100% US Dept of ED Funding Available Now to Upgrade School District Emergency Preparedness Plans

VirtualAgility will help Local Education Agencies (LEAs) obtain 100% federal funding to activate its SAFER system, an emergency planning and operational decision support solution that links school districts and first responders. VirtualAgility will also help LEAs deploy the system.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) February 20, 2007 -- The VirtualAgility SAFER solution is an online environment that vastly simplifies disaster-related planning and training. In the event of an emergency, SAFER allows school districts, LEAs and responders to coordinate action, sharing the most current plans, procedures and information in real time.

Today, many school districts believe that their emergency plans need updating in the face of new threats. Others are finding that their plans outline what needs to be done, but stop short of providing step-by-step instructions for how to do it.

Using SAFER, administrators and responders can create joint plans, disseminate them and update them without any IT assistance. SAFER also allows non-technical users to conduct simulations and capture what is learned. In the event of a crisis, the same system that has been used for planning and training can be used to manage response and recovery. SAFER is transparent, intuitive and requires very little training, exactly what's needed to coordinate the actions of various organizations in a crisis.

SAFER is browser-based. If necessary, a responder can log in from home. Even better, he'll see only those portions of the plan that concern him directly, the steps he must take, and the resources he'll require to do the job.

One of SAFER's unique advantages is its ability to overcome the IT barriers that always exist between organizations. In an emergency, managers can link together whatever assets they need on the fly, without having to worry about firewalls or protocols. The result is a high degree of coordination from minute one.

"SAFER is a version of proven technology now being used by the federal government to facilitate inter-agency action," said VirtualAgility president Stuart Rudolph. "SAFER combines great ease-of-use with role-based access for security. The days of paper-based plans are over. Only a real-time and seamless solution is acceptable now. A solution non-technical people can use in the midst of a crisis to connect groups, monitor developments, support decisions and track results."

VirtualAgility will assist any LEA in securing US Department of Education (ED) funding. In 2007 ED has allocated $23M specifically for Emergency Response and Crisis Management CFDA #84.184E.

In fact, VirtualAgility will provide assistance at every stage, from community organizing and grant writing to deployment, training and progress reporting. The time burden on responsible officials will be minimized.

However, the effect of SAFER on a school district's ability to cope effectively with natural and man-made disruptions, emergencies and disasters will be transformative.

To quote William Crowell, former Deputy Director of National Security Administration: "VirtualAgility is the technology the government needs now."

Interested LEAs should contact VirtualAgility to quickly and easily improved their planning and preparedness.

About VirtualAgility

VirtualAgility continues to apply its robust line of WorkCenter solutions to the needs for improved situational awareness and coordination within and among agencies to organize, plan and track mitigation, preparation, response and recovery activities. To achieve the next level of virtual agility, collaboration and information sharing, VirtualAgility can be laid over existing "stovepipe" solutions without disrupting day-to-day operations. VirtualAgility WorkCenter delivers easy- to-use, quick-to-install solutions for interoperability and business continuity in government and industry.

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