Office of Grants and Training 
Preparedness Directorate 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
Washington, DC 20531 


G&T Information Bulletin 
No. 228, December 22, 2006 

TO: 
All State Administrative Agency Heads 
All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact 
All State Homeland Security Directors 

FROM: 
Corey D. Gruber 
Assistant Secretary, Office of Grants and Training 

SUBJECT: 
Tactical Interoperable Communications Scorecards 

In a speech to attendees at the Tactical Interoperable Communications Conference on May 8, 
2006, Secretary Chertoff announced, “[b]y the end of this year, each urban area is going to get a 
scorecard” that will “identity gaps and help us to determine the improvements we need to make 
[to communications interoperability] in the near term.” To provide input to urban/metropolitan 
areas on how to best improve their tactical interoperable communications capabilities, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Grants and Training (G&T), in consultation 
with SAFECOM and the Wireless Management Office (WMO), developed scorecards for each 
area that submitted and exercised a Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan (TICP). DHS is 
providing this information to States and urban/metropolitan areas in anticipation of a public 
release early next year. 

The goal of this effort is twofold. First, the scorecard provides an assessment of each 
urban/metropolitan area’s tactical interoperable communications maturity along three key 
elements of the Interoperability Continuum (Governance, Standard Operation Procedures, and 
Usage). This assessment can be used to identify interoperable communications goals that require 
additional focus in both near- and longer-term activities. Second, the scorecard provides 
recommendations on how to best enhance tactical interoperability with existing communications 
technologies in the near-term. These scorecards provide useful insights to achieve nationwide 
interoperability. 

The assessments were documented over a six week time frame in which five panels of subject 
matter experts (SME) with backgrounds in public safety communications and operations 
reviewed TICP-related documents from the planning and exercise process. These included: 

• 
The area’s TICP 
• 
Results from the TICP peer review 
• 
TICP validation exercise evaluations 

• 
Validation exercise after-action reports and improvement plans 
• 
Self-assessment follow up discussions between TICP points of contact and the 
SAFECOM Program 
The area’s scorecard is attached, along with definitions for the different levels of maturity. If 
you have comments please send them via e-mail to askcsid@dhs.gov. Submit your comments no 
later than December 28th at 5:00 PM EST. Should you need additional information or have 
further questions regarding your area’s specific scorecard, please contact your Preparedness 
Officer or the Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk (CSID) at 1-800-368-6498.