Emergency operations and intelligence fusion centers and multi-agency task forces have become central to homeland security, crime fighting, and emergency response efforts. To succeed in their analysis and coordination missions, effective information sharing is essential. The key to effective emergency communication is preparedness – defining a notification and information sharing process for key planning scenarios.

Mind-Alliance Information Flow Modelling is a systematic planning and management framework that will help maximize  best practices and streamline the flow of communication between organizations, business units, sectors, jurisdictions and disciplines. Mind-Alliance helps clients methodically analyze information needs and assets in key scenarios, evaluate protocols and procedures, and improve the capability to share information effectively.

Channels Software

Mind-Alliance helps your center operate at its best through a two-pronged approach that combines training, consulting, and  software. Mind-Alliance uses Playbook and Modeler, two systems in the Channels solution suite of web applications, to create, assess and continuously improve workflow communications by:

• Defining the events that should trigger analysis and emergency response tasks and crafting communication, notification and information-sharing protocols associated with those tasks.
• Specifying formats for notification and requests-for-information, and the terms of information dissemination, which can become appendices to inter-agency Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).
• Mapping the flow of information in advance of an incident to prevent avoidable gaps and bottlenecks that impede coordinated action.

Channels complements your existing systems for situational awareness, notification, emergency incident management.

Benefits

• Enhanced decision-making and collaboration. Clear protocols speed communication flow, minimizing the risk of information not getting to the right place at the right time, and possibly saving lives and reducing economic damages in a crisis.
• Reduced information overload. By specifying the events or factors that trigger notification, the Mind-Alliance approach enables you to focus on the most essential information.
• Improved exercise preparation. Before embarking on expensive exercises, centers check if communication flow is in fact embodied in regional and cross-discipline information sharing know-how, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), protocols and capability required by federal frameworks and regulations.
• Reduced knowledge loss caused by personnel turnover. Liaison personnel from federal, regional, state, local and non-governmental partners are rotated periodically, making it crucial to document protocols for inter-agency communication using a web-based system that can record procedures and be updated continuously.
  

Faster and more accurate matching of requests for information with responses from a wide range of jurisdictions, disciplines, and sectors will make your center a more effective gateway for situational information and coordinator of threat analysis and emergency response.