Operation Lifeline
OPERATION LIFELINE
Introduction
To digitally enable emergency response in devastated coastline communities and islands affected by catastrophic events, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team proposes joining pre-existing infrastructure with emerging technologies to create a survivor-centric communication system for otherwise inaccessible areas. This will include Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system, wireless signal, mobile app with correlating network, and solar charger technologies. This will permit:
· Providing a rapid replacement communication network for civilian and first responders through Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems.
· Providing an app for mobile devices for information gathering and sharing during response and recovery operations to provide accurate situational awareness for all involved.
· Delivering digital information technologies to enhance the response mission, reducing redundancy of efforts between agencies and focus efforts and resources on critical needs.
These proposals are based on the real world experiences of the Concept Team. The actual development of performance criteria and capabilities will be aided by the users: the coastline and island community leaders and first responders.
The Digital Mindset (The Value Proposition)
Our government’s checks and balances were deliberately to put in place to make government inefficient at whim-induced changes in national-level policy. However, the deliberate nature of government has made the delivery of public services sclerotic. The nature of disaster relief is such that disaster survivors should not have to wait too long for essential services to be restored after disaster strikes. The methodical nature of many federal disaster services means that relief can come far too slowly, which means that the current approach is no longer acceptable.
Americans have become used to mobile devices, having them connected, and having the power to run them. A disaster can be a shock that severs both the connectivity and power of those devices, cutting survivors off from interaction with the outside world. Operation Lifeline Concept Team seeks to treat this connectivity as an essential service, since not only does it help survivors recover more quickly when they can communicate, but it can also speed up the government response by allowing critical intelligence to flow to local, state, federal, and nongovernmental emergency response officials.
F-ARPA’s (FEMA, Advanced Research Projects Agency) approach to this relies on a few key principles about the digital mindset that will underpin how the design, development, and delivery of the Operation Lifeline system and services.
· First, Operation Lifeline will default to open, meaning that F-ARPA will make all underlying code around the app public. Any data produced will be machine readable, and any system components are compliant with open standards, in order to empower open government and survivor agency in recovering from disaster.
· Second, the system and its services will be designed around the user, meaning that design thinking approaches will be used to ensure that the system is easy to use with minimal, but preferably no, training; the interface is easily understood; and, the system is intuitive, meaning it is not a drastic departure from how a user would interact with other systems or services in non-disaster periods.
· Finally, Operation Lifeline’s vision is to change government culture to ensure more agile service delivery regardless of whether or not a disaster has occurred, by serving as an example for other government programs.
In this sense, Operation Lifeline’s focus as a system and a service looks at digital as both the means and the end goal.
Leveraging from the Pre-existing (Digital Redesign of the Emergency Management Functions for Islands and Coasts)
While it is tempting to jump right in and start applying all sorts of new technology and out of the box solutions, there are existing legacy systems both in terms of technology and people that must be taken into account. The Operation Lifeline Concept Team recognizes that the existing first responder community is a robust, dedicated and capable response force. It is our goal to provide this community with a digital transformation that will allow them to more efficiently and effectively provide services to their respective communities. By leveraging the capabilities of the digital environment in terms of communication, information gathering and sharing, the performance and services provided by the responder community can be radically expanded. The goal is to integrate digital capability into the existing systems rather than wholesale replacement.
A clear understanding of the needs must be achieved in order to truly meet the needs of the first responders and the communities they serve. The following section details how the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will engage the whole emergency event community, both the responders and those affected.
Initially, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will evaluate the existing emergency management organization structure operating along the targeted areas of coastlines and islands. This evaluation will consist of a two pronged approach consisting of people and technology. This evaluation will be completed from a 360 degree perspective to insure that a clear picture is developed on the true status of the response system and its attributes. This perspective will include top down assessment of the individual organizations. Particular emphasis will be placed on recent staff experience and frontline staff. This organizational internal review will be complimented with an evaluation of performance from a customer perspective. Additionally, intra-organizational workings of the emergency management response community will be reviewed to see how the different response partners work jointly during emergency events. Due to the widespread impact of emergency events that effect coastline communities the collaboration and coordination between response partners at the local, state and Federal levels is critical for effective response and resource allocation. Lastly, the coordination over time must also be evaluated. As the emergency progresses from notification of threat, through inception and recovery, coordination and collaboration over time is also critical to the resilience and return to normal for coastline communities. The ability for each response wave to “set the table” for the next, from inception to recovery, is key to quickly restoring normalcy after a large scale event.
As this will probably be the first interaction with the first responder community, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will take great effort to ensure that the concerns and ideas of the existing response community are recorded. Since it will cover such a broad spectrum of the response community, the introduction of digital technology is proposed during this evaluation phase. As part of the agile development of the software for the Operation Lifeline app, this will provide the ability to quickly engage stakeholders. By engaging the community early on in the process individuals can see there how their input is used and how it shapes future efforts. This early engagement will provide reinforcement and continued staff involvement as the digital transformation continues deeper into the response community areas.
By performing this holistic review of the response community, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will ensure that a clear understanding of the existing response community and the challenges they face are understood and placed into context. As an existing organization there may be certain historical practices and procedures that have guided operational and organizational practices but may not be relevant due to changes in technology or current operational guidelines. This perspective of the review from both the first responder provider and civilian user will also ensure that services being provided match the needs of the customer. This “matching of needs” is particularly important when dealing with large scale emergency events.
Technology
The initial step will to catalog the current technology in use:
· Identify current capabilities.
· What works and doesn’t work.
· Identify the wish list.
· Read current after reports.
This review effort will be used to introduce the Operation Lifeline app. To begin the process of reinventing the emergency management operations, the initial effort will have participants using a prototype App to record information and become familiar and comfortable with the new platform. Secondly the concept of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will be provided to the response community. From previous experience of the Operation Lifeline Concept Team, the potential for a UAV to solve long standing challenges and provide radical new opportunities for response agencies is understood. By introducing the concept early in the process to a wide variety of stakeholders, the Concept Team will generate support for the concept and be able to effectively identify the wants and needs of the response community.
People
Using a prototype app in conjunction with onsite interviews and workshops the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will engage the first responder community. The focus will be twofold, gather information and start introducing digital technology to the community. The information gathering will focus on the following parameters:
· In-depth interviews with all levels of the emergency response community to gain clear situational awareness.
· Interview civilian affected by recent events regarding their needs and services that were provided.
· Identify good and bad practices.
· Identify the wish list of people.
From this compilation, the next step would be to select key individuals that possess knowledge of the issues, are leaders (formal & informal), and have vested interests in making improvements to form a working group. The existence of the working group will form the bridge between the Operation Lifeline staff and the existing response community. The working group as a microcosm of the larger response community will allow the Operation Lifeline Concept Team the ability to test ideas and concepts with knowledgeable experienced staff to refine ideas and products prior to introduction to the whole response community. The working group would be tasked to:
· Identify how technology can be applied to improve operations.
· Set standards to insure regional interoperability.
· Interact with technology developers for needs assessments.
· Leverage regional community to drive down development costs by cost share and creating market for tech developers.
This effort would provide a solid foundation to start the innovation process for the emergency response community. From this effort, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will have a clear understanding of the existing environment, will have identified key people to assist in change, and fully comprehend the needs of the community served.
As part of the digital transformation, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team has proposed the introduction of an app and the use of UAVs during emergency events. These two concepts are based on the real life experiences of the Operation Lifeline Concept Team members and the needs they have witnessed during recent emergency responses. The Concept Team understands that for the success of the project any proposal must be soundly grounded within the needs, wants, and capabilities of the first responder community. To ensure the proposed UAV and app meet this criterion, they will be introduced as initial concepts to generate discussions and ideas during the evaluation of the people and technology of the coastline communities. As the development of these proposals progresses, it will be assessed through full scale exercises or “war gaming” involving representatives from the different sectors of the coastline emergency communities. These exercises will allow for simulated execution of the proposals prior to real world events to both enhance the functionality of the product as well the proficiency of the users. These exercises and the feedback from the users will provide a rich source of information for analysis and provide concrete direction for future evolutions of the products. Lastly, participants and agencies will be encouraged to use this for routine activities. By using the initiatives for routine or scheduled events stakeholder, trust and proficiency will be built. Since extreme emergencies are relatively rare, participants must have the opportunity on frequent intervals to maintain proficiency and confidence in the product. High stress life-threatening situations are not the time for refreshing your knowledge on a system or device. In addition, routine uses allow for continual integration of new needs and technological advancements to ensure that the product constantly evolves and remains relevant to the needs of all stakeholders.
Though the Operation Lifeline Concept Team has developed some initial concepts on product performance, all future design focus will be shaped by the needs of the community documented through the evaluation phase. Due to the widespread variation between the existing capabilities and needs of the coastline and island communities in regard to emergency response the end product of this effort cannot be fully envisioned at this time. Differing regions are likely to have differing needs. Instead, only the assurance that the all affected parties will have an opportunity to shape the products so that the performance of first responder community can better meet the needs of the civilian population we serve.
Looking Forward
Though the immediate focus will be on select coastline and island communities, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team will be identifying common needs and challenges that affect other emergency response communities. The aim will be to use the products and information as a model for digital integration into other segments or geographical areas of the emergency response community. The base programming of this effort will focus on open source agnostic technology to maximize the potential for adoption by other stakeholders in the universal emergency response community.
Building the Design Team (Hacking Hiring and Training)
To build our technologies that will positively disrupt the way we approach disaster areas difficult to analyze, such as coastal areas or islands, we need transformative, innovative, and agile teams. These small teams will need to build out the digital designs that encompass our disaster response vision and goals. We envision several small teams for each of the needed technologies. Small, agile teams of digitally savvy individuals would best maximize on responding to their customers: the product owner (Operation Lifeline Concept Team), and users (coastal and island leaders and first responders). This would allow them clear understanding of preexisting in order to repurpose and build off existing technologies and meet cost limitations while creating a valuable tool for disaster response.[i]
The Operation Lifeline Concept Team recommends adapting existing to create the devices/applications that are needed. We need Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drone technologies modified to build an Operation Lifeline UAV that will serve multiple purposes and allow for other emerging needs as new technologies and ideas occur. The device needs live feed capability for video/photos. It needs the ability and strength to carry wireless signals (such as LTE), geolocation, sensors, ability to haul solar charger devices, and slick cards that can convey information on the mobile app that can connect survivors to responders and leaders. The power for the device itself needs to be considered to ensure sustainability for use. The mobile app and network needs to be built by a different design team. The app must be user-friendly and language adaptable. These technologies need to be straight-forward, simple to start, and should naturally evolve as time, lessons learned, and technologies emerge.
As the public sectors do not always attract the best and the brightest in the technologies arenas, perhaps due to the constraints and pay, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team recommends using interface designers, service architects, and scrum masters. To attract our innovator types, F-ARPA could utilize the Schedule A Hiring Authority for Information Technology Modernization and Smarter IT Delivery Initiatives to hire the core technical support team that would manage the program.[ii] These temporary positions would be GS-11 through 15 and would last up to one year with extensions available. In addition, F-ARPA can look to hire design and support teams under The Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) Program which allows 6–12 month stints, tap into the temporary Expert and Consultants Appointments, the Government-wide Direct Hire Authority, or the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA). The Concept Team recommends going a little unconventional to insure attracting millennial talent, such as building work environments more conducive to brainstorming and tech development such as offering telecommuting or remote work and flexible hours. Encouraging Minimum Viable Products (MVP) is encouraged.
We need to recruit team members who embrace short term positions that will enable them to work fast and have flexibility. F-ARPA must push the red tape and policy aside as much as possible. We want to hire “doers, recruited from the most innovative corners of industry and the public sector, who are passionate about hacking bureaucracy to drive efficiency, transparency, and savings for government agencies and the American people.”[iii] These design members need to be responsive, ready for co-creation, problem solvers, and great communicators. If hiring Government Service types becomes difficult, F-ARPA should consider contracting tech employees. Even turning to a crowdsourcing platform to get ideas started and prototypes built may inspire amazing talent and solid contracts.[iv]
How to Deploy the Solution — Hacking Delivery
Benjamin Franklin is credited with stating, “well done is better than well said.” Oftentimes, the U.S. Government is credited with creating and promising a service, yet failing to deliver either to the level or quality of service that was originally promised. Despite the reasons, when government fails to deliver a good or service, the very people that need help the most are left without recourse, betraying the relationship and trust that people place in government. Basic communications in the aftermath of natural or manmade disasters are vital to survivors and those supporting efforts to assist those in need. This post-disaster scenario was realized in 2011, when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan’s coastal communities. Here’s an article discussing communication infrastructure failures in Japan:
Perhaps the most recent and surreal example of government failure is in the after math of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the coastal city of New Orleans. A 2005 Seattle Times article seeks to highlight the multiple failures of government at various levels, from federal down to the local level, where most citizens interact with their government (http://old.seattletimes.com/html/hurricanekatrina/2002486672_katresponse11.html).
A 2005 cartoon depicting government entities blaming each other. Courtesy of Freedom’s Phoenix
Operation Lifeline, a project of F-ARPA, aspires to renew confidence in the government’s ability to deliver stable communication services to those in coastal or island communities after a disaster. Since government doesn’t have all the answers, Operation Lifeline seeks the collective assistance of those that will use the service, residents living in America’s coastal communities, to help shape the mobile app. Operation Lifeline is listening to YOU the user for advice and recommendations to make Operation Lifeline the premier post-disaster communication platform in history.
Operation Lifeline Core Delivery Ideas:
· Develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) by creating a mobile app that disaster survivors use to connect to an ad hoc communication network.
· Deploy Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as a drone, to disaster areas that are equipped with communication equipment package capable of distributing a wireless signal. Additionally, creating a UAS Coverage Matrix to insure coverage to minimize dead spots is crucial to successful delivery.
· Utilize the same UAS network to deliver various cellular phone-recharging options (solar and “hand-crank” style) to offer charging capabilities for survivors until traditional power sources are restored.
· Understand what constitutes a realistic operational boundary for Operation Lifeline. How many miles inland can a signal be viable and stable?
· Realize that current deficiencies exist within cellular carrier networks, leading to localized solutions to network service in the post-disaster environment.
Suggested “mobile app” icon for Operation Lifeline.
Achieving Operation Lifeline goals through Agile Development Delivery Model:
· Listening to what the Customer actually needs as opposed to what is perceived as a need. Continuous improvements based on customer feedback are essential for success.
· Develop a MVP and conduct testing of hardware (UAS) and software (mobile app) for strengths and deficiencies. Primary “app” modeling configurations done through “protosketching.”
· Embrace a “scrum process,” which includes Sprints and Sprint Cycles.
· Develop workable relationships with UAS and Communication industry leaders to optimize delivery models of hardware and software to support Operation Lifeline goals.
Analyzing MVPs and the Scrum Process
Agile Development models incorporate the use of several terms that might be unfamiliar to most, so dissecting these expressions might prove beneficial to appreciating the agile process to a greater degree.
What is an MVP?
MVP doesn’t just stand for Most Valuable Player, although within Agile Development the MVP plays a pivotal role in the overall success of a project. Within Agile Development, MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product. Think of MVP as that basic model, a “bare bones” attempt to convey basic ideas through a product (a mobile app for Operation Lifeline). It is understood that revisions and updates are necessary, and future iterations of the MVP are driven from how the MVP is received and eventually altered to the satisfaction of the end user.
Validation of the MVP plays a central role in the Agile Development process, as adoption of the MVP is considered foundational to future success. Imagine a first generation MVP that was received with heightened levels of criticism, yet no revisions were made? Now assume that a second or third generation MVP exists, where little to no changes were made? The versions wouldn’t be very distinguishable, and the MVP could be considered extremely static and uniform. Agile Development mindsets anticipate improving on each subsequent version of the MVP, in fact there’s something wrong if changes aren’t in order, for who designs the perfect product in its first iteration? This is precisely why Eggers reinforces in Delivering On Digital that a core value of the Agile Approach is “Responding to change over following a plan.” Therefore, the “plan” is to be fluid and dynamic, willing to change in response to how the MVP is acknowledged and perceived.
Agile Development employs the Scrum process as a means to complete the overall project, which includes MVP validation and adoption. According to Eggers, there are three manifest functions or roles within the Scrum process: The product owner, scrum master, and team member(s). Operation Lifeline is considered the product owner. Leaders of Operation Lifeline Concept Teams will fulfill the role of scrum masters, with team members mirroring team members of the scrum development process. A visual representation of this process is shown below.
Scrum Process
The Product owner is that linchpin person who connects the user with the development team, even though this position performs primarily from the end user vantage point, representing this vital perspective. Next, the scrum master is the helper whose responsibility is to get the project through all project phases. Finally, team members are those actually working on the project. As noted in the graphic above, the overall scrum process is a multi-staged system and is briefly described, starting with the Product Backlog. Product backlog coalesces user-centric data from “user stories” into tasks, where these tasks are ranked by importance for project completion. The Sprint Backlog is a subdivision of the Product Backlog, essentially an agenda for the duration of the upcoming Sprint Cycle described below.
The Sprint Cycle is a five-step process that focuses on what to do and how to do it. Daily-abbreviated meetings allow project roadblocks to emerge via examination of current work progress, followed by a developed improvement plan that is fed back into the product for reprioritization. Such feedback loops allow for perpetual product analysis and reinvention of a sustainable model until customer feedback or innovation demands modification. In conclusion, two driving forces behind Agile Delivery as a business model are Sprints and Sprint Cycles which accumulate user feedback of the MVP to further develop and enhance app development by evolving and prioritizing user statements into tasks. Operation Lifeline would develop two sprint cycles, one for the mobile app development, and the other for the UAS matrices that deliver the wireless signal to coastal communities.
Five-Step Sprint Cycle for Agile Delivery
How Operation Lifeline Works (Delivery Framework):
In the aftermath of a disaster in a coastal or island community, pre-determined and trained regional deployment teams will deploy UASs to affected areas to accomplish two tasks. First, the UASs will be outfitted with a “pod” which will contain several cellular phone-charging devices to affected areas to allow for phone charging. Second, the UASs will remain in areas without wireless signals to establish a wireless network by loitering UASs outfitted with communication equipment packages to distribute the signal. Users that have downloaded the Operation Lifeline app to their cell phones will log into the wireless signal network through the app. Once the wireless signal connection is established, survivors can send and receive phone calls and messages to family and friends, as well as emergency workers. An added feature called “Photo Assist,” allows survivors to take and upload photos of disaster damage to their local emergency management.
Photo Assist with Picture Upload and GPS Location of Damage
This critical information assists first responders in creating a common operating picture by assessing damage from a unique vantage point, the survivor’s perspective. Photos are tagged by geo-locating the origin of the photo, also allowing emergency workers to see where survivors are located on a map of the area. Tags can be placed on photos such as Gas Line Cut, Fire or Building Damaged. Second, UASs can be outfitted to deliver cell phone chargers of various types (solar or hand-crank style) to areas deprived of electrical services. Operation Lifeline seeks to close the gap between providing phone charging options and providing a reliable network that permits two-way communication with survivors.
Operation Lifeline asserts that partnering directly with those living in America’s coastal communities is best achieved through establishing collaborative relationships through coastal community organizations.
These organizations ideally possess an existing framework of user contacts that are willing to beta test the mobile app, providing feedback that is applied to future app updates. This process affirms the belief that users will adopt a product in which they personally had an impact. Usage of the app generates critical metadata concerning usage rates, including a “User Viewpoint,” a 200-word⁄ entry for improvements. UAS deployment and positioning through GPS tracking creates a map in which signal coverage can be guaranteed through overlapping signals with an overall goal to reduce and eliminate service “dead spots.”
UAS Coverage Map (San Francisco) User Location Geoplotting Map
In conclusion, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team is committed to uniting with those at risk within America’s coastal and island communities in providing a sensible and dependable wireless signal network in the wake of disasters affecting coastal communities. To that end, Operation Lifeline seeks to establish relationships by listening, modifying, and delivering a service that bypasses traditional delivery paradigms, seeking unorthodox solutions to real-world problems. The teamwork required to be successful entails a combined effort between F-ARPA, Operation Lifeline members, coastal community residents, and specific industry leaders.
Acquiring the Digital Solution — Hacking Procurement
In his book Delivering on Digital, William Eggers outlines a series of common principles or themes that digital innovators within the public sector are using to “hack procurement.” His main argument is that the traditional “waterfall model” of government IT development is outdated, delivering a substandard product at a higher cost. Therefore, he argues, digital innovators have seen success by piecing apart large sets of requirements, becoming more interactive with industry, and learning best practices from the private sector. To that end, F-ARPA will seek an exemption from the DHS Under Secretary for Management from the requirements of Management Directive 102 (MD-102).
Critical to the success of Operation Lifeline’s novel approach will be enhanced training of F-ARPA acquisitions personnel in cutting edge development approaches, such as Agile. This will allow contracting officers to have an additional analytical frame through which they can approach IT procurement, allowing the government to move away from cookie cutter approaches, and enable it to better solve novel problem-sets.
Given the complex system that is represented by Operation Lifeline’s delivery framework, the modular approach would be well-suited. One series of vendors can be focused on development of the mobile app, another set of developers can focus on delivering a robust unmanned aerial system (UAS) network, while others can focus on developing a strong, reliable wireless signal that can be delivered from a mobile platform like a UAS. The knowledge, skills, and expertise required to develop each subcomponent of the delivery framework is not well-suited to a single contractor or other private sector partner. Specialization is a key asset in this regard, and Operation Lifeline will rely on a series of short-fused requests for proposals (RFP) that will require prototypes of a minimally-viable product (MVP) for each subcomponent of the system. F-ARPA will also leverage U.S. government-wide purchasing power to provide lowest-cost options for delivery subcomponents. For example, working with the DHS National Communications System to leverage the wireless industry, as well as the Department of Defense and the U.S. Intelligence Community can enable the Concept Team to leverage from state-of-the-art UAS technologies. In addition, F-ARPA will also seek input from nontraditional private sector partners — those who do not typically engage in Federal contracts — through the “Operation Lifeline Grand Challenge.” This challenge will provide incentives to existing industry partners through the award of additional contract funding capacity, or — for those non-traditional partners — the option of a one-time payment for specific high-payoff incremental innovations. This will help nurture risk-taking and discovery in technology development, and provide incentives for vendors with unique capabilities and capacity to apply those unique assets where a natural market does not exist.
As vendors (Design Team prospects) approach us with these prototypes, the review board will select the best two to three examples within each subcomponent category, and award contracts to those vendors. Each vendor will initially be allotted two teams per prototype, and F-ARPA will closely monitor each team’s progress. At the end of each quarter, F-ARPA will either increase or reduce the number of teams focused on each prototype, with the option of reducing some vendors to zero should their progress be insufficient. To encourage cooperation and mutual trust between the different teams and vendors, part of F-ARPA’s quarterly review of team performance will factor in inter-team dynamics. Vendors that do not play well with others will be reduced or eliminated entirely, while those who help foster innovation through partnership will be rewarded.
How to Gain Buy In — Hacking the Silos
“The Digital Way of Thinking,” explores the vast differences between traditional government practice and the digital way of working and thinking. The digital mindset has five principal characteristics: open, user-focused, co-created, simple, and agile. Part II is called “Hacking Bureaucracy.” Most people think of hacking in a pejorative sense: breaking into computer systems and wreaking havoc on companies, governments, and often-personal information. In the digital world, however, hacking also has a different meaning: to use ingenuity and digital prowess to fix a problem. “In the software development community, hacker describes the way someone thinks and works rather than a malicious activity — hackers are problem solvers,” explains Greg Godbout, Chief Technology Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency and co-founder of 18F. 18F builds effective, user-centric digital services focused on the interaction between government and the people and businesses it serves.[v] “We consider ourselves hackers in that positive sense: productively disruptive and curious.” [vi] In this spirit, the central argument in Part II is that most established government processes — hiring, training, project delivery, procurement, bureaucratic silos, security — are incompatible with a digital way of working and thus need to be reformed and redesigned (or hacked, in the best sense of the word) to achieve digital transformation. The good news: Digital innovators around the world are creating ways to reform and modernize these long-standing bureaucratic processes. Part III, “Reimagining Government,” challenges the reader to think about fundamentally reimagining government in the digital age — how the public sector can use digital technologies to rethink how they deliver services and achieve their mission. To this end, Part III explores the frontiers of digital government, going beyond efficiency and effectiveness to envisioning very different models for traditional public services.
Political scientist Donald Kettl introduced the concept of an antiquated “vending machine” style of government that provides standalone services such as education, health care, and tax collections and made the case for a horizontally integrated government. In his 2008 book The Next Government of the United States: Why Our Institutions Fail Us and How to Fix Them, vending-machine governments are hierarchical, operating in vertical silos. This structure works well for routine services that don’t require collaboration across departmental boundaries. It falters, however, when we need highly networked government — which according to Eggers is most of the time.[vii]
Hacking silos will require leadership to examine new methods of information sharing and communication. The traditional model needs to be change to keep pace with the changing environment. Sharing information will shape this new infrastructure. CEO’s in all sectors need to strategically position their organizations just as successful private sector CEO’s do in order to bring government into the 21st century. Successfully disrupting the traditional methods of organizing government agencies require taking steps to make government services available efficiently, similar to expectations of shareholders for their CEO’s. Typically political leaders have not been held to these standards of performance. Hacking government silos will require leadership that understands techniques required to implement new business models that can result in digital transformation. Instead of protecting turf, the talented government leader will be adept at the basics of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) vs. Minimum Viable Concept (MVC). This MVC facilitates rethinking how services are delivered.
Government in the United States has long made a practice of separate agencies providing services in separate proprietary fashion. At the local level it is not uncommon to see a small city of 10,000 population providing water services lying immediately adjacent to another city of 30,000 population that provides the same service with yet another set of administrative, repair and employee practices that in some ways can be deemed duplicative. Today residents are demanding higher and higher level of efficiency in order to both reduce costs and improve efficiency. As demand grows for expanded services, small to medium government agencies are forced to find methods to increase efficiencies. Technological advances are the key to these newly found efficiencies. Residents are less interested in jurisdiction boundaries than the efficient provision of services. The new leaders of the organizations providing services will need to have the innovative spirit to change the organization from vertical silos operations to horizontal efficiently delivers of services on demand.
This new way of visioning the delivery of government services must be steered by leaders that understand that in the current age, government might not be the best provider of services traditionally provided by government. Leadership in the current environment is the ability to implement effective reforms that results in improved services as viewed by the consumer of those services. This requires the confidence to rethink the role of government by working with citizens to determine needs and wants. In this new model services could be delivered in a variety of ways that might be combined in some scenarios. The options include but are not limited to: delivery using the traditional methods, discontinuing certain services no longer valued, and joint delivery of services between multiple agencies or sectors.
To move this forward to emergency services, we all know that emergencies do not follow boundary lines. The public is looking for fast efficient delivery of necessary services. In order to accomplish this, government leaders need to find methods of finding efficiencies by grouping common tasks. Tasks that have been historically separate proprietary tasks yet share the same factors will need to be knitted together to improve capabilities and reduce costs. As more people demand services, government agencies need to find new methods of providing a variety of services such as emergency communications. This will move the performance of agencies from specialized to standardized. This standardization will allow the public to participate in certain areas; emergency communications is one of these areas. Currently there is little standardization in government. Each agency and each sector has everything specialized to meet the needs of the sector of agency. All government agencies using off the shelf technology would be a huge improvement.
Examining other countries can yield some new ideas for the United States government sector to evaluate when figuring out how to accomplish these conversions. The United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia have examples of improvements enacted by their top leaders. In these cases leadership has outlined expectations, and charted an approach that provides a template on how to implement revolutionary government services delivery. These new models of service delivery are led by the top government officials. Typically the new models are characterized by face-to-face service delivery, using less unseen employees. This direct service delivery doesn’t eliminate employees, it frees up existing employees to deliver newly desired services to more residents. This reprogramming requires retraining employees to acquire new skill sets. This reprogramming of service delivery has been called the 4th Revolution. Wikipedia calls this new focus the service economy.[viii] This period of social, economic and political change, accompanied by rapid advancements in digital and scientific sectors is being referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. True leaders, as distinguished from managers, will see this as an enormous opportunity to shape and transform government by building new systems to keep pace with fast growth and rapidly changing environment. True leaders will exhibit the ability to collaborate better and more often both across firms and across sectors.[ix] As we see in many private sector businesses such as taxi service with Lyft, the recording industry with Spotify and hotels with Air BNB, the re-creation of service delivery is the challenge leaders of all sectors are facing.
One method leaders can use to break down these silos is to standardize operations. Training leaders at the local, state, federal, and non-government agencies to communicate on the same platform would allow the exchange of information. The Concept Team’s goal to provide a mechanism to improve communication requires the ability to enhance the standard communication. This means not requiring agencies to switch formats, but rather to find a standard format that all can go to share information in an emergency situation. By moving to this system, all agencies or sectors are able to communicate. If the public can be trained in this system, they can then communicate with the public sector. NIMS, SIMS standardization of emergency training should serve as the model of communication between current government silos. This system was brought about following 9/11 and put in place by Homeland Security Presidential Directive #5 Enhanced Management of Incidents by establishing a single system of incident management that has repeatedly proven to be successful in emergencies.[x] Making Homeland Security grant funding available to extend this type of standardization modeling to key government leaders would improve emergency management function. Leaders that understand that the sum of all the parts, i.e. agencies or sectors, working together is far greater than individual agency work will be the strong visionary leaders of the future.
United Kingdom
The UK Government unveiled the next wave of digital transformation at the Sprint 15 conference in London launching high-level technology transformation. This is based around the simple aspiration that civil servants should have access to equipment at work which is at least as good as they have at home. Under the direction of Lord Maude in early 2015, over 2,000 officials in the Cabinet Office and The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) took part in the transformation. Dignitaries from private business and surrounding countries supporting this effort were identified to lend authority.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, besides common technology platforms, also other common capabilities, such as a digital identity verification service and a shared service for digital engagement with the general public, must be shared by default across the New Zealand Central Government. The Norwegian and Danish Governments also use common public registers and other authoritative core data sets across government to support digital services.[xi] New Zealand Central Government even goes one step further with its ambition to build security and privacy by-design into the provision of new digital services. In order to further facilitate the use of digital services, governments are removing legislative barriers, which prevent the development of digital by default services, such as existing laws made before the digital age. For example, existing legislation in the UK required the provision of tax coding notifications on paper rather than via digital channels.[xii]
Australia
Australia has examined the use of LGMA’s or Local Government Management Associations that provide services for everyday life. These city and county level agencies are in the business of timely, meaningful services in support of the work and life of the residents. The services provided are determined by citizen input to the LGMA. [xiii] Australian research teams have established the relationship between a healthy growing economy that keeps pace with new technologies, new business models and new labor market. When collaboration exists and these structures are truly beneficial, they should improve people’s lives in meaningful ways. Research highlighted in the work of Australian entrepreneur Jeremy Howard of fast.ai has emphasized a three prong approach that indicates the need for collaboration, the need to accelerate both the development and adoption of new technologies across Australian businesses, non-profit organizations and the public sector and finally, the need to engage the public in a meaningful conversation about what is wanted from the new technology age. The following chart flows from Australian research indicating ‘How automation is set to change the way Australians work’.[xiv]
Developing Regional Teams
Once you develop the UAV, mobile app, and wireless signal capabilities for the Operation Lifeline plan, we need doers to deploy in response to inclement disasters. Based upon coastline and island first responder input, the Operation Lifeline Concept Team needs to determine the positions required to best achieve the mission. These regional teams will mobilize and deploy the Operation Lifeline device(s) into a disaster area. The Concept Team anticipates the Operation Lifeline Deployment Teams will be a collective of federal, state, and local responders in a given regional area. The Regional Deployment Team would be led by the responding state’s emergency coordinator, and activated as needs arrive. Teams would reach at the disaster location in much the way federal and state responders presently deploy to disaster sites, preferably staging prior to extreme weather with the potential to be catastrophic, or mobilizing within an extremely short amount of time post-disaster.
Deployment team member selections should be based upon nominees or applications from the best and brightest of the local, state, and federal responders who are passionate about technology and talented at problem solving approaches. F-ARPA could build regional civic-minded teams kept trained and qualified to respond. Initial and routine training would be provided by F-ARPA with FEMA support. Team designations are maintained with clear lead and support roles. Initial and regular refresher would be provided, tracked, and maintained.
Post-disaster team members would operate the devices initially on the perimeters, establishing communications with survivors and expanding signal and visual capabilities. As team members may have to move forward into areas with more difficult accessibility, agility, physical endurance, and ability to deal with harsh settings with possible multiple victims would be a must.
The team, possibly of 8, would arrive at the staging site nearest the disaster area, and look to send team members in around the perimeter location. Depending on the size, multiple teams may be needed. Team members would prepare to load and deploy the devices into and over the affected area. The unmanned aerial device equipped with all the digital technologies to ensure proper connectivity and establishment of the network. This includes carrying the solar battery chargers to aid survivors possessing any connected device which they could communicate with as well as instructions for charging their devices, connecting the wireless signal, and connecting to the mobile App. This connection will serve several critical needs for safety, response, and recovery. A crowd source website for communications as well as federal, state, local and NGO assistance would be activated. Localized chat would be made available.
The UAV with wireless signal would allow the team to communicate electronically in real time. First responder leaders could leverage from the multiple UAVs, utilize geolocations, video capabilities, and connect with survivors. These forward operating capabilities would allow the team as well as leaders to perform sophisticated analysis of the disaster areas. As survivors are spotted, the UAV would land and team members could broadcast instructions to use the stowed solar batteries and instructions for connecting to the website. Multiple stops could be performed, dispersing the chargers and providing guidance. Due to privacy concerns, communications would be locked down between Team(s), Leaders, Emergency Responders, and the victims for the disaster.
In support of the Regional Deployment Teams, F-ARPA will also have standby “home teams” based off-site (Washington, D.C. and other major cities unaffected by the disaster), which will host hack-a-thons for emergent issues during an incident. As bugs, user design flaws, or other issues crop up with the Operation Lifeline system during operations, or opportunities to further enhance the system are identified, these hack-a-thons will provide smaller prizes — similar in spirit to the Grand Challenge, but focused on “quick wins” that can be immediately implemented. The Hack-A-Thon Home Teams will work closely with the Regional Deployment Teams to identify unique and emergent issues, and assess hack-a-thon winners’ performance based on their ability to rapidly design solutions that best meet specific and critical needs.
Cybersecurity
Minimizing the Effects of the Bad Kind of Hacking: Cyber Security Defenses
For all the positive impacts that technology can contribute to the modern, post-disaster environment, technology invariably has a downside. Latent vulnerabilities are inherent within the same technological space that would allow Operation Lifeline to achieve unmeasured levels of success one moment, only to be “hacked” and proven ineffective the next moment. Essentially, all technology has an Achilles heel, despite any claims to the contrary. Organizations engaging technology as a core delivery model is tightly coupled, insuring that any cybersecurity breach can create havoc throughout the entire organization on several levels. With technology increasingly connected to the Internet, the term “hacking” invariably becomes a sobering reality, with “head of cybersecurity” taking a seat in the executive boardroom with other department managers. Cybersecurity is of paramount importance, and Operation Lifeline stands ready to accept the stark realities and challenges that hackers pose, while simultaneously capitalizing on unprecedented methods about resilience.
Increasingly in modern society, government is not always viewed as a protector of the people, rather as an oppressor in the minds of its citizens. Even those associated with government agencies, despite their purely humanitarian mission, can draw the ire of hackers and those bent on causing disruption or cessation of government functions. As a result, government at all levels, and their affiliate agencies and programs (such as Operation Lifeline) must initiate security measures to protect assets, both real (physical) and virtual (data). But “security” is a subjective concept, and achieving an acceptable level of security an increasingly elusive concept in the cybersecurity realm. Living in the age of the Internet, hackers and cybersecurity defense postures alike clearly identify the virtual property (data) as being the most vulnerable possession of organizations. Therefore Operation Lifeline, operating as a communication link between survivors and emergency responders (representatives of government) can be viewed as a legitimate target of cyber-attacks. Operation Lifeline contends that cyber-attacks against its services could be realized in four ways:
· Interruption and/or disruption of wireless signals.
· Navigational capture of UAV resulting in the inability to distribute a wireless signal.
· Successful navigational capture and destruction of the UAV.
· Successful hacking of the Operation Lifeline mobile app, resulting in installation of malware.
Despite a claim by Eggers in Delivering on Digital that government entities are the primary target of hackers, the author also declares that cyber threat methodologies are evolving. The maturation of cyber threats shows a remarkable trajectory towards perpetual sophistication, continuously probing a network or system for weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Today’s cyber-attacks can be multi-faceted and complex, so Operation Lifeline seeks to remain forward thinking by generating a unique cyber defense profile. Just as cyber threats evolve, effective cyber defense strategies must undergo metamorphosis, not just in a robust defense profile, but also in a revolutionary way of thinking about resilience. Once again it is Eggers who argues for competency in cyber defense by embracing a tripartite framework of: Security, Vigilance, and Resilience. Operation Lifeline contends that a fundamental shift in these three key areas is essential to enacting substantive change in future cyber threats.
Operation Lifeline seeks to gain a decisive advantage over existing and future cyber threats by expanding and reinforcing Security, Vigilance, and Resilience aspects into an ever-evolving, adaptive strategy that is the archetype of future cyber defense configurations. Tactics that help shape this approach are:
Modern Cyber Security: Why Total Cyber Security Is A Myth & Realistic Expectations
Every business is successfully hacked in some form or fashion at some point in time. Whether in the form of Payloads, Enabling services, or Digital assets that steal credit card information, companies that interact electronically with customer information, establish databases, or simply have an Internet website are vulnerable. Erroneously, some security “professionals,” whether in facility security or data security, have promised secured, “hack proof” networks, only to be proven wrong when theft of data or other corporate assets are compromised or stolen. The mindset that security, and in particular cyber security, is viewed through a Qualitative lens and not Quantitative frames of mind highlights flawed thinking. Operation Lifeline accepts that hacks will occur. What Operation Lifeline doesn’t accept is “paralysis by analysis,” where problem analysis is a primary game plan.
Security constructs will therefore be based on current and future trends in hacking, rather than on overanalyzing previous hacks. Certainly, examination of what lead to the security vulnerability that lead to a cyber breach is necessary, however its importance is lower than the threats of the present and future. Security is viewed through the Agile process as measurable and quantifiable, with degrees of security more easily attained and dynamic, than static lines of secure or not secure. Realistically, what cyber security professional can truly guarantee that a network, website, or database is 100% secure? Rather why not accept that security measures are designed to offer the best and not perfect protection against hackers? Emerging threats constitute the higher priority; therefore assets (time, money, personnel) are leveraged against the looming threat, and security mindsets aligning with the belief in Quantitative security. Operation Lifeline seeks to employ a strategy that considers how both mobile apps and UASs can be hacked, as well as looking to cutting-edge security measures such as two-factor authentication for app users and UAS control protections such as operating UASs through a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Accountability and competent leadership is key to inhibiting successful cyber-attacks. Oftentimes, the carelessness of an employee opening emails infected with malware or other malicious programs can be all it takes to establish a successful hack. But when they do occur, those responsible for the occurrence, or at least those charged with cyber security, must accept responsibility and take steps to improve and prevent future incidents. In the event of overt negligence, progressive discipline should be handed down as a deterrent. The same course of action can be said of intentional cyber security violations, with more severe discipline for what can be construed as an insider threat issue. Eggers claims the argument in Delivering on Digital that many leaders simply don’t have a true grasp on cyber issues. Operation Lifeline seeks to disrupt this trend by insuring project team leaders in both the mobile app and UAS sections have a working knowledge of the various cyber-attacks that can negatively affect their respective project areas. Leaders must insure that technology platforms (the mobile app and UAS control frameworks) are complex and mutative, so as to confound opponents seeking to penetrate cyber defenses. Predictability should be discouraged at all stages, from design and operational plans to redundancy considerations. Operation Lifeline leadership can avoid knowledge gaps by demanding demonstrated and verifiable competency in cyber security defense. Robust cyber defense is understandably critical to Operation Lifeline’s success, as security failures can contribute to the distrust of government to deliver, as well as decrease the public’s confidence in integrating technology into the future of disaster and emergency management.
Vigilance in the Workplace: Why Careless Behavior and Insider Threats Can’t Be Tolerated (Or Afforded)
Vigilance carries the connotation of being ever watchful, and nowhere is vigilance needed more than in the corporate digital world, as hacks and cyber threats seek to penetrate defenses and create havoc. A component of vigilance includes anticipating where adversaries will attempt to conduct a cyber-attack, and this comes from understanding the techniques that hackers can use to infiltrate defenses, what Eggers refers to as “cyber reconnaissance” (CR). Gaining intelligence about an antagonist is crucial to developing mechanisms and frameworks that disrupt hacking attempts. Additionally, “red teaming” a company’s defense networks, allowing vulnerabilities to be discovered and corrected. Heading off multiple attack variations by deploying these tools is imperative to thwarting catastrophic security failures. It is suggested that Operation Lifeline leadership deploy these tools in order to shore up identified cyber weaknesses. Red teaming should seek to use current and emergent technologies to facilitate defense failures, and this includes a growing vulnerability in the Internet of Things (IoT).
Operation Lifeline acknowledges that the IoT is a growing concern that must be addressed in its operational guidelines, as an increasing number of assets (UAS drones) are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Eggers speaks to five controls that can be implemented to assist in providing measurable security to IoT devices. First, a single compatibility standard should exist to ensure that all electronic equipment is operating and communicating under a lone standard. Next, using devices with a current and heightened level of security over pre-IoT technology can hamper hackers from successfully hacking these contrivances. Then, let Operation Lifeline personnel understand precisely what assets they are to protect, empowering employees with the tools to accomplish the task. Additionally, all IoT devices linked to Operation Lifeline should be monitored for peak operational periods, allowing for potentially nefarious or subversive IoT device activity to be detected early. Finally, rules governing data usage limitations and long term disposition of data obtained and shared through Operation Lifeline operations should be clear and understood by all personnel interacting with any data obtained as a result of operations.
Finally, the idea of resilience as a component of Operation Lifeline’s cyber defense strategy can’t be overstated. In fact, resilience is possibly the area in which the most work can be done at the weakest point, the human interface with technology. Eggers alluded to a resilience philosophy that seeks to minimize the literal downtime that disruptions such as hacking cause companies. Eggers suggests that emphasis should be placed on returning to an operational state after a disruption (cyber breach) than on identification or the purpose of the breach. Essentially, the focus was on the wrong objective. That’s why a new emphasis on resilience, what Erik Hollnagel calls Resilience Engineering, is essential for projects like Operation Lifeline to succeed, despite constant attacks against cyber defenses. See Hollnagel’s Resilience Engineering (RE) article here: http://www.itn.liu.se/mit/education/courses/tnfl05-risk-och-olycksanalys/vecka-49/1.308926/Hollnagel2011.pdf.
RE takes an unconventional approach to resilience in that it doesn’t seek to minimize the things that can go wrong (cyber security breaches, etc.), rather it seeks to reinforce and replicate what is done right, resulting in an actual growth in productivity. RE tenets accept that things will go wrong. Operation Lifeline embraces RE concepts in an attempt to magnify production to the degree that cyber-attacks and disruptions are minimized, when viewed from a global perspective. Operation Lifeline will achieve resilience by following the four hallmarks of RE, which includes:
· Knowing What to Do (Reacting to all disruptions).
· Knowing What to Watch (Surveillance of both the system and environment).
· Knowing How to Forecast (Addresses latent threats that might occur).
· Knowing What Occurred (Learning from the past successes & failures).
The overarching goal of the four cornerstones is to arrive at a point where action is taken. Operation Lifeline, serving as a communication link between survivors and the public, can ill afford to be crippled by a lethargic or idle response posture. On the contrary, Operation Lifeline will deliver its product despite cyber-attacks, as the thought process is that although attacks occur, much more can go right than wrong, with the overall net performance remaining positive. In the aftermath of Operation Lifeline deployments, analysis of what happened (negatively) can be examined without the pressure of performance in the present.
The discussion of RE falls in line with Eggers concept of resilience and “bouncing back.” Eggers does state the need to both identify and isolate system penetrations. However, on a larger scale, businesses shouldn’t need a successful system penetration to reveal weak defense profiles. The red teaming concept alluded to earlier can help bolster defenses through identifying deficiencies. But perhaps a crucial component of resilience is the renewal of trust. Trust issues hearken back to the section where trust in the government to provide a service sometimes fails, leading to an overall level of mistrust that needs to be restored through F-ARPA projects like Operation Lifeline. Therefore, resilience isn’t solely about recovering from a technological viewpoint, but also from a public perception standpoint. Operation Lifeline, at its core, seeks to rebuild the trust in the government’s ability to deliver a post-disaster wireless signal to coastal communities. Operation Lifeline seeks to be that “first step” towards reestablishing the belief in the government to deliver on its promise.
Finally, Operation Lifeline seeks to magnify its unique position in the post-disaster communication network, ideally engaging a talented workforce that is eager to incorporate the agile process to meet it strategic goals. Qualifications for technical positions will be specific and direct; anything less than what is required to achieve success is simply a dalliance that is unproductive. Operation Lifeline is willing to forego traditional employment pools, seeking to find talented individuals at technological trade shows and perhaps even former hackers that appreciate the goals of Operation Lifeline while simultaneously diminishing cyber-attacks.
In closing, Operation Lifeline understands that cyber-attacks will happen, likely through one of the four methods that target the mobile app, the UAS, or both. The synergy of Security, Vigilance, and Resilience form a strong defensive line against cyber-attacks. Part of a robust defense profile requires rethinking of security itself, from a quantitative vantage point, not merely as a state that is achieved or not. Vigilance is addressed through a reconfiguration of how the IoT factors into defense strategies and defense concepts. Red teaming as a self-assessment is essential for success. Finally, resilience is addressed, including the blending of Resilience Engineering ideas into traditional resilience tenets, as a cutting edge counterpoint to traditional resilience thinking. A continuation of antiquated thinking about cyber defenses will simply not suffice for a project like Operation Lifeline. A modern technological solution to recurring problems requires a modern approach to problem solving, ideally through the agile process and Resilience Engineering techniques that seek to disrupt normal business practices, placing hackers at a decided disadvantage.
In Conclusion
In 2017, the United States experienced a series of Hurricanes that severely impacted the lives of millions of Americans. Despite the advancements made in large scale emergency response since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many challenges still remain. The impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico particularly highlights the ongoing difficulties the response community faces during both immediate storm response as well during the long term recovery process needed to return areas to a state of normalcy. The goal of Operation Lifeline is to use the advancement of technology to provide solutions to these challenges. Below is a list of some the challenges experienced by the emergency response community in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and how Operation Lifeline could assist:
Communication
Puerto Rico experienced almost complete island-wide failure of all telecommunication capabilities. Due to extensive storm damage to the telecommunications system, physical network communication at any level was severely impaired for weeks.
· Operation Lifeline UAS would provide a complete standalone replacement telecommunication network.
· Expensive and difficult-to-use satellite phones would no longer be needed in such prevalence by responders.
· Survivors would be able to access, with minimal effort and training, the ability to communicate with responders and other survivors in the disaster area, as well as the outside world.
Situational Awareness
Due to the destruction to the communication system and widespread damage to the transportation network first responders were not able to travel to many areas to survey damage and determine community resource needs.
· Operation Lifeline UAS would allow access to areas cut off due road closures for damage assessment.
· The Operation Lifeline mobile app would allow people to provide real time accurate information to emergency response community.
· The Operation Lifeline mobile app could provide accurate up to date information regarding conditions of roads, utilities and relief resources for affected populations.
Resource Deployment
With the collapse of the communication system and destruction of many roads the ability to distribute resources was severely impacted. Additionally, without the ability to get responders to many of the affected areas the needs of the affected population could not be accurately estimated.
· Operation Lifeline UAS can provide real time visual images of areas for accurate damage estimation and resource needs.
· The Operation Lifeline mobile app can allow affected populations to provide information regarding damage suffered and resource needs.
· The Operation Lifeline mobile app can provide accurate real time information on the deployment of resources including points of distribution (PODs), resource staging areas and areas with working utilities.
Information
Due to the storm destruction government agencies had little or no ability to provide information to the affected populations. Without accurate information the affected population began to rely on misinformation and rumors.
· Operation Lifeline UAS can establish communication system allowing public service information bulletins on a regular basis.
· The Operation Lifeline mobile app can provide timely updates and quickly respond to rumors and misinformation with accurate information.
· Operation Lifeline UASUAS can allow access to damage assessments reports to develop common operating picture among all stakeholders.
Hurricane Maria delivered a devastating impact to the island of Puerto Rico. The national emergency response community responded and provided a massive response force to address the needs of the island. Unfortunately, many of the efforts were hampered by the inability to understand the need and target the appropriate resources to those in need. As shown above the digital transformation proposed by the Operation Lifeline Concept Team can fill some of the response and recovery gaps. Operation Lifeline, rather than reinvent emergency response can provide digital tools to radically improve response, positively impact those in need, and ultimately save lives.
[i] Prem Naraindas, “What LinkedIn, Netflix, Tesla Motors, and Uber are doing differently?” September 12, 2015, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-linkedin-netflix-tesla-motors-uber-doing-prem-naraindas.
[ii] https://www.chcoc.gov/content/schedule-hiring-authority-information-technology-it-modernization-and-smarter-it-delivery
[iii] William D. Eggers, Delivering on Digital: The Innovators and Technologies that are Transforming Government,” Deloitte University Press, 2016, Kindle Book, Location 87.
[iv] William D. Eggers, Delivering on Digital: The Innovators and Technologies that are Transforming Government,” Deloitte University Press, 2016, Kindle Book, Location 971.
[vi] Eggers, William D., Delivering on Digital: The Innovators and Technologies That Are Transforming Government (Kindle Locations 3–4). Rosetta Books. Kindle Edition.
[vii] Eggers, William D., (Kindle Locations 2277–2283).
[viii] Wikipedia, ’The Fourth Revolution’, found 12.27.17, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_economy.
[ix] Micklethwait, John and Adrian Wooldridge, The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State, July 14, 2015, Penguin Books, London, UK.
[x] https://www.dhs.gov/publication/homeland-security-presidential-directive-5.
[xi] Donald Kettl, “The Next Government,” The IBM Center for the Business of Government, November 25, 2008, www.businessofgovernment.org Eggers, William D. Delivering on Digital: The Innovators and Technologies That Are Transforming Government (Kindle Locations 2789–2791). Rosetta Books. Kindle Edition.
[xii] Mark Graham and William H. Dutton, Society and the Internet: How Networks of Information and Communication are Changing Our Lives (Page iii). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.
[xiii] www.lgprofessionals.com.au/.../Australasian_Management_Challenge_2017.aspx.
[xiv] AusBiotech’s Industry Position Survey 2017, http://www. Ausbiotech.org/policy-advocacy-industry-position-survey.
