The following phone script template can be used when communicating with local agencies to invite them to send a participant to the focus group interviews. The phone conversation will explore the participants’ knowledge of the interoperability within your state and may lead to referrals or new contacts.
Sample Phone Script
1) Introduce yourself by saying that you are working with the governor, following a model laid out by SAFECOM, a federal program designed to help combat interoperability issues among first responders, and are seeking practitioners to attend local interview sessions.
SAFECOM and the state’s Interoperability Coordinator are working together to create a strategic plan to help solve the issues surrounding interoperability in the state. Our state is just one of many that will be holding these sessions, which will in turn help this issue nationally.
I am calling you because of your established role and expertise as a key stakeholder in the emergency management community. Specifically, we would like to work with you and your organization for input into the identification of potential participants in our focus group interviews.
2) I would then ask if they had received a "Save the Date" email on ________ from _________. The "Save the Date" email stated that an all-day stakeholder focus group interview session is being held on _________, in ___________.
The desired outcomes of the _________ meeting are:
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Capture local emergency responder perspectives on interoperable communications.
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Establish a shared understanding of interoperability issues specific to this region of the state.
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Education and shared awareness of interoperability issues across stakeholder groups.
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Paying attention to our commonalities as opposed to our differences.
3) Ask them if they will be able to participate in the meeting on _______. If they are unable to attend on ________, ask them if they have any suggestions for other individuals that might be interested. Participants should be able to answer the following questions:
- How would you describe Virginia’s existing level of interoperability?
- Why do we need to change and what would happen if we don’t change?
- What do we want our future system for communications to look like?
- What problems might we encounter when striving for this future state?
- What recommendations do we have to move from our current state to our future state?
4) Also ask them if, based on the information in the "Save the Date" email, they think that they or someone in their organization are the appropriate person from their organization to attend. It is very possible that they will designate someone else from their organization to attend. It is very important that the person they designate understands the types of issues surrounding the interoperability issue, specifically to this state, and that they have ideas about the barriers and solutions that could be implemented as part of a strategic plan.
5) Tell them they will be receiving some read-ahead information and the details about the hotel prior to the interview.
** Ask them if they have any other questions & thank them for their time and effort. REMEMBER: The meeting is ________ in ___________.
Also, if they ask any questions that you do not know how to answer, just indicate that you will get back to them with an answer or you’ll have _______________ contact them as quickly as possible.