Supporting and Leveraging Your Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC)

Author: Bob Symons, NCSWIC Chair, Wyoming SWIC, Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, Wyoming Public Safety Communications Commission

Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (SWICs) collaborate with partners involved in responding to disasters at all levels of government, advance long-term emergency communications initiatives, and enhance the response capabilities of public safety responders. Although SWICs continue to hold a central role in emergency communications interoperability across the nation, the number of full-time SWIC positions has significantly declined over the years. The decline in funded SWIC positions is a major concern for many states and territories as they struggle to sustain momentum executing these initiatives, including maintaining and upgrading land mobile radio systems to further interoperability in the face of broadband planning and implementation. Despite the reductions in funding support, the SWIC remains steadfast in the development and maintenance of governance structures across all disciplines and levels of government; standard operating procedures; voice and data technologies; training and exercises; outreach and education materials; funding and grant opportunities; and emergency communications polices, plans, and services.

The NCSWIC Governance Committee, which serves as a forum to promote the role of the SWIC as well as to review and improve both internal and external emergency communications governing processes and structures to address the evolving operating environment, recently updated the SWIC Roles and Responsibilities fact sheet in an effort to showcase the increasing value of the SWIC at the state and national level.

The NCSWIC Governance Committee encourages SWICs to utilize the “Supporting and Leveraging Your Statewide Interoperability Coordinator” document to educate members of their state legislatures on the value of the SWIC and to promote sustained funding for the position.

If you would like to contact your State’s SWIC please visit the NCSWIC Contact Information webpage.

For more information on the NCSWIC, please visit the About NCSWIC page or if there are questions about this document or other Governance Committee activities, please contact NCSWICGovernance@hq.dhs.gov.