CAPCOG Adopts Emergency Communications Strategic Plan

In the 2013 Texas Legislative Session, CAPCOG working with Senator Kirk Watson and Representative Paul Workman, passed legislation to designate the agency as the Capital Area Emergency Communications District (CAECD).

As of April, the CAECD board approved the first strategic plan for the district that will provide guiding principles for its core functions: 9-1-1, voice and data interoperability, and training and education. Another category includes support systems or tools that enhance emergency communications for the region such as the regional notification system. Getting the strategic plan approved was a final step in a process that began in 2014.

The CAECD Strategic Advisory Committee, the group designated to provide technical guidance to the managing board, conducted three strategic planning sessions during which several key projects were identified and since completed.

Gregg Obuch, CAPCOG’s director of emergency communications which manages the CAECD, noted that funding had not been available prior to 2013’s bill to support several significant projects such as construction of a region wide back-up network to ensure redundancy of the entire 9-1-1 system.

“The Capital Area Emergency Communications Strategic Plan lets the district better anticipate and prepare for larger projects that need to occur on a regional level,” said Peter Behnke, CAPCOG Emergency Communications assistant director. “The five-year plan allows the district to organize projects by category and by priority letting the district take a strategic look forward.”

By setting a framework for potential projects and allowing for a technical and representative vetting process, the plan further ensures projects are regionally focused and align with the district’s vision, mission and guiding principles.

It establishes that subject matter experts will develop workgroups to recommend projects at various priority levels and in accordance with short- and long-term components that expand at least five years.

Such recommended projects will then be reviewed by the CAPCOG Executive Committee before approval. The plan also provides a system for monitoring projects’ progress and their continued alignment to the district’s guiding principles.