributor
to the Homeland Defense Journal, and is a featured speaker at many national
conferences specializing in homeland security.
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