PSCR announces $30 million program for research initiatives in six areas, including mission-critical voice
Applicants from anywhere in the world are eligible to submit research ideas, but their public-safety partner(s)—a requirement in the analytics category and encouraged in other technology areas—must be in the United States. Program funding can be used to help offset the public-safety partner’s cost to participate in the research effort.
“In order to facilitate impactful partnerships between industry and public safety, PSCR will maintain a list of public-safety organizations (PSOs) that have expressed interest in participating,” according to the official notice. “Interested PSOs should send an e-mail to [email protected] expressing their interest, along with their specific areas of expertise or concern, and points of contact. Potential applicants may request information about interested PSOs by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
“Note that partnerships are not limited to only those PSOs and applicants who have submitted or requested information, i.e. any applicant can partner with any PSO … NIST will not assist potential applicants with finding partners.”
Orr said that public-safety participation in the initiative “is certainly highly encouraged” and that an understanding of first-responder needs will play a role in determining which projects receive awards.
“If one [proposal] shows a more advanced understanding of public safety’s needs and a clear working relationship with a public-safety organization, that’s going to be an important factor,” Orr said.