HSIN Governance Bodies Weekly Update

HSIN: The Foundation of Georgia Information Sharing

Few states have implemented HSIN quite as broadly or to as great advantage as has Georgia. Under the leadership of the Georgia Information and Analysis Center (GISAC), HSIN is used by public and private partners across the state to support a broad array of information sharing initiatives.

“Fusion center staff began using the Georgia communities of interest (COIs) prior to full roll out so that users would see information on their first login,” said David Walker, a DHS representative at GISAC. “We also help users set up alerts when they establish their accounts so they are regularly reminded when information relevant to their job is posted.”

GISAC has also developed a local HSIN application called iTrack to improve the lead tracking process—a system that has been so successful it has been adapted by the Georgia Department of Corrections to track inmate movements across the state. In addition, they have associated HSIN with the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Council’s database to streamline and speed up the vetting process for their largest group of HSIN users.

For more information on how the GISAC has deployed HSIN across their state, contact their HSIN Coordinator, Jennifer Wade, at jennifer.wade@gisac.gbi.ga.gov.

DUE BY DECEMBER 31: Approved HSIN COI Charters

Community of Interest (COI) Owners are responsible for ensuring the rights, duties and privileges of their users. To protect these rights, a COI Charter must be implemented. With a COI Charter:

• A Community’s nominations and validation standards and procedures are documented and enforceable
• Users know their rights and who they should contact to get content posted, taken down or distributed correctly
• Essential rules on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), records management, security and privacy are documented

All COI Owners must obtain approval for their COI’s Charter no later than December 31, 2013. Any COI without an approved Charter on that date will revert to the COI Model Charter. If a COI is already working with their Mission Advocate and has clarified their charter needs additional time to complete their internal review, the December 31 date may be extended for these COIs. For more information, COI Owners should contact their HSIN Mission Advocate or the HSIN Outreach team at HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov.

We're Moving!

The HSIN Program Office is moving to a new home at 650 Massachusetts Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. Our move-in day is November 12.

Please note, the new location will mean new office telephone numbers. During this short period of transition, the best forms of contact will be via email or our mobile telephones. As always, if you have any questions, please contact HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov.

Branding Strategy Q&A Session Needs YOU!

Would you like to help HSIN define its brand? If so, contact Michael Brody, policy, outreach, communications manager. As we continue to improve the HSIN platform, we’d like your thoughts on what HSIN means to you and what more can be done to support our users’ mission requirements.

Your feedback is vital to the continued improvement of the program. Over the coming weeks, we’ll ask for your input on a variety of topics. This information will help us continue our efforts to make HSIN a user-driven program!

Welcoming Michael G. Potts as Co-Chair of the HSIN Executive Steering Committee (ESC)

HSIN would like to welcome Michael Potts, deputy under secretary for enterprise and mission support, DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), as the Co-Chair of the HSIN Executive Steering Committee.

Mr. Potts has been associated with HSIN since he joined I&A in 2010 and has spent his career working in the intelligence and law enforcement communities. He understands the importance of HSIN as a flexible platform for streamlining information sharing and supporting unique users’ perspectives. HSIN provides a means for information to be shared among homeland security partners and a direct channel for partners to request information and share their experiences, which may have broader application for other first responders and public safety officials. As a committee member, Mr. Potts sees the ESC as a conduit to help our Federal, State, Local and Private partners meet their information sharing needs.

As Michael Potts takes over the role of Co-Chair, the HSIN team would like to thank Chris Button for his years of service to the program.

HSIN Case Studies Now Available on Central

The HSIN Team has been diligently working to create a library of materials about HSIN. Included in the library are case studies describing the successful use of HSIN for a variety of events as well as incident response and steady-state operations. Governance Body members can use these case studies to learn more about specific HSIN successes and share this information so that more homeland security partners know, and take advandage of, the benefits of HSIN.

Take a look at the first case studies detailing the use of HSIN during the Iowa State Fair and the Boston Marathon bombing response operation by visiting the “Announcements” section on HSIN Central.

HSIN in the News

US Department of Homeland Security Simplifies Its Enterprise Mission with Web GIS
Fall 2013 | ARCNews

HSIN Community: Appearing at a Location Near You!

• November 19: GCN Awards Gala, Tysons Corner, VA
  The HSIN program will be recognized with the Government Computer News (GCN) “2013 Outstanding Information Technology (IT) Achievement in Government” Award
• January 7: International Disaster Conference & Expo, New Orleans, LA
  4:00-4:50pm - HSIN Incident, Events, and Steady State Operations

Are you going to an event and sharing news about HSIN? Let us know and we’ll get the word out and/or share how it went! Please email us at HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov.

Upcoming System Maintenance

Periodic system maintenance is a necessary part of maintaining and improving any IT system. Be advised of the following, currently planned system maintenance timeframes.

• November 9, 2013 - 9pm-5am
  Affects: SharePoint, Connect, Jabber and Common Operating Picture (COP)

Please note, HSIN R3 system maintenance timeframes are always subject to change. The HSIN Service Operations Team will provide final notice in advance of all system maintenance.