Canadians: D4H and the 2020-2021 Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (NIF)

For our Canadian Search and Rescue responders and organizations, Public Safety Canada administers an annual grant program called the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (NIF). This grant program provides nearly $8 million dollars in annual funding for projects aimed at improving the National Search and Rescue Program in Canada. Every year Public Safety Canada announces a number of priorities which NIF grants will be adjudicated against.

New technologies and innovations have drastically changed how Search and Rescue incidents are managed around the world. From the widespread use of VHF Radios to the implementation of UAV’s we continue to see new initiatives changing the way we work to save lives. One of the ways D4H is helping to change the face of Search and Rescue is by providing innovative software solutions that responders around the world rely on every day.

Part of Public Safety Canada’s first priority to “Strengthen the National Coordination of Search and Rescue” includes initiatives that;

“Support or promote information, data and or knowledge sharing within or between Search and Rescue jurisdictions, including research and studies.”

The collection and sharing of data encourage the Search and Rescue community to continually grow; this is also one of the cornerstones to D4H’s ‘Incident Reporting and Analytics’ software. We provide the ability to automatically generate insightful incident reports with charts, visualizations, and statistics that provide access to game-changing data. This allows Search and Rescue organizations to gather and share vital life-saving knowledge both internally and externally with other jurisdictions.

Lost Person Behaviour statistics are quickly becoming a vital tool for Search and Rescue teams across Canada. D4H makes collecting and sharing this data incredibly simple with our integration with the federal Knowledge Management System. Every 24 hours, incident data is automatically transmitted to this Federal Government database which continues to shape how we respond to Search and Rescue incidents across Canada.

Another D4H software solution that aligns well with Public Safety Canada’s NIF priorities is our game-changing Incident Management software solution. This real-time collaborative tool enables the coordination of an effective response to any situation. This enables Search and Rescue organizations to easily create a common operating picture, bringing together vital incident information. This can be quickly shared with responders and other emergency management entities and is made effortless with intuitive features. D4H Incident Management provides a clear and concise avenue for managing plans, forms and a variety of other information and documentation. Digital ICS forms are easy to access and a breeze to complete ensuring that all appropriate documentation can be completed in a timely manner by responders on-site or working remotely due to our collaborative cloud-based software.

If you feel that any of our software solutions would benefit you and your response organization our team is always available to provide grant support and advice. NIF grants are a great way to help your organization implement new and innovative solutions and our team is happy to answer questions as to how we can help.