Ashburn, Va., September 18, 2012. The IJIS Institute—a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing for justice, public safety, and homeland security—and The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International—an international leader committed to providing complete public safety communications expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach to benefit our members and the public—are excited to announce a new “standards” candidate document titled Unified Computer Aided Dispatch Functional Requirements (UCADFR).

The UCADFR is an invaluable resource for public safety organizations, supporting the planning, acquisition, and management of full-featured computer aided dispatch (CAD) software applications. The UCADFR identifies and describes over 130 CAD functions in 11 different topic areas and provides information on future issues for CAD systems, such as Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) and Broadband/LTE (Long-Term Evolution). In order to fully understand the significance of the document, it is important to understand its origins.

APCO and the IJIS Institute—on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Public Safety Data Interoperability (PSDI) grant project—launched the Unified CAD (UCAD) Project in 2010. The UCAD Project was formed, in part, to create the UCADFR—a detailed, comprehensive and unified set of functional requirements for police, fire, and EMS CAD systems. The project committee is comprised of 22 subject matter experts (SMEs) from various stakeholder disciplines (i.e. emergency communications, law enforcement, fire service, EMS, and industry). The UCADFR provides a starting point for emergency response agencies to use when developing CAD requests for proposals (RFP) to level the playing field when selecting a new CAD solutions, and to promote system interoperability (e.g. CAD-to-CAD).

Now that the UCADFR is completed, APCO, as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) certified Standards Development Organization (SDO), will be running it through their American National Standards (ANS) process in order to create a standardized list of CAD functionality and to provide ongoing maintenance based on stakeholder input.

“The UCADFR is an outstanding product resulting from the strong partnership between APCO and the IJIS Institute and the ability of the two organizations to co-manage a highly successful project,” said APCO President, Terry Hall. “When creating an RFP for a CAD replacement or an upgrade, public safety communications center managers will find the UCADFR to be a resourceful menu of functions and associated requirements that a CAD system could have.”

The UCADFR project also entailed a number of other deliverables. As a result, additional resources are now available, including two documents: High Priority Information Sharing Needs for Emergency Communications and First Responders and Recommendations for the Maintenance of the UCADFR. Additionally, the National Information Sharing Standards Help Desk (NISS) is ready to assist with any stakeholder questions regarding the UCADFR.

IJIS Institute Executive Director, Steve Ambrosini said, “As a widely accept standard, the UCADFR will have a substantial, positive impact on CAD applications and future CAD procurements for public safety agencies.”

For more information on the UCADFR document, please visit the IJIS Institute and APCO International project websites.

About IJIS Institute—The IJIS Institute unites the private and public sectors to improve critical information sharing for those who provide public safety and administer justice in our communities. The IJIS Institute provides training, technology assistance, national scope issue management, and program management services to help government fully realize the power of information sharing. Founded in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with national headquarters on The George Washington University Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, the IJIS Institute has grown to nearly 200 member and affiliate companies across the United States. For more information, visit http://www.ijis.org.

About APCO International—APCO International is the world’s largest organization of public safety communications professionals. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide – and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach. For more information, visit http://www.apco911.org.