Success Stories

ORAU Develops Toolkit for Mobile Joint Information Center Establishments

During an emergency, your organization's Joint Information Center (JIC) may be incapacitated.

Therefore, both the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requires that organizations make provisions for an alternate JIC.

The solution: a mobile JIC which provides a portable and flexible communication alternative for these potentially vulnerable fixed JIC facilities.

To assist public information officials in determining their mobile communication capabilities, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) developed a Needs Assessment/Components Guide, also known as "JIC in a Box."

Specifically, the “JIC in a Box" tool:

• Addresses whether capabilities are sufficient to conduct a communications response from an alternate location
• Assesses whether appropriate equipment is available (e.g., computers, printers, TVs, PDAs, cell phones, digital cameras, etc.)

Completing this assessment will offer insight into structuring a mobile JIC and acquiring the type of equipment needed for public communication announcements during an emergency.