Sharing the Wealth: LLIS lets responders learn from each other

     Here's a disaster-response tip, courtesy of some fellow emergency responders:

     "Jurisdictions should consider establishing procedures to reduce excessive radio noise in command post facilities. Noise generated by radio traffic can hinder communication among personnel within a CP facility."

     The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) would like you to know there are more where that came from.

     The above insight, gleaned from a hazmat-disaster exercise conducted in Volusia County, FL, in 2006, is one of 15 lessons learned shared in the October 2006 newsletter from the Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) resource, a joint DHS/MIPT effort aimed at sharing best practices and wisdom gleaned from not only the nation's terrorism-response/disaster drills and exercises, but real-life incidents and responses as well.

     The hard-earned knowledge that comes from such events can benefit others and maybe even save their lives.

     "There's a considerable amount of knowledge on terrorism response in this country, but a lot of it's just sitting on shelves in three-ring binders, collecting dust, not really brought together in one comprehensive site," says James O. Ellis III, MIPT's research and program director. "Not only has the United States been exposed to a number of terrorist incidents, but we've also conducted many counterterrorism exercises for responders at the state and local levels. When those exercises happen, there's usually an after-action report that talks about what went well and what the problems were. But most of those haven't been combined in a way that lets us figure out 'These are the issues we always have trouble with.'"

     The goal of LLIS, then, is to collect all those "books" into one "library," so to speak, so that, as Ellis says, "People don't have to keep writing the same book over and over again."

     LLIS is a logical extension of the work of the MIPT, which grew out of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing as a national point of contact for antiterrorism information sharing. It was originally funded by the Justice Department but was shifted to DHS when that department was created in 2002. Now it's under the DHS's Office of Grants and Training, which awards preparedness grants and focuses on ways to better inform, equip and prepare emergency responders as the nation's first line of defense.

     A medium like LLIS fits that mission. It's an encrypted system, free and open to public-safety and emergency-response personnel with an authenticated need to know. While anyone can log on for a basic overview, those wishing to access its full range of features must be registered and authorized.

     Much of the site's content is peer-validated by homeland security professionals. That includes after-action reports distilling lessons learned from incidents, drills, observations and historical study; an updated list of homeland security documents from DHS and other organizations; best practices, solutions and other good ideas grounded in actual experience; and successful local initiatives that may be replicable elsewhere. As well, the site allows focused collaboration between and within communities of interest such as EMS providers or emergency managers.

     "We wanted something for emergency responders similar to what the Center for Army Lessons Learned was able to do for the military," says Ellis. "There's no shortage of good ideas in the U.S., but there has been a limitation of access to them. We think LLIS has gotten us closer to providing that."

     In the early days, those behind LLIS had to track such pearls of wisdom down. Now, as the resource has grown and become better known, it's become more self-sustaining, as new users contribute content and generate fresh ideas and perspectives.

     "With any kind of repository like this," says Ellis, "there's usually a tipping point where it transitions from being a place where people can get information to a place where people can come and store it. We think we're getting there. People see the value that comes with actual information sharing, as opposed to information storing."

     As well, events haven't exactly been static over the last few years. Incidents like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina produced countless valuable insights that can benefit not only fire, EMS and law enforcement providers, but a range of other industries as well.

     And that's the eventual goal: to grow LLIS beyond the emergency-response circle into a resource for other communities as well, potentially serving areas like public health, public works/infrastructure protection and civilian citizen preparedness.

     "We haven't taken it as far as we can," Ellis says. "There are other communities out there in need of better information on preparedness and better analysis of what's happened before. We hope to see the system reach that full potential."

     For sample content and more information on LLIS, or to register with it, visit www.llis.gov."