Emergency Management Domain
Overview
To achieve its preparedness and response mission, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “assumes primary responsibility for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation.” Effective information sharing is critical to the success of a coordinated emergency response. To facilitate and enhance emergency response data communications, the Department of Homeland Security Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) entered into an agreement to co-own the Emergency Management (EM) domain within the NIEM data model.
Programs/Lines of Business Supported
Emergency Management data elements and attributes were derived from existing message standards promulgated by the Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) initiative. These messages, including the Common Alert Protocol (CAP v1.1); Distribution Element (DE); and Hospital Availability Exchange (HAVE), remain independent of NIEM. EDXL functions as a stand-alone suite of messaging standards, and NIEM borrows from its concepts and methods.
NIEM Domain Content
Click here to download the NIEM 2.1 schemas as a .zip file.
New for 2.1
The content in the EM domain has been completely refactored to represent the new vision. EDXL concepts are being federated with NIEM 2.1, making more complex exchanges possible in the future as the EM domain matures. In addition, release 2.1 includes new elements developed as part of a project to standardize exchanges with private alarm companies. Sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and comanaged by the IJIS Institute and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), the Public Safety Data Interoperability (PSDI) initiative further broadens the scope of information exchange supported by this domain.
Domain Stewardship
A memorandum of agreement establishes the Science and Technology Directorate’s Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the EM domain stewards within NIEM. Both are engaged with the Emergency Interoperability Consortium (EIC) to ensure that as the domain continues to evolve, it meets the needs of the broader EM community. These entities are actively soliciting other stakeholders interested in serving on the domain’s governing body—specifically those that represent state and local first responders.
Contact Information
For additional information about this domain, please contact the National Information Sharing Standards help desk at nisshelp@ijis.org.
