"Preparedness is the responsibility of individual jurisdictions; this responsibility includes coordinating various preparedness activities among all appropriate agencies within a jurisdiction, as well as across jurisdictions and with private organizations. This coordination is effected by mechanisms that range from individuals to small committees to large standing organizations. These mechanisms are referred to in this document as preparedness organizations, in that they serve as ongoing forums for coordinating preparedness activities in advance of an incident. Preparedness organizations represent a wide variety of committees, planning groups, and other organizations that meet regularly and coordinate with one another to ensure an appropriate focus on planning, training, equipping, and other preparedness requirements within a jurisdiction and/or across jurisdictions. The needs of the jurisdictions involved will dictate how frequently such organizations must conduct their business, as well as how they are structured. When preparedness activities routinely need to be accomplished across jurisdictions, preparedness organizations should be multijurisdictional. Preparedness organizations at all jurisdictional levels should (1) Establish and coordinate emergency plans and protocols including public communications and awareness; (2) Integrate and coordinate the activities of the jurisdictions and functions within their purview; (3) Establish the standards, guidelines, and protocols necessary to promote interoperability among member jurisdictions and agencies; (4) Adopt standards, guideline, and protocols for providing resources to requesting organizations, including protocols for incident support organizations; (5) Set priorities for resources and other requirements; and (6) Ensure the establishment and maintenance of multiagency coordination mechanisms, including EOCs, mutual-aid agreements, incident information systems, nongovernmental organization and private-sector outreach, public awareness and information systems, and mechanisms to deal with information and operations security". (DHS, NIMS, 2005, pp. 34-35)