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AWARDS & RECOGNITION

2004 Awards: Security and Business Continuity

WINNER: Michigan
Critical Incident Management System

(Left to right) Front row: Carol Myrick, Jaclyn Burke, Nancy Hittepole, Richard Law Back row: Dan Lohrmann, Tom Newell, Eric Nischan, Dan Sibo

In mid-1998, the Emergency Management Division of the Michigan State Police (EMD/MSP) examined alternate operational arrangements for the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). The SEOC operated with a paper-based information management system developed in the early 1980's. Major disasters in 1997 and 1998 stressed the system when trying to keep pace with both response and recovery operations while using manual processes and paper documents. Key SEOC functions such as disaster assessment, resource management, executive decision-making, response coordination, public information, and recovery field operations were severely hampered by the sheer volume of circulating data.

To address these issues the EMD contracted with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to analyze SEOC operations and design, develop and implement an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) and an enterprise-wide Critical Incident Management System (CIMS) for the State of Michigan. "I'm pleased that NASCIO has recognized Michigan as a leader in the area of security and business continuity. The work being done through our Michigan Critical Incident Management System will serve as a model for the rest of the nation. Ensuring the rapid professional response to emergency incidents is vital to the operation of Michigan government. I'm proud that NASCIO has selected us for this prestigious award."
Governor Jennifer Granholm, State of Michigan The E Team web-based CIMS software application was selected as the preferred information management tool. E Team was installed on computers in the SEOC in conjunction with the GIS mapping software. Following a successful phase-one evaluation, EMD purchased an Enterprise Level License for the CIMS for deployment to the governor's executive office, all 20 state agencies, over 110 local emergency management programs, numerous local police, fire, emergency medical technicians, hospital/medical facilities, other emergency responders, and critical infrastructures within Michigan. Because E Team is a web-based application, users can access the system regardless of their location. E Team enables the state to easily share disaster response and recovery information in real time with affected local response organizations, federal agencies, neighboring states, the Province of Ontario, or appropriate non-governmental response and recovery organizations such as the American Red Cross.

During the power blackout that affected a large portion of the northeast United States in August 2003, the CIMS proved invaluable and was used extensively by state agencies within the SEOC. The Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) used the CIMS to display information generated by the SEOC and other state agencies in its agency's Emergency Coordination Center during the blackout emergency proving the system's value for internal communications. This provided tremendous operational benefit and greatly improved service to statewide stakeholders involved in the recovery process. The State of Michigan is currently in the process of bringing cities, townships, and county level units of government onto the Critical Incident Management System to improve the coordination and delivery of emergency response statewide.

RUNNER UP:
North Carolina
Enterprise Information Technology Security Assessment

NOMINATIONS:
Click on the link to download program submission.

Florida
Enterprise Information Security

Idaho
Enterprise Security Model

Kentucky
Keeping Kentucky Moving

Massachusetts
The Economics of BC/DC

Montana
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Service

Nevada
BIOMETRICS

Oklahoma
Oklamoma Homeland Security Website and Online Tools

Tennessee
Tennessee's 2003 Cyber Security & Business Continuity Project

Wisconsin
Web Access Management System

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