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Communications Technology Laboratory

Public Safety Communications Research Division

Public Safety Communications Research Roadmap

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PSCR's R&D and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Innovating for Safety  

Overview

The NIST Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division plays an essential role in advancing communications technology for first responders. Through cutting-edge research, strong collaborations, and continuous stakeholder engagement, PSCR ensures that public safety agencies will gain access to innovative solutions that enhance emergency response capabilities. By aligning with national priorities and leveraging emerging technologies, PSCR remains at the forefront of public safety communications advancements. Read on to learn more about PSCR’s research initiatives, ongoing stakeholder engagement efforts, and alignment with the First Responder Network Authority roadmap. 

Current R&D Scope

PSCR’s critical research and development (R&D) efforts are currently executed through internal research, prize challenges, and stakeholder engagement opportunities. Additionally, PSCR oversees grant recipients awarded between 2017-2022, who remain active in furthering their research, developing products, and making direct contributions to public safety communications technology. Through regular collaboration with public safety agencies, industry, academia, and local, state, tribal, and Federal practitioners, PSCR continues to identify critical communications technology gaps that impact public safety. As a result, beginning in 2023, PSCR has prioritized the following key technology areas to drive its R&D program:  

Explores how first responders will interact with broadband technology in a way that meets their requirements through intuitive, efficient, and accessible design. To learn more, please visit our User Experience page.

Focuses on ensuring all capabilities of current land mobile radios make it onto LTE devices at the necessary quality of experience. To learn more, please visit our Mission Critical Voice page.

Examines the ability to map and track personnel indoors in an infrastructure-free setting with one meter accuracy. To learn more, visit our Location-Based Services page.

Manages our state-of-the-art research capabilities, including lab facilities, extensive secure networks, and all associated testing equipment and capabilities.

Investigates how to utilize drones to support emergency response and maintains the PSCR prize challenge program. To learn more, please visit our Uncrewed Aircraft Systems page.

Continuous Stakeholder Feedback

PSCR maintains year-round engagement with stakeholders through lab tours, workshops, roundtables, roadshows, national and international speaking engagements, and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) to continuously inform research efforts and disseminate outcomes to key audiences. Most recently, in 2024, the UAS portfolio hosted a workshop with a diverse group of UAS stakeholders, including public safety end users and management, academia, and developers. The objective was to assess collective capabilities and challenges and to lay the groundwork for guidance materials that will support UAS programs in evaluating their risk management posture. 

PSCR’s primary stakeholder engagement, however, takes place at their annual event, 5x5: The Public Safety Innovation Summit, co-hosted with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority). The 5x5 Summit convenes 550+ stakeholders to share research updates and hands-on technology demonstrations and host engaging discussions across sectors, providing an opportunity to identify current challenges and needs to further advance public safety communications research. PSCR and the FirstNet Authority’s collaboration extends beyond the 5x5 Summit alone and includes regular coordination on key initiatives, including: 

  • Monthly lab tour series at the Public Safety Immersive Test Center showcasing cutting-edge research and providing hands-on engagement opportunities
  • Knowledge sharing on overlapping priority topics of interest such as mission-critical services and user experience
  • Engagement with international leaders in public safety broadband technology to help drive global interoperability
  • Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and technology transfers accelerating the transition of emerging technologies from research to real-world implementation.

Since 2012, PSCR and the FirstNet Authority have worked closely to ensure that innovation and technology adoption align with the evolving needs of public safety agencies. This partnership leverages PSCR’s research expertise to drive advancements in federally funded public safety communications while supporting the FirstNet Authority’s mandate to oversee the buildout, deployment, and operation of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), called FirstNet. Through ongoing collaboration with the FirstNet Authority, PSCR aligns its research goals with public safety’s requirements, reinforcing a commitment to long-term innovation.

Alignment with the FirstNet Authority Roadmap

To best serve public safety, the FirstNet Authority also maintains a robust outreach and engagement program to understand first responder needs and priorities for the FirstNet network, while also working with AT&T to improve upon the public safety user experience. In 2019, the FirstNet Authority developed its first roadmap based on insights gathered from over 7,000 stakeholder engagements, leading to the identification of the following domains:

  • Core: Functioning of the network
  • Coverage: Accessibility of the network
  • Secure Information Exchange: Secure and reliable data access
  • Situational Awareness: Collection, distribution, and access to critical information 
  • User Experience: How responders interact with and utilize the network 
  • Voice Communications: Mission-critical services, with a focus on Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) 

FirstNet Authority Domains

PSCR Research Portfolios

Alignment Explanation

Secure Information Exchange Next Generation Systems IntegrationFocuses on secure, interoperable, and efficient data sharing for public safety. 
Situational Awareness Location-Based Services, Uncrewed Aircraft SystemsImproves real-time data transfer and geospatial awareness for first responders.
User ExperienceUser ExperienceDevelops intuitive interfaces and tools for seamless network interaction.
Voice CommunicationsMission Critical VoiceAdvances resilient, high-quality voice communication for public safety missions.

The table above highlights how PSCR research aligns with four of the FirstNet Authority domains guaranteeing that public safety communications are secure, accessible, reliable, and user-friendly. While the FirstNet Authority focuses on near-term (0–5 years) operational enhancements to the FirstNet network to meet immediate responder needs, PSCR takes a more forward-looking approach (5–15 years), driving long-term research and innovation that will shape the future of public safety communications. This distinction allows the FirstNet Authority to prioritize deployable, on-the-ground solutions while PSCR explores emerging technologies, conducts foundational research, and prototypes next-generation capabilities that could define the future of emergency response. To ensure that PSCR’s R&D anticipates and addresses potential challenges and first responder needs, the Division reviews the FirstNet Authority roadmap to confirm project plans are on track and supplements with additional research as necessary. To ensure PSCR’s R&D addresses first responder needs and future challenges, the Division regularly reviews the FirstNet Authority roadmap to validate project plan direction and identify areas where additional research may be needed. 

FirstNet Authority Roadmapping Process

The FirstNet Authority regularly reviews its strategic vision and roadmap – which currently outlines three overarching goals and corresponding activities within its six domain areas – to assess ongoing priorities and make necessary updates. Since 2019, the FirstNet Authority has continued to engage with public safety professionals and update its roadmap in response to evolving communication challenges, with revisions in 2020 and 2023. In 2023, the roadmapping team determined that, in addition to progressing within the original six domains, the FirstNet Authority would focus on three overarching goals:

  • Ensuring the network remains dependable;
  • Enabling responders to connect with each other and access critical information; and
  • Enhancing the network to support the operationalization of innovative technologies. 

Following any updates to the roadmap, PSCR participates in meetings with the FirstNet Authority to review these updates, followed by internal strategic planning sessions to refine project plans accordingly. These plans are then reviewed with the FirstNet Authority to ensure continued research alignment with public safety needs and priorities as outlined in the roadmap.

Background (2012-2022)

In February 2012, the enactment of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act directed the creation of the NPSBN to provide first responders with a dedicated, interoperable communications network and concurrently allocated $300 million in spectrum auction funds to PSCR for research and development (R&D) supporting the development and deployment of the NPSBN. The FirstNet Authority, born out of the Act, is the federal entity charged with overseeing the building, deployment, and operation of that NPSBN, otherwise known as the FirstNet network, which is operated by AT&T. 

From 2012 to 2016, PSCR engaged stakeholders through a series of roadmapping workshops across four key technology areas, aiming to identify existing gaps, future capabilities, and priority areas for R&D investment. These workshops culminated in four roadmapping summits, where PSCR presented key findings and outlined the problem statements it would address over the next six to seven years. To further advance these efforts, PSCR established the Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSIAP), designed to drive R&D and enhance public safety communications capabilities beyond the scope of PSCR’s internal research. During this period, the key technology areas that emerged included Mission Critical Voice, Public Safety Analytics, Location-Based Services, User Interface and two-cross cutting areas: Resilient Systems (including Highly Mobile Deployable Networks) and Security.

In September 2022, the $300 million in funding provided through the Public Safety Trust Fund (PSTF) closed out, resulting in $807.1 million in economic impact. [Read about PSCR’s programmatic impacts here.] PSCR’s transition in October 2022 to new funding models and research priorities has ensured that public safety communications research continues to drive technological advancement for first responders. 

Relevant Supporting Documents

Electronics and Public safety
Created September 21, 2016, Updated April 9, 2025