"Situational awareness requires continuous monitoring of relevant sources of information regarding actual and developing incidents. The scope and type of monitoring vary based on the type of incidents being evaluated and needed reporting thresholds. Critical information is passed through established reporting channels according to established security protocols. Priorities include: (1) Providing the right information at the right time. For an effective national response, jurisdictions must continuously refine their ability to assess the situation as an incident unfolds and rapidly provide accurate and accessible information to decisionmakers in a user-friendly manner. It is essential that all levels of government, the private sector (in particular, owners/operators of critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) ), and NGOs share information to develop a common operating picture and synchronize their response operations and resources. (2) Improving and integrating national reporting. Situational awareness must start at the incident scene and be effectively communicated to local, tribal, State, and Federal governments and the private sector, to include CIKR. Jurisdictions must integrate existing reporting systems to develop an information and knowledge management system that fulfills national information requirements. (3) Linking operations centers and tapping subject-matter experts. Local governments, tribes, States, and the Federal Government have a wide range of operations centers that monitor events and provide situational awareness. Based on their roles and responsibilities, operations centers should identify information requirements, establish reporting thresholds, and be familiar with the expectations of decisionmakers and partners. Situational awareness is greatly improved when experienced technical specialists identify critical elements of information and use them to form a common operating picture. Reporting and documentation procedures should be standardized to enhance situational awareness and provide emergency management and response personnel with ready access to critical information. Situation reports should contain verified information and explicit details (who, what, where, when, and how) related to the incident. Status reports, which may be contained in situation reports, relay specific information about resources. Based on an analysis of the threats, jurisdictions issue accessible warnings to the public and provide emergency public information". (DHS, National Response Framework, Jan 2008, 32-33)