good morning. name is sean mcspaden. i serve as ... - oregon virtual usa... · good morning. my...

Good morning. My Name is Sean McSpaden. I serve as Oregon’s Deputy g y p g p yState Chief Information Officer and as the Chair for the Virtual USA Pacific NW Pilot’s Technical Working Group.

On behalf of Oregon’s Adjutant General – Major General Raymond Rees, Oregon Emergency Management Director – Brigadier General Mike Caldwell, g g y g gthe Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorateand the Virtual USA Pilot Member States it’s a pleasure to be with you all today to give you an overview of our collective progress over the past few years.

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Over the next hour or so, I plan to:

• Outline a series of issues and problems that we face and some potential solutions we could pursue as a nation

• Provide an overview of Virtual USA, the Generation III Prototype, and the Regional Pilots that have been conducted to date in theand the Regional Pilots that have been conducted to date in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest regions since 2009

• And, close the presentation and give you all an opportunity to ask any questions you may have.


Across the nation Emergency Managers and First Responders are confronted with an inability to access and share information within and across jurisdictions in real or near real time

The operating environment for most is “Closed” and Siloed”The operating environment for most is Closed and Siloed . Systems and data are developed, managed and accessible to a limited few

A series of known barriers limit effective information sharing at all glevels of government and with the public.

All of this results in a siloed use of resources that significantly impedes the entire community’s ability to save lives and property.


I’ve talked briefly about these issues from a National Perspective. y p

Now I’d like to bring things down to the state level and provide some additional context by showing you a brief 5 Minute video focused on Virginia’s VIPER system (which stands for the Virginia Interoperability Picture for Emergency Response).g y p


Even though these issues and problems can be addressed, as the VIPER videsoh h i l f i h h i N Sil B ll T h l S l ishows, the simple fact is that there is No Silver Bullet Technology Solution out there for us all.

Unfortunately, we all must travel down a much harder and more complicated road.

Taking the Guidance provided by Safecom’s Interoperability Continuum to heart…..

Without governance, policy, standard operating procedures, training & exercise and other non‐technical aspects of a solution, the best technology in the worldWILL NOT create a more effective and open operational environment.p p


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So what are some potential solutions we could look to implement to enhance p pcross jurisdictional information sharing and help create a Common Operating Picture?

Create a Single National System that ALL must use?

Align with the FEMA Regions concept and create 10 Regional Systems that ALLAlign with the FEMA Regions concept and create 10 Regional Systems that ALL must use?

OR

Should we pursue and alternative path….

A path where we collaborate regionally and across the nation to create a Trusted information sharing capability, focused on leveraging existing systems and frameworks, so that ALL can access and use the capability on a daily basis?


An extended group of partners across the nation at all levels of government g p p gare working to develop and sustain that Trusted Information Sharing Capability through the Virtual USA Initiative.


So What is Virtual USA…. REALLY?

• Virtual USA is a web‐based information sharing capability that enables users to access and integrate public, multi‐jurisdictional, and private sector information

• Virtual USA is a dynamic catalog/library of web links that enables users to access data that others within their state, region or across the nation have contributed to help improve situational awareness and enhance decision‐making

• Virtual USA allows users to share information with other designated users when they want, with whom they want, for how long they want and in the form they want.

• Similarly it allows recipients of information to access and view information relevant to them in the form that they want to see it.

To be clear… Virtual USA is NOT….

• A federal mandate. Participation is completely voluntary and is practitioner driven.

• A data warehouse or geospatial platform (although it could be used as a disaster recovery/business continuity option if existing systems fail)

• A duplication of other DHS or FEMA GIS systems initiatives and, in my view, should be d l d bl b l l kviewed as a complementary and enabling capability to initiatives like SAVER, UICDS,

DHS Earth, HSIN, etc.

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Virtual USA is built on the Core Principles that:p

Events/disasters are local

Response is local

Most valuable Data/Information is Local

Those statements are validated by figures provided by the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Alabama statistics highlight that, historically, for 87% of critical incidents, only locals get involved and Federal agencies get involved less than 2% of the time.

Finally, Local practitioner needs must drive solutions and any solutions we deploy must integrate with local systems used by operators on a daily basis.

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In order to effectively share information between the Local, State,y , ,Regional Tribal and National Emergency Management Communities, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, First Responder Technologies Division has created the Virtual USA Information Sharing Environment.

Important Note: Practitioner/operator input has driven all development to this point in time. That practice and philosophy must continue to ensure Virtual USA’s ultimate success.


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After login, this is the user home screen.g ,

As you can see 19 states (in the Southeast, Midwest and Pacific NW regions currently have access to the site).

In addition, FEMA Headquarters, FEMA regions IV and VI, Coast Guard, Health and Human Services, National Guard Bureau, NORTHCOM, US Geological Survey and a select group of private sector companies also have access.


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A Virtual USA user would use this screen and a three step workflow to ppost a data feed (along with appropriate metadata about the feed).

A similar screen and process are used when a user needs to upload a document, file or data set (although posting of URLs to data feeds is the preferred/predominate method of data sharing within Virtual USA)preferred/predominate method of data sharing within Virtual USA)


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This is the data catalog/libraries section of Virtual USA.g/

Users are able to upload data sets or, preferably, URL (web site addresses) to data feeds for information sharing with specific organizations, users registered under certain roles, or to make information available as a common data feed to the entire Virtual USA community.

Again, users are able to determine what that want to share, when, with whom, and for how long.

I dditi bl t dd d t t /URL t d t t th hIn addition, users are able to add datasets/URLs to datasets they have access to within Virtual USA to their “My Library”.

I’ll come back to the significance of the “My Library” later in the presentation.

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Virtual USA provides users with two flavors of a basic viewing capability p g p y(Google Earth and ESRI Adobe Flex) so users can see information on a map prior to download.

As I mentioned earlier – although Virtual USA is not meant to be used as a jurisdiction’s primary Geospatial Platform/viewer these basic viewers within Virtual USA could be used as a disaster recovery/business continuity option ifVirtual USA could be used as a disaster recovery/business continuity option if existing systems fail or are inaccessible for some reason.


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A key enhancement to Virtual USA was made during the run up to the y g pDecember 2010 Pacific Northwest Pilot Demonstration.

The enhancement took the form of a “My Library” Widget/Applet that was not only accessible within Virtual USA as depicted in this screenshot but could also be connected within a jurisdiction’s primary geospatialbut could also be connected within a jurisdiction s primary geospatial platform or viewer.

Once the widget/applet is connected ‐ a user organization has direct access to all the data, data feeds, documents, URLs, present within their Virtual USA My Library…NATIVELY within their own viewer.

I’ll share various implementations of the use of the My Library widget later in the presentation.

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This is the vUSA Resources Section. From this screen, Users can access:

• Code and instructions for installation of the vUSA My Library Widget/Applet

• An overview of the vUSA Geofinder for the Environment (GFE) URL masking/security tool

• A vUSA Generation III Prototype Users Guide• A vUSA Generation III Prototype Users Guide• Copies of the Southeast and PNW Regional Pilot MOAs, and• Virtual USA Terms of Use for Federal Agency Access to Virtual USA

Note: A National User Agreement has been developed and will be available to all Federal, Tribal, State, Local Government and private sector entities involved in emergency management/response in the very near future.


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I’ve provided this slide as a recap of the key components/facets of Virtual p p y pUSA.

Bottom Line ‐ Virtual USA is a viable National Solution available to all of us…right now, today!

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At this point in the presentation I’d like to talk about the Virtual USA Regional p p gPilots.


The Southeast Regional Operations Platform Pilot (ROPP) successfully completed its Phase I demonstration in November 2009.

In the beginning, only two pilot participants had their own geospatial platform/viewer. Today, all 10 have that capability in place.

The Pacific Northwest Pilot successfully completed its Phase I Demonstration roughly a year later in December 2010. Four (4) of the Five (5) states not have their own geospatial platform/viewer in place.

New England: Work continues to form/conduct a pilot with six (6) New England states although a firm kickoff or projected demonstration milestoneEngland states although a firm kickoff or projected demonstration milestone date has not yet been scheduled.


Each of the Virtual USA Regional Pilots was conducted with a common set of gpurposes in mind.


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In addition, both regional pilots conducted to date followed common steps g p pand were designed to reach certain milestones prior to completion.


As I said earlier, the Southeast region successfully completed its capstone g y p pdemonstration in November 2009.

This slide depicts four of the viewers in place at that time.

During the Demonstration, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia (not depicted) shared and viewed a variety of information (e g shelter status(not depicted) shared and viewed a variety of information (e.g. shelter status, road closures, county EOC activations, FEMA staging areas, etc.) and were able to view one another’s information in real or near real‐time.


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In January 2010, I had the opportunity to participate in the Southeast Regional Operating Platform Pilot Lessons Learned session in Orlando.

At the session, the partners all agreed that they had in fact demonstrated the Technical capability to share a variety of information across the region. That said, the group pointed out that they had some work to do if they ever hoped to “operationalize” the system for regional use in times of disasterto operationalize the system for regional use in times of disaster.

Much work on data standards and standard operating procedures would be required to take the existing regional capability to the next level.


In January 2010, the Southeast states laid the foundation for a Phase II pilot to y poperationalize their individual and collective capabilities developed throughout Phase I over about a year long guide path. AND THEN….

The Gulf Oil Spill happened and Virtual USA and the individual capabilities of each of the Southeast Pilot States had to be put into action.p


Throughout the response effort, the Southest states were able to share g pinformation across borders in near real‐time via access to and use of Virtual USA.


During the response, the Southeast Pilot states were able to extend that g pinformation sharing capability beyond public sector entities by sharing data and a common operating picture/view with British Petroleum and other public and private sector partners during the Gulf Oil Spill response effort.

This screenshot shows that common operating picture made possible through Florida’s ESRI Flex Viewer – GatorFlorida s ESRI Flex Viewer – Gator.


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At this point in the presentation I’d like to show a brief 3 min video focused on p pAlabama – where they began and where they are headed through the expanded use of Virtual Alabama beyond use within and for the emergency management and response community.

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Now I’ll shift across the country to the Pacific Northwest Regional Pilot.y g

As I mentioned earlier I serve as the chair of the Virtual USA Pacific NW Pilot’s Technical Working Group. and led Oregon’s Technical Team throughout the successful completion of the Pilot in December 2010.


For the Pacific Northwest Regional Pilot states – involving Alaska, Idaho, g gMontana, Oregon, and Washington ‐ our journey began in September 2009 in Tacoma, Washington.

At the kickoff meeting, the Adjutant General’s of the pilot states agreed to create a Pilot Demonstration within a year – focused on a Severe Winter Storm Scenario.


This slide highlights some of the significant activities the Pacific g g gNorthwest Pilot states engaged in from September 2009‐December 2010 culminating in the successful completion of our Capstone Demonstration on December 16, 2010.

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Paramount among those activities was the development and execution of the g pVirtual USA Pacific NW Pilot Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).

The MOA was signed by Oregon on October 1, 2010 and by Idaho on October 8, 2010 – executing the MOA on that day. Washington and Montana signed the MOA soon after.

A Technical Appendix accompanies the executed MOA focused onpp p

‐ File Formats

‐ Metadata

‐ Common Information Needs (i.e. Datasets the Pilot members will share)

In the future the Technical Working Group will focus on

‐ Symbology; AND

‐ Security – ensure appropriate level of secure access to data

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The PNW Pilot states are faced within a number of challenges.

When we began the pilot, the Pacific Northwest region did not have a regional capability to seamlessly share real‐time, or even static, information. Four (4) of the five (5) states now have geospatial platforms/viewers in place.

The simple fact is that the five states within the region have varying levels of capabilities, and they face various unique challenges.

In part those challenges stem from a sprawling geography and a dispersed p g p g g g p y ppopulation. In some of the pilot states, the people, processes, systems and data are simply not yet in place to enable information sharing across their state or the region…. Although that has changed rapidly through the successful completion of the PNW pilot.

From the beginning, each of the pilot states expressed concerns regarding the current lack of dedicated resources and the need to establish sustainable funding d b d h il Th d fi i l illand support beyond the pilot. Those concerns are most definitely still present

today.

Finally, in the Pacific NW the traits of independence, autonomy, and self‐reliance run deep. Building effective and sustainable Governance across the five states will be a challenge….. BUT … we are making progress toward that end. The execution of the Virtual USA Pacific NW Pilot’s Memorandum of Agreement was a significant and positive first step forwardand positive first step forward.


The December 16 Demonstration was based on the actual events that occurred during the February 1996 Winter Storm that resulted in damages exceeding $300 Million across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Unlike the actual events of 1996, the demonstration showcased the four states, the National Guard, and FEMA Region X's ability to share real‐time g yinformation utilizing visualization tools each state implemented during the course of the year long pilot project.


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To paraphrase the saying “a picture (in this case a map and the common operating picture it helps create) is worth a thousand words”.

As an outcome of the PNW Pilot and other complementary efforts Geospatial Platforms viewers have been developed in the state’s of Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington. FEMA Region X has also g , , g gdeveloped an operational system called ERUPT which is depicted in the bottom right corner of the slide.


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Oregon’s Phase I Prototype – Virtual Emergency Network of Multnomah – was g yp g ydeveloped in partnership with Multnomah County (Oregon’s largest county that serves roughly 20% of Oregon’s population and includes the city of Portland).


This is a screen shot of the VENOM log in screen.g

At log‐in the user can choose to go straight to the interactive map or to access the data and services page.


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This is screen shot of VENOM’s Interactive Map. p

It’s important to note that at the outset of the pilot Oregon had a choice. Create a state viewer and push adoption of that viewer downward to Oregon’s Counties and Cities OR support the development of a Local Government capability and, after pilot, scale the system upward to the state. We chose that latter path and that has and will prove essential to our ultimate success.

Oregon chose to implement the platform based on ArcGIS Server and Silverlight. We did that for a variety of reasons

1) Multnomah County’s technical development standards are aligned with Microsoft’s product stack and

2) Virginia had developed VIPER (based on ArcGIS Server and Adobe Flex); Alabama had developed Virtual Alabama (based on ArcGIS Server and Google Enterprise Server).

We felt it would be beneficial to have a third primary viewer software code base to share with the broader emergency management community across the nation.

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And this is a screenshot of VENOM’s Data and Services page. Via this page, an p g p gauthorized user can view, edit, upload or download a dataset or data service/feed.

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A user can also use this “My VENOM” data service loading feature. use ca a so use t s y O data se ce oad g eatu e.At this point in time, either a REST Service, an RSS or GeoRSS feed can be loaded via this feature with more data types to be added in the near future.

In this scenario, I’m adding the FEMA Region X News RSS Feed.


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And this is how the FEMA Region X News Releases ‐ RSS Feed displays within g p yVENOM when it is accessed by the user.


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A third way to access data within VENOM is via the Virtual USA “My Library” y y ywidget/applet.

Again, a user would log in to Virtual USA and Add data services/feeds of interest to their “My Library”


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The data is then available within the My Library Widget shown here y y gwithin the Virtual USA environment.

This is the typical “look and feel” of the Widget that the user would see within any of the Adobe Flex based geospatial platforms/viewers.


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Within VENOM we’ve implemented a modified version of the widget in p gthe form of a vUSA Feeds tab available in the Map features section on the right side of the screen.


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This is an important slide for us because it demonstrates the collaborative pinformation sharing that was made possible through the Virtual USA Pacific NW Pilot.

Through partnership with the states of Washington, Idaho and Montana we are now able to see Department of Transportation road cameras from p pOregon’s southern border with California to Washington’s northern border with Canada and all the way to Montana’s eastern border with the Dakotas.


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Jurisdictions within Oregon utilize multiple web‐based incident/crisis g p /management systems. We are now able to view GeoRSS feeds from the statewide OpsCenter system and the WebEOC system utilized in the Portland UASI region.

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Similarly we are able to view 911 dispatch incidents in real or near‐real y ptime via a GeoRSS feed provided to the public by the City of Portland’s 911 Center.


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For the first time, Oregon’s emergency managers are now able to view , g g y gflood zone and river gauge information in relationship to schools, hospitals, or extended care homes that might be affected by flood.


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We are also now able to connect emergency managers directly to source g y g ydata, as an example in this case, via hyperlinks embedded within RSS feeds to the National Weather Service River gauge information.

To access the source information a user would click the URL at the bottom of the RSS feed dialog box displayed herebottom of the RSS feed dialog box displayed here.


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And the user is taken directly to the National Weather services –yAdvanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.


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In these last few slides I’d like to highlight another enhancement that g gwas put in place just before our pilot demonstration in December 2010.

Working in partnership with the Virtual USA team and their contractor G&H International, we deployed a planning tool. This tool essentially allows a user to mark up a map and then share those markups with otherallows a user to mark up a map and then share those markups with other users within their state or across the nation via Virtual USA.


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In this example, I’ve marked up the map and shared a URL to the p , p pPlanning REST Service to the vUSA community within Virtual USA.

A User, in this case within Oregon, can then add the Planning Rest Service to their My Library and access it on a continual basis within the vUSA tab within VENOMvUSA tab within VENOM.


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The same Planning REST Service can be accessed within Virtual USA gusing the My Library Widget.


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Via the Virtual USA My Library Widget, the same Planning REST Service y y g , gcan be accessed by ANY OTHER VIEWER in the world in real or near real‐time.

The same would apply for any other data feed or service made available via Virtual USA.


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It’s important to note that the Virtual USA Pacific NW Pilot has been a true pcatalyst for the development of strong state and federal government partnerships.


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The same is true within Oregon. The Virtual USA Pacific NW Pilot has gprovided us with the great opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and develop new partnerships among Tribal, State and Local governments across Oregon.

Our primary partners to date include:

• Multnomah County

• City of Salem

• City of Eugene

• University of Oregon

• Oregon Military Department

• Oregon Emergency Management

• Oregon Department of Transportation

• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

• Oregon Department of Administrative Services

• FEMA Region X

• Department of Homeland Security – Virtual USA

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In the interest of time, I’ll briefly touch on a few of the Lessons Learned we ywere able to glean from our Virtual USA Pacific Northwest Pilot experience.

1) Cross‐jurisdictional and cross‐disciplinary leadership was and will be essential to pilot and successful transition to operations. Within the Pacific NW Pilot we had leadership from the Adjutant Generals and State Emergency p j g yManagers and within Oregon we had leadership from the Multnomah County Emergency Manager and GIS Manager and at the state level from Oregon Emergency Management and the Office of the State CIO.

2) We recognize that we’ll always be in a multi‐viewer environment and we developed VENOM with that in mind.

If we had mandated use of a single viewer for all, it would have been a fatal flaw. Instead, we’re relying on open file formats so that data can be accessed and shared natively within whatever viewer is being used.


Although we were all focused on developing a Common Operating Picture for Emergency Management/Response within our respective states and across the Pacific NW region…. The concept can be extended to all other areas of Government

Most other communities in government have a need for a common operating picture environment that enables them to see where services are being provided, where there’s overlap and redundancy, where funds are being spent, and how they can work together to provide services more efficiently. This applies to economic development, natural resources management, public health/safety, and human services.

From our perspective vUSA is a great program and serves as a model forFrom our perspective vUSA is a great program and serves as a model for federal, state, local partnerships because it’s not a top down mandate, but a true partnership.

We need more federal programs that share that same philosophy.


The importance of the Federal, Tribal, Regional, State and Local government p g gpartnerships we’ve built through our Virtual USA experience is grounded in the fact that disasters and the required emergency response that follows them simply don’t confine themselves to neatly to a single jurisdictional boundary.

The flooded river will flow wherever it wants to flow, so to speak.

At the end of the day, our primary goal within the PNW pilot was to ensure that a common operating picture for emergency management and response existed within each of the pilot member states.

We firmly believe that if we can demonstrate this kind of information sharing capability within Oregon we can surely do it as a region. If we can create this ki d f bili i h ifi h i h i l d i ifikind of capability in the Pacific Northwest ‐ a region that includes significant portions of the Pacific Ocean and over 1 million square miles of land – a national virtual information sharing environment and the common operating picture it enables is within our grasp.


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Throughout the presentation, I’ve talked about the importance of open data file formats, about technology and about Geospatial platforms and the importance of the MAP.

That said…

• It’s about more than a Map.

• It’s about relationships, partnerships and collaboration

• It’s about the information we share with one another to protect lives, property and the environment … AND

No Matter What…. We must ensure that the solutions we deploy meet practitioner needs!

We MUST remember who the Common Operating Picture is supposed to serve!


It’s about preparing our west coast communities and emergency responders p p g g y pfor large scale disasters like a Tsunami that could result from an earthquake off the coast of Alaska.


It’s about ensuring that emergency managers across the region have the g g y g ginformation they need to plan for and recover from catastrophic disasters like the great earthquake we know will come at us all in the not too distant future.


It’s about the Fire and Rescue teams and FEMA staff and volunteers that respond in time of severe flooding.


It’s about the hotshots and fire crews who respond to wildfires in our state pand national forests.


It’s about the Hazardous Materials Response teams who clean up our roads p pand the environment and keep us safe from exposure to chemicals and other hazardous substances.


It’s about the transportation and utility crews who work to clear the roads and p yrestore power during severe winter storms.


It’s about the Public Safety Answering Point Dispatchers & the police, fire and y g p pEMS professionals they support 24x7 each and every day of the year.

As long as we keep the needs of the practitioners at the forefront of everything we do… the Virtual USA program and the efforts that fall from it will be a success.

If we focus only on technology, on GIS viewers and data….we’ll fail. It’s just that simple.

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Together, we’ve spent a decade or more:g p

• Building strong relationships

• Building up capacity within our organizations and improving our ability to share develop and share relevant information

• Although we didn’t know at the time what big opportunities would be presented to us or what they would be calledpresented to us or what they would be called….

• We’ve all been preparing for this moment in history. The moment has come… in the form of Virtual USA.


SHOW Video‐‐‐‐‐

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank a few people for their help and support over the past year. On behalf of the Pacific NW Pilot, I want to thank FEMA Region X Pacific NW National Labs the National Guard Bureau DHS ScienceRegion X, Pacific NW National Labs, the National Guard Bureau, DHS Science and Technology and the entire Virtual USA Team for working with us in partnership.

Personally, I’d like to thank:

Chris Johnson (Alabama), Bobbie Altristain and Chris McIntosh (Virginia), Bob Greenberg (G&H International) Jose Vasquez and Dr David Boyd (DHS ScienceGreenberg (G&H International), Jose Vasquez and Dr. David Boyd (DHS Science and Technology Directorate) ‐ In my view they serve as the mothers and fathers of the Virtual USA concept and we all owe them a debt of gratitude for their vision and their work over the past few years.

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Thank you all for your time and attention At this point I’ll close theThank you all for your time and attention. At this point, I ll close the presentation and open things up for any questions you may have.

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