GAO: Actions needed to strengthen federal communications efforts in the National Capital Region

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study on Wednesday detailing the various actions the National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) has taken to help improve emergency communications interoperability in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The NCR is a defined area that includes Washington D.C. and nearby parts of Virginia and Maryland.

The study was conducted due to the high risk for threats against the NCR.

A key role of the ONCRC is to coordinate with federal, state and local NCR entities on the emergency preparedness and homeland security activities. The ONCRC, however, does not have a formal process in place to coordinate with federal agencies. The Joint Federal Committee (JFC) was previously the primary means of coordinating with federal agencies in the NCR. The committee has not convened since 2014 and plans are in place to completely restructure it. When the JFC existed, its operation was not fully aligned with interagency collaboration mechanisms that GAO identified.

The GAO recommended in the report that the ONCRC, as part of its efforts to restructure the JFC, clearly articulate in a written agreement the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies and specify how they are to work together across agency boundaries.