Today, S&T is fostering a culture of entrepreneurship. This week, I’m at South by Southwest to do just that—to meet with innovators and talk with partners about how we are changing the way government does business. Our goal in this area is clear: Provide multiple opportunities to work with you to mobilize innovation and save lives.
To achieve this over the past year, we have co-invested in technology solutions, including wearable tech to make communities more secure and responders safer. We have drawn from best practices from across public and private sectors to bolster collaboration and maximize impact. We have dedicated ourselves to finding solvers and engaging them in projects, prizes, and accelerators to make security operators more effective.
Partnerships matter more than ever. We know the key to success is understanding the capability needs across the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) and then working with industry to bring solutions to bear in the marketplace. By working directly with industry innovators across the nation, S&T strives to provide advanced capabilities and technologies to better prevent, respond to and recover from all hazards and homeland security threats.
We have a broad range of security challenges. Threats today cross traditional fields, new threats emerge regularly and it seems that with more and more of our activities becoming online, the need for cybersecurity grows daily. All of this calls for new thinking in how we do business and build new partnerships. That’s why we constantly are on the lookout for new ways to reach out, communicate, and connect with innovators, startups and industry.
At the same time, we’re also linking industry with responders, operators and agents. Innovators can’t create tools without truly understanding the problems. Responders need to know what solutions are out there and if they are viable. We do this through our Operational Experimentation Program, which puts technology in the hands of responders across the HSE. Our First Responder Resource Group is comprised of responders from across the nation who identify and inform responder technological advancements.
And next week, we’ll host our first Facebook Town Hall, linking innovators and responders directly to talk gaps, solutions and what’s out there. This town hall is a precursor to an in person panel discussion with representatives from the Houston Police Department, Clark County Fire Emergency Response, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, and Nellis Air Force Base discussing the Next Generation First Responder.
These are just two more exciting opportunities for industry to connect with today’s first responders and to see how technology is being used to make all of our communities safer, now and in the future.
Join the conversation, either in person or on Facebook! I hope to “see” you there!