Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, our nation, states, and large urban areas have made great investments to improve our level of preparedness and capabilities to manage the next disaster or large-scale incident. Although communities and urban areas have used DHS grant funding to sustain their core operations and make investments to elevate the level of preparedness throughout their region, the steady decline in Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding over the past two decades has required UASIs to be more resourceful and identify ways to build efficiencies within their UASI programs.
URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE – PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
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A Collaborative Approach to Regional Comprehensive Emergency Management
Odysseus™ provides UASIs and their regional partners with a single, unified system to manage all UASI program requirements including grant management and reporting, coordinate preparedness activities, facilitate collaboration and sharing, assess performance, monitor compliance, and much, much more. Odysseus™ is designed to be a program management tool and allows for the full integration of other incident management software programs.
Designed by our team of leading emergency managers and software technicians, Odysseus™ offers a unique UASI program management platform.
Odysseus™ Features for UASIs
Increase Regional Collaboration
Build a Collaborative Network of Systems
Odysseus™ gives UASI members the option to create a shared network of Odysseus™ instances.
The UASI Odysseus™ network will allow instances to connect and share across all organizations
Secured Collaboration & Sharing
Odysseus™ provides secure access, creating a safe and collaborative environment to
promote increased participation.
Record Stakeholder Participation
Odysseus™ documents the planning process. Track stakeholder participation to offset federal
cost share requirements.
Monitor Stakeholders & Committee Activities
Odysseus™ workgroup feature provides a platform for stakeholders and committee members
to collaborate on work activities. Assign tasks and monitor their progress from the
convenience of your desktop.
Schedule Meeting & Record Minutes
Odysseus™ assists organizations in coordinating, announcing, and tracking meeting schedules
and synchronize these meeting dates with industry standard calendar tools.
Document Input, Track Actions, and Log Involvement
Odysseus™ documents input and feedback from stakeholder partners on UASI activities. Input is
logged for future reference and UASI program managers are alerted for follow up action.
Manage UASI Grant Programs
Grant Management
Odysseus™ offers real-time tracking and reporting of UASI grant funding allocations. Track the
status of grants and the performance of grant sub-recipients.
Manage More than UASI Grants
Odysseus™ has a robust grant management platform, allowing UASI’s to manage other federal
and state grant programs to include State Homeland Security, FEMA Public Assistance, Hazard
Mitigation Program, Building Resilient Communities & Infrastructure (BRIC), HUD Community
Development Block Grants, and many other federal grant programs.
Grant Reporting and Analytics
Odysseus™ gives ready access to easy-to-interpret data reporting and graphic analytics.
Customize dashboard reports to analyze important grant program metrics.
Manage Subrecipient Grant Applications
Odysseus™ offers a public facing portal to allow stakeholder partners to submit grant
applications for consideration by the UASI.
Grant Compliance & Reporting
Odysseus™ allows you to track your grants to ensure compliance with all federal regulations and
program requirements and address any potential gaps, proactively.
Assess UASI Program Activities & Regulatory Compliance
Systematically Evaluate Compliance
Odysseus™ provides UASI administrators with the ability to systematically evaluate program
compliance Department of Homeland Security requirements and industry standards.
Regional THIRA/SPR Assessments
Odysseus™ gives users a central platform to facilitate the development of the THIRA/SPR based
on the latest DHS guidance.
Regulatory and Industry Program Assessments
From assessing regulatory and industry requirements of hazard mitigation and continuity of
operations plans to evaluating compliance with the Emergency Management Accreditation
Program (EMAP), Odysseus™ offers a robust library of ready-to-access assessment tools.
Create Customized Program Assessments
Odysseus™ allows for the creation of customized assessment tools to systematically
evaluate your organization’s programs and initiatives.
Assessment Reports & Dashboard Analytics
Odysseus™ provides organizations with easy-to-interpret reports and graphic analytics on
important compliance and performance assessments.
Manage Preparedness Activities
Reduce Preparedness Redundancy
Odysseus™ allows users to share and mirror content across a shared network of UASI instances,
reducing preparedness redundancies and increasing consistent operational practices across the
region in a controlled environment.
Standardize Regional Planning
Odysseus™ features the unique characteristic of providing standardization and flexibility,
while reducing redundancy and increasing version control with your organization’s plans
and doctrine.
Document the Planning Process
Odysseus™ documents the planning process and tracks planning collaboration among
partners and committee members.
Monitor Plan Updates and Compliance
Odysseus™ provides a single platform to monitor plan updates and ensure all regulatory
requirements and industry standards are met. Dashboard reports identify what plans need to
be updated and when.
Manage Multi-Year Training & Exercise Programs
Odysseus™ allows UASI’s to manage their Multi-Year Training & Exercise (T&E) Programs on a
single platform. Share your scheduled T&E activities with other UASI partners to maximize
regional participation and prevent T&E overlap.
Track & Measure Understanding
Odysseus™ provides organizations with an integrated learning management system that
allows administrators to more effectively deliver and measure understanding of
organizational strategies, programs, and procedures.
Create Custom Courses and Computer-Based Trainings
Odysseus™ allows UASI’s to create, deliver, and manage customized computer-based trainings,
track course assessments, award certificates upon completion, and report learner progress.
Other Functionalities
Disaster Recovery Program Management
Odysseus™ provides a complete disaster recovery program solution for UASI and their partners.
Integrated Damage Assessment Tool
Odysseus™ offers a ready-to-use application for real-time damage assessments and log sitespecific damage inventory. The SIT is customizable, mobile friendly, and integrated with the
GMT to streamline disaster recovery and the FEMA reimbursement process.
Disaster Assistance Grant Management
Odysseus™ allows for real-time-tracking and management of vital community recovery funds
provided through various Federal disaster assistance programs to include FEMA Public
Assistance, Hazard Mitigation, HUD Community Development Block Grants, and many more.
Track Regulatory Compliance Requirements for Disaster Recovery Assistance
Odysseus™ provides communities with concise and easy to interpret dashboard reports to track
toe status of recovery projects, performance of disaster assistance grants, and compliance with
regulatory and programmatic requirements.
Integrate Automated Debris Monitoring Systems (ADMS) and Incident Management Software
Other System Features
Fully Customizable Software-as-a-Service Solution
The architecture of the Odysseus™ Enterprise System allows for it be fully customizable. UASI’s
have the option to utilize our Software-as-a-Service solution to reconfigure Odysseus™ to best
meet the needs of their UASI program.
Designed by Emergency Managers for Emergency Managers
Unlike other software solutions, Odysseus™ was designed by seasoned and renowned
emergency managers. Our expertise was augmented by a software development team to
design a programmatic solution for the modern emergency manager.
