Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education Improving Emergency Preparedness for Higher Education Through Using Digital Technology and Critical.

Virginia Tidewater Consortium

for Higher Education

Improving Emergency Preparedness for Higher Education Through

Using Digital Technology and

Critical Infrastructure Planning for Higher Education

Member Institutions Christopher Newport University College of William and Mary Eastern Shore Community

College Eastern Virginia Medical School ECPI University Hampton University Joint Forces Staff College Norfolk State University

Old Dominion University Paul D. Camp Community College Thomas Nelson Community

College Tidewater Community College Troy University Regent University Virginia Wesleyan College

Affiliate Members WHRO Public Media Cox Communications

The Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education was established by the Virginia State Legislature in 1973.

Improving Emergency Preparedness for Higher Education ThroughUsing Digital Technology

Project Lead: Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education

Project Length: Two Years Total Amount Received: $ 425,000

Project Area

This project brings digital bandwidth from WHRO-TV Public Television to enhance public safety communications

Critical decision making data can be securely delivered over WHRO’s signal

All schools in the consortium are within WHRO’s coverage area

Project Outline

Outcome / Why Project Is Needed: To provide crucial information to first responders during an

emergency on a college campus by using existing digital bandwidth from WHRO

To enhance emergency notifications to students, faculty and staff

Activity / What Will Be Done: All pertinent information about college campuses including, but

not limited to, building blueprints, hazardous material information, crisis plans, evacuation plans and live security video will be sent to first responders using the digital bandwidth provided by WHRO

As a part of this system, all college computers and flat-screen messaging boards will display emergency notifications in the form of real-time text crawls which automatically scroll along the bottom of the display screens

Incident One

Incident Data Where You Need It, When You Need It

Digital Project InformationFEATURES BENEFITS

Project brings new bandwidth to first responders

Enhanced capabilities without taxing existing infrastructure

Electronic “just in time” delivery of critical data

Critical decision-making documents are available when needed

Real-time document harvesting Always the right document version

Secure, encrypted targetable delivery

Access to sensitive data is controlled

Reliable high-speed wireless delivery, even in times of crisis

Guaranteed bandwidth when you need it. Not subject to congestion like wireless Internet

Delivers real time video, audio, text and data

Difficult to replicate using existing infrastructure

Available anywhere WHRO signal covers entire Tidewater area

USES Campus and local police will gain access to critical

incident response data during times of crisis Crisis response data will be organized and centralized to

improve access during emergencies Interoperability will be enhanced by providing access to

WHRO delivered content across agencies Regional scope provides immediate benefit to multiple

departments and allows for future expansion Allows access to incident response data that is difficult

or impossible to access at current incident scenes like: live surveillance video

Will also improve emergency warnings to students faculty and staff

Digital Project Information

Sustainment

How will your project be sustained after the project period has ended?

The Colleges and Universities of the Virginia Tidewater Consortium will share the ongoing support and maintenance costs

Consortium economies of scale and cost sharing allow members to continue to benefit from projects that extend beyond the funding period

There is history and precedent to support this with previous projects

Designing a Critical Infrastructure Plan for Higher Education in Hampton

Roads Project Lead: Virginia Tidewater

Consortium for Higher Education

Project Length: Three Years Total Amount Received: $ 330,000

The September 2010 Gap Analysis Report identified the lack of a regional critical infrastructure program or plan as a capability gap most relevant to the region’s risk profile. The study recommended that the HR Regional Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee develop a regional CIKR program focused on identifying and prioritizing critical assets, setting security goals, and risk assessment.

Outcome: Why Project is Needed

Activity / What Will Be Done:Working in corroboration with Office of Commonwealth Preparedness, private and public sector partners, regional authorities, and various state sector specific agencies, Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education will oversee research, writing and implementation of a critical infrastructure plan for institutions of higher education.

By developing a CIKR protection program aligned with the NIPP and the VA Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resiliency Strategy, Hampton Roads will integrate its regional CIKR protection program with the Commonwealth and the national level.

What Will Be Done

Goal 1: Enhance Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Capabilities

Objective 1.1 Increase Critical Infrastructure Protection

The HR Plan extends CIKR protection and preparedness to the local level, and builds off the same framework laid out in the NIPP and VA Plan. Adaptations to the definitions of sector-specific agencies are made to specifically adapt for the differing authority framework in regional planning and government; thus the nineteenth sector- Higher Education.

What Will Be Done

DHS issued this guide to assist in the development of a CIKR protection program that includes organizational structures and mechanisms for coordination between government and private sector entities and that can be used to implement the NIPP risk management framework.

Sustainment How will your project be sustained after

the project period has ended?

The completion of this project will produce a deliverable document entitled “The Hampton Roads Homeland Security Strategy-The Hampton Roads Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resiliency Strategic Plan for Institutions of Higher Education.” The project will terminate with the delivery of this document to HRPDC’s CIPP Steering Committee.

Once the HR Plan has been written, the sector-specific plan for Higher Education can be used as a template for the other sectors. A successful regional plan could lead to the inclusion of a nineteenth sector (Higher Education) to both the VA Plan and the NIPP.