Over the past several years, I've heard a lot of people calling for, wishing for, and working on standards for data. The ability to transfer local data for first responders to a neighboring jurisdiction (town, county or state) for use in large scale incidents was the promise of interoperability. It seems that the desire for INTERoperability was moving faster than the push for just plain old OPERABILITY. 

When many local fire, law enforcement and emergency medical responders can't even have voice communications with each other, why so much emphasis on the much bigger picture?  From reading the past couple of e-issues of Emergency Management, it appears that several things may be coming together. On March 4, the lead article was on the results of a survey by the National Governors Association . According to the article (that you should read), indicated that fusion centers (those mysterious "black boxes' of whispers past) are now extremely important to emergency management and homeland security state efforts and need streamlining. The survey results also indicated that communications among states and DHS is improving and the use of social media and networking has increased that communications. (There are a few key federal agencies that still shun the values of social media, but pressure from the states may force those agencies into the current century.)  The day before March 3), the lead feature article (which you should also read) dealt with a move to improve addressing for local fire and EMS responders .

The haphazard ways in which addresses are assigned to properties by various local agencies has created a serious issue as many communities continue to grow (often more in density than in area). Confusion over inaccurate or no-existent addresses results in delayed and/or inadequate emergency responses, and, to the extreme, in the loss of lives and property.  The improvement in data (particularly street centerlines and related geospatial data) will help solve the immediate confusion over numbering. But the deeper problem cannot be solved with GIS alone because the real issue is systemic in the manner in which each community decides how addresses are assigned. Solving the basic problem will require acceptance and adherence to standard addressing schema. 

Moreover, the pressure on real estate taxes to fund public services is at a lull due to the economy, so communities may need to look outside existing public services if their addressing is to improve.  Both stories (and several other initiatives) focused on efforts to improve local communications, critical data and, thereby, emergency response give a hint as to why so much emphasis is on the bigger INTERoperability picture. We must have a vision for change and that vision begins with agreement as to what the most desired future looks like. It's not just elected officials and elevated executives that create this desired future. Everyone involved creates it, shares it, and makes it happen.  

One of my favorite quotations of all time is from Victor Hugo; "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."  It looks like it's time may be arriving soon.