9-1-1 Studies

Resource Management Associates (“RMA”) has provided 9-1-1 consulting services to clients across the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This has included agencies in California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Resource Management Associates has a broad range of capabilities, enabling us to meet various needs which an agency may have. Our 9-1-1 consulting projects have included, as examples, feasibility and consolidation studies, staffing and scheduling studies, organizational and management reviews, implementation plans and financial analyses. At the same time, we pride ourselves on being flexible in working with our clients.

Resource Management Associates is data- and fact-driven in our work, emphasizing detail and the practical impact of our work with our clients. We follow best practice as established, for example, by leading professional organizations such as APCO, CALEA, IAED, NENA and NFPA.

Resource Management Associates follows a careful, comprehensive, client-centered process in serving our 9-1-1 consulting clients, including the following:

  • Project Organization Conference. As soon as possible after the contract for the engagement is executed, we schedule a “kick off” meeting with the client’s leadership to map out the specifics of the project plan and assure that all parties have clear agreement on the conduct of the project.

  • Client Project Manager. We ask that the client appoint a knowledgeable, senior-level person to serve as the client’s active liaison who will be in contact with RMA and our project manager almost daily throughout the engagement.

  • Client Steering Committee. The client should appoint a small group of about 6 people from various positions within the organization to guide the client’s interests and coordinate with the consultant. This group then transitions to a key role in guiding the implementation of whatever recommendations may flow from the 9-1-1 consulting project.

  • Background Information. Resource Management Associates will review a variety of materials such as staffing information, call data, annual reports, budgets and performance metrics in order to further our understanding of the 9-1-1 organization, its governance, management, organization, operations and the community.

  • Individual Interviews. Resource Management Associates will conduct confidential, anonymous, individual interviews with a broad range of stakeholders as the client may direct. This usually involves about 20 to 30 people, depending on the size of the agency and the scope of services. We do not use focus groups since people tend not to be totally frank in the presence of their peers.

  • Data Analysis. Resource Management Associates will review three years of history of calls and events. With this information in hand, we can then address issues related to the 9-1-1 agency ranging from staffing and scheduling to facilities, finances and technology. This also considers projected growth in population as this affects demand for the agency’s services.

  • Financial Analysis. Resource Management Associates will work closely with the agency’s staff to estimate the five-year lifecycle cost of all recommendations, including the fully loaded cost of all personnel. This will include an inflationary factor and follow the same format as the agency uses for its own budget.

  • Infrastructure. Resource Management Associates will evaluate the agency’s current infrastructure in order to determine its ability to meet the requirements identified in the 9-1-1 consulting project. This includes information technology (“IT”), facilities, and radio and communications. In the case of a feasibility study of a new 9-1-1 center, this will identify what the agency would need to procure and implement, including all five-year lifecycle costs.

  • Midterm Review. Resource Management Associates will meet with the agency about half-way through the 9-1-1 consulting project in order to discuss how the findings and recommendations appear to be developing. We will use a PowerPoint presentation to facilitate the dialogue.   

  • Draft Review. Resource Management Associates will send the draft of the 9-1-1 consulting work product to the agency about a week before meeting with the client’s steering committee. This will provide ample time for the committee to review the draft in detail in preparation for the review meeting. 

  • Final Presentation. Resource Management Associates will make changes to the draft as appropriate following the draft review. We will then be prepared to meet with elected and appointed officials, staff and the public to present the final work product and address issues of particular interest.