A holistic approach towards the first responder of the future

Dimitris Vassiliadis – Project CoordinatorEXODUS S.A.

Contents of the Presentation

The eSPONDER project: profile, objectives and key activities

Working with the Security Work-programme – Answering the Call

Consortium formation – Assigning roles to partners

Writing of the Proposal

The Coordinator

The Hearing and preparation phases

eSPONDER at a Glance

Project Overview

The eSPONDER

New Generation First Responder Operations Support Platform

Training platform for First Responders

Logistics of First Responder Operations

Regulation Framework of FirstResponder Operations

Demonstration and validation ofeSponder in full-scale field trials

Holistic approachTechnology Development

Regulations and Logistics

Training of first responders

Who we are

Consortium at a glance15 partners from 9 countries

8 SMEs, 2 Universities, 1 Company, 1 NGO, 1 Public body, 1 ResearchOrganisation, 1 Small Company

Project informationDuration: 48 monthsBudget: 12,595,983 €

EC Funding: 8,791,544 €

Project Overview

The First Responder Unit

FRU Wearable Computer

Integrated Navigation and Positioning ModuleOutdoor: GPS/DGPS, Indoor: LPS,

microwaves, ultrasonic and/or laser)

Communications ComponentBT, Wifi, 3G, Mobile WiMax, LTE, GSM

Application Specific Sensorsmeasure physiological parameters in real-time

Textile IntegrationFRU local network for unobtrusive operations

The eSPONDER helmet and wearable user terminalThe system consists of a helmet mounted microphone and ear speaker assembly that easily snaps onto the user's fire

helmet.

Project Overview

The eSPONDER MEOC

The eSPONDER MEOC - Operator Terminals and Internal View Image courtesy of PANOU S.A.

Provincial Government Response CoordinationCoordination of Ministry Responses

Municipal and National SupportCoordination of local support efforts

Communications InteroperabilityBT, Wifi, 3G/UMTS, WiMax, WSN, WPAN,VHF, UHF, Tetra, Satellite

In situ Base of OperationsManage locally dispersed first response resources

Incident Monitoring and Reportinghigh-resolution cameras on 13-meter masts with close-ups at up to 10km distance

Project Overview

The eSPONDER EOC

Data Fusion and MediationPortal and Back-Office Applications

Real-time Communications ServerWifi, 3G/UMTS, WiMax, VHF, UHF, Tetra, Satellite

3-D GIS platformStatic geographic and environmental information

Emergency Response Planning - ExecutionOverall command of processes and resources

The eSPONDER EOC Sharing a common operational picture.

Project Overview

eSPONDER in practice

2 Major Pilot Events

3 Simulated Scenarios covering end-to-end activity of first response work

Simulated events cover both normal and abnormal types of crisis

Total of 150 First Responders participating

eSPONDER-based Training to involved personnel

Working with the Security Call

Working with the Security Call

eSPONDER was an idea initially conceived and submitted in the Joint Call of ICT and Security lines in November 2007.

Although evaluated above all thresholds, the proposal did not get funded.

When the Second call was published we saw it as a great opportunity to make another effort.

SECOND SECURITY CALL FOR PROPOSALSSEC-2009.4.2.1: First Responder of the future

Consult the material from the Relevant Information days – both National (PRAXI) and International. Information days provide very useful insight at all cases.

Always make the best of the “three Bibles”:Work-programme

Guide(s) for ApplicantsGuide for Submission and Evaluation of Proposals

Consortium formationAssigning roles to partners

Consortium - Putting together the puzzle

The steps we followed in putting together the eSPONDER team were:

1. Identified the subject of interest2. Generated a 3-page abstract identifying key objectives and partners

sought3. Circulated the abstract to 3 partners that we consider as core members

and then contacted potential partners on a confidential basis 4. For each potential partner we created a set of requirements on which we

negotiated their participation – proposed potential role and involvement for each partner

5. We generated a roadmap with specific deadlines and progress milestones that all partners should abide to

6. Held 3 progress telcos involving all partners during the last 5 weeks before submission

7. Held weekly discussions with all partners separately and with groups of partners involved in the common activities (activity lines, work-packages)

Consortium Overview -1

Organisation Organizationtype

Country Activity Role in the project(main activities)

EXODUS S.A. Company Greece Information Technology and Communications

Project Coordinator. Responsible to run the managerial scheme and quality assurance plan.

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

University Italy Education Contribution to the architecture system definition, to the study and definition of MEOC and EOC. Investigation and setup of a robust, secure and resilient ICT platform, capable of supporting First Responders quickly and effectively.

CrisisPlan BV SME The Netherlands

Crisis management consultancy and training

Formulation of conceptual design of the project. Leader of user Participation, responsible for training activities and Pilot demonstrations.

PROSYST Software GmBH

SME Germany Specialized in the development of open end-to-end solutions for residential gateways, infotainment/telematic systems and mobile devices

Provision of service packages for supporting different communication protocols (e.g. EHS, EIB, LON, Bluetooth) as well as generic services, such as a Java based GUI-library and a HTML-Browser for embedded devices.

IMMERSION SME France Specialized in the development of Virtual reality systems and Intelligent Command and Control Centers

Responsible for the implementation of the MEOC/EOC hardware infrastructure and provision of support in the pilot demonstrations.

ROSE VISION Small Spain Standardization; ICT Strategic Consulting; ICT Technology applications to industry and Services

WP 6 and WP2 Leader; Partner and active participant in all WPs, specially on WP5; Contact to the end-users group of Spanish Government.

Consortium Overview - 2 Organisation Organization

typeCountry Activity Role in the project

(main activities)

TELCORDIA -Poland SME Poland Telecommunication Responsible for the design, development and implementation of the telecommunications services and protocols necessary to perform the links between the FRUs, MEOC and EOC

CENTRE SUISSE D’ELECTRONIQUE ET DE MICROTECHNIQUE S.A.

Research Organisation (RES)

Switzerland R&D activities in micro- and nano-technologies, information technologies and systems engineering. Realization of prototypes for application specific systems, for validation and industrialization.

Responsible for the development of of the FRU system (sensors, hardware, signal processing, embedded application software). Active participation to the specifications, architecture definition, system design and development, tests, integration and verifications. Work-package leader of WP8 and WP9.

SMARTEX SME Italy R&D activities in protective and specialised garments

Responsible for the integration of the sensor and computing elements to the first responder garments.

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT DRESDEN

University Germany Science and education TUD develops a LPS for indoor positioning with high accuracy based on ultrasonic waves or microwaves (using FMCW or UW radar), which is optimized for first responder requirements. ASICs will be design to improve the performance, decrease the size, costs and weight of the LPS system.

YellowMap SME Germany Mapping applications, data and GIS

Design and development of the GIS back-office system and the mapping on the First Responder Devices

PANOU S.A. SME Greece Experts in Homeland Security Systems

Responsible for the Development of the MEOC

Consortium Overview - 3

Organisation Organizationtype

Country Activity Role in the project(main activities)

Telcordia Applied Research Centre Taiwan Company

SME Taiwan Applied research and consulting for Telematics technologies and total solutions

Provide software supports and know-how of Multi Interface Management Module (MiMM) for FRUs. Research and analyze MiMM deployment in FRUs, especially in mesh networks and mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs).

Institute for Information Industry

Non-Government Organization

Taiwan Supporting Taiwain’s ICT development and global cooperation

Develop and integrate Multi Interface Management Module (MiMM) software into FRU communication module. Research and evaluate the requirements of MiMM deployment.

Centre D'Essais et de Recherche de l’Entente

Public Body France Expert Civil Protection Organisation – Research Centre

Responsible for the management of the end-user groups and the coordination of the dissemination activities.

Working on the Proposal

Proposal Writing

Some and hints and tips for proposal writing:

1. Generate the proposal template at the beginning of the process and include detailed instructions regarding what each section is about and how each partner should contribute to it.

2. Make sure that your aspirations are in line with the call’s objectives and feasible within the duration of the project and the requested EC contribution.

3. Objectives in your proposal should be SMART:Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound

4. Don’t say what you would like to do. Say what you can and will do and how you will do it eventually.

Proposal Writing

5. All partners have to contribute to the composition of the proposal. Partner complementarity and individual expertise is made obvious to the expert evaluator and is a bonus!

6. Pay attention to standards, security, regulations and legal aspectse.g. use of anonymised data for demonstration purposes

7. Ensure the participation of SMEs and define a strong user group.

8. End-users have to be active in the proposal setup. They will provide different viewing angles of the same aspect, that will have a positive effect on the proposal’s content.

9. Have two iterations in the proposal writing process. It will help with covering all parts of the proposal with content of equal quality.

10. Pay extra attention to the sections of Impact and Exploitation.

The Coordinator

Coordinator’s Role

The Coordinator is the driving force in the proposal setup phase.

1. Monitors and controls the entire process.2. Defines roles and assigns tasks to all partners. Ensures consortium’s

complementarity and coherence of all partners contributions. Forms groups of partners that may work together for specific work-packages or sub-projects (in the case of an IP)

3. Performs overall quality control of the proposal. Ensures well-balanced description of all aspects tackled by the proposal.

4. Sets up and controls the proposal’s EPSS portal. Forms A1, A2 and A3 as well as PART B.

5. Manages the financial aspects of the proposal ensuring normal budget distribution according to individual effort requirements per partner.

6. Establishes regular communications with all partners through email and telephone (telcos are necessary).

7. Pushes for excellent contributions and keeps a contingency plan in the case of e,g late contributions or withdrawal of a partner.

The Hearing and Negotiation Phases

The Hearing

Once the proposal is positively evaluated the consortium (coordinator + 2 more representatives max.) is invited for a hearing.

In order to prepare for the hearing one must:1. Be a master of all issues relevant to the proposal and its contents2. Prepare to address all questions listed in the Evaluation Summary

Report (ESR)

Be careful: Grade and ranking of the proposal is only finalized after the hearing

During the hearing make sure that you provide sound answers to all questionsand get ready to support your opinion with valid arguments

The Negotiations Phase

So everything has gone as planned and now you are invited for Negotiations.

1. The EC sends an official letter (Negotiation Mandate) inviting you to the Negotiations Phase.

2. Assigns your Project Officer and Legal/Financial Officer that will be your contact points through the Negotiations Phase as well as during the actual project.

3. The PO sets up the NEF Portal, an easy to use web-based platform for uploading all information relevant to the consortium and the proposal (based on Parts A and B of the proposal).

4. All partners need to obtain a Partner Identification Code (PIC).5. All partners will need to define the relevant contact points for all project

issues (technical, administrative, financial).

The Negotiations Phase

5. The Coordinator leads the preparation of the Description of Work that will be the Technical Annex to the Grant Agreement. The DoW is based on Part B of the proposal but is modified according to the Negotiation Mandate and comments of the expert evaluators.

6. The Coordinator will prepare and circulate the Consortium Agreement that will be the “house rules” of the Consortium.

7. One negotiation meeting is arranged approximately 10 days after the submission of the first draft version of the DoW.

8. The entire Grant Agreement preparation phase can last up to 3 months.

Conclusions

Idea Definition

Consortium Formation

Proposal Writing and Submission

Evaluation

Hearing

Negotiations

CONTRACTContact your National Contact Point!

www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html

PRAXI: http://www.help-forward.gr/

I hope this presentation has been helpful. If you still need help:

Thank you for your time!

E-SPONDER Project Coordinator: Dimitris Vassiliadis

Email: dvas@exodus.gr Tel.: +30.210-7450321