# Presentation: 794583

## Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program

**Laura Pettus, Program Specialist**
**Public Safety Interoperable Communications**

## PSIC Background

**The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 provided the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) the authority to establish a $1 billion grant program for public safety interoperability communications **
**The funds are borrowed from the anticipated auction proceeds of the 700 MHz spectrum**
**The Call Home Act of 2006 requires all funding to be awarded by September 30, 2007**
**Through an MOU, NTIA partnered with DHS (NPD)**
**DHS will provide grants-related administrative services and expertise**
**NTIA retains approval authority**
**Total of $958.9 million in funding is available for grant awards**

## Current Timeline of PSIC Activities to Meet Call Home Act Requirements

**May through November 2007**** **

**May – June: **Initial Review of Grant Guidance Package and Incorporate Input

**September: **Review States’ and Territories’ Applications and Narratives, and Award Funds by ***September 28***

- May

- June

- July

- August

- September

- October

- November

**June-July:** Review and Clearance of Grant Guidance

**Mid-August: **Receive** **States’ and Territories’ Applications and Narratives

**November 1: **Receive** **States’ and Territories’ Statewide Plans and Investment Justifications

## Key Features of PSIC Grant Program

**Awardees:**  Funding will be awarded through the 56 State and Territory Administrative Agencies (SAA)
**Period of Performance:**  PSIC grants will be awarded no later than September 30, 2007 and period of performance will end on September 30, 2010
**Statewide Planning:**  Up to 5 percent of the total funds allocated to a State or territory will be available at the time of the award to support the completion of the Statewide Communications Interoperability Plans (Statewide Plan)
**Technical Assistance:**  DHS technical assistance will support grantees with planning and implementation of PSIC awards
**Technical Review:**  Remaining funds (95 percent) will be contingent upon submission, technical review, and approval of a Statewide Plan
- 	and Investment Justifications
**Use of Funds:**  Funding can be used for “acquisition of, deployment of, or training on” interoperable communications systems that use or enable use with the 700 MHz frequency band
**Match:**  PSIC includes a statutory requirement of not-less-than 20 percent match

## PSIC Goals and Objectives

**The program will not dictate a technology or an approach for interoperability solutions.  However, we are considering two goals and five objectives for the PSIC Grant Program****    **
_**Goals**_
**Achieve meaningful and measurable improvements in the state of interoperability for public safety communications; and**
**Fill interoperability gaps identified in the Statewide Plans**
_**Objectives**_
**Technological**
**Adopt advanced technological solutions**
**Improve spectrum efficiency**
**Use cost-effective measures**
**Geographical**
**Improve communications in areas at risk for natural disasters**
**Continue to improve interoperability efforts in urban and metropolitan areas**

## Eligible Applicants Section

**The PSIC grants will be awarded to the 56 States and Territories**
**The Governor of each State has designated a State Administrative Agency (SAA) to apply for and administer the funds under the PSIC Grant Program  **
**The SAA is the only agency eligible to apply for PSIC funds.  The SAA is responsible for obligating PSIC funds to eligible pass-through public safety agencies**

## Pass-Through Requirements Section

**Each State will make no less than 80 percent of the total award amount available as a pass-through to local government, tribal government entities, or nongovernmental public safety agencies**
**District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island have no pass-through requirements**
**Puerto Rico has a 50 percent pass-through requirement**
**However, each State and Territory may retain some or all of the pass-through for expenditures made by the State on behalf of the pass-through local entities through a formal Memorandum of Understanding with local entities that specifies the amount and intended use of the funds**

## Match Requirements Section

**The public safety agency receiving the PSIC project funds is required to meet and document the 20 percent match requirement  **
**The SAA is required to track and report the 20 percent match requirements for PSIC funds**
**The documentation must demonstrate that matching funds are from non-federal sources  **
**The only exception to this previous statement is that funds used for training activities do not require a 20 percent match**

## Statewide Plans and PSIC

**FY 2007 HSGP requires States to develop and adopt a Statewide Plan**
**Proposed PSIC projects to receive funds should align with the goals and gaps identified in the Statewide Plan**
**Statewide Plans must incorporate the three PSIC criteria:**
**Description of how public safety agencies operate on or interoperate with the 700 MHz frequency band, via voice, data, and/or video signals;**
**Description of how local and tribal government entities’ interoperable communications needs have been included in the planning process and how their needs are being addressed, if applicable; and**
**Description of how nongovernmental organizations’ interoperable communications needs have been included in the planning process and how their needs are being addressed, if applicable**
**This criteria was released to State teams at the Statewide Planning Workshop sponsored by the National Governors Associations (NGA) and DHS on March 21, 2007**

## Investment Justification Overview

**All States and Territories will be required to develop Investment Justifications to request FY 2007 PSIC funding**
**The Investment Justification provides a template for applicants to outline the proposed initiatives for the FY 2007 PSIC funding**
**There will be a limit on the number of Investment Justifications that the States and Territories will be allowed to submit**

## PSIC Investment Justification

**The Investment Justification Template may ask for the following project information/metrics:**

| IJ COMPONENT | REVIEW CRITERIA |
| --- | --- |
| Project Narrative | Problem, proposed solution, expected outcomes |
| Baseline | Historical funding, description of need, stakeholder involvement |
| Strategy | Consistency with Statewide Plan, consistency with PSIC technological and geographical objectives |
| Funding Plan | Estimated costs, concurrent funding sources, and matching funds |
| Milestones | Specific project milestones |
| Project Management | Proposed management structure, contract management approach, roles and responsibilities |
| Investment Challenges | Up to 5 expected challenges, level of impact, mitigation strategy |
| Impact | Specific outcome metrics, cost-effective measure, long-term sustainability approach |

## Contact Information 

**	****Laura Pettus**
**	****Email: **_**[lpettus@ntia.doc.gov](mailto:lpettus@ntia.doc.gov)**_
**	**_**[http://](http://www.ntia.doc.gov/)**__**[www.ntia.doc.gov](http://www.ntia.doc.gov/)**_
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