Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it. We're going to learn more about getting grant assistance in the United States for police and fire and what radiation detection tools would be a best fit for your agency. To introduce myself, I'm Carol McGowan and the Account Manager for Homeland Security and Military and we're looking forward to working with you. Before we get started today, I'd like to go over some housekeeping. At the top right of your screen, you will see our Q&A chat box. Please ask questions throughout the presentation. We will answer as many as possible within our time constraints. On the left side of your screen is is a resource list with more documentation on what we are discussing today. You will also see contact us in there if you would like to talk to one of our representatives. And if you don't want to miss any future webinars, sign up for our webinar mailing list. All windows are adjustable, Feel free to move them around for your best viewing. Most importantly, if for some reason you are having trouble videoing viewing this webinar at any point, please refresh your browser. This webinar be will be recorded and available at Mirion.com Dash webinars for future viewing. Here you can also see all of our past webinars. This link is our resource. Before we get started, poll question. All right, we've got we've got some answers. Have you ever heard of the Grant Assistance Program 66.7? That's great. Well, we're going to learn more about it and Stardust Olson, she's the VP of Grants at Lexapol. And then after that, we are going to be hearing from Keith, the Director of Business Development for Defense and Security at Mirion Technologies. Well, thank you, Carol, and thank you to the team and Mirion for having me here today. My name is Sarah Wilson Handler and I am the Vice President of Grants here at Lexable. Really excited today to talk about the launch of this grant assistance program. But before we jump in, I think it's really important to level set about what grants are and what their purpose is and excited to to see that over 60% of our audience today is familiar with a grant assistance program and looking forward to diving in to further questions that might help you and your organization. So you know, when we think about what a definition is around a grant or what grants are, it's it's not just about funding outside of normal operating budget. It's an investment in your community's future. Unlike grant Unlike loans, grants are awarded to fund specific projects and do not require repayment. This is crucial because it aligns your project's goals with a broader objective of community improvement. Many people think of grants as free, free money, but that's a misconception. Grants are legal, binding contracts. They have strings attached. These include detailed reporting and sometimes matching as part of the funding. It's essential to understand these responsibilities on the front end of a grant project so you and your municipality or organization are not surprised by the conditions to accept a grant and successfully manage the the grant funding on the back end. And just so everyone here knows, the average success rate of achieving a successful grant award nationwide is 17%. We find that when working with our team here at Lexapol, that chance is improved by almost three times. So there are various sources of grants, federal grants, state grants, and private grants. Each has their own set of rules, timelines, and application complexity. Not surprisingly, our federal grants are going to be the most comprehensive, cumbersome, competitive and also take a little bit longer to find out award outcomes. State grants move much quicker and they may notify approval within a few months and private grants have the most flexibility and and usually turn around notices for funding is much quicker. Biggest difference between all of these grants is generally around funding thresholds. If you are looking for a larger six or seven figure grant request budget, that's typically going to fall into our federal grants. But if you're looking for a smaller project, a smaller budget, request say 25,000 or less private grants may be a better option for you. When applying for grants, your proposal is scored based on the need and how well your plan addresses this need. It's a competitive field. Staying visible and vigilant is important to ultimate outcomes. Grants can can be a slow funding source, so if you are looking to have this project funded today, grants may not be the best option for you. We may encourage you to look at some other alternative funding sources like donations, contributions, or federal backed loans. They're also not guaranteed, which is why it's really important that our team here will guide you to multiple grant sources. It's good to look across the grant landscape and look at more than one grant so that we can improve the the chances of a successful outcome. Preparing to apply for a grant involves crucial stats and especially if federal grants are going to be the best source for your project. There are requirements, pre registration requirements, that need to take place before we ever open up and look at a grant application. So you'll hear acronyms like sam.gov, which stands for System for Award Management. This is the federal government's way of tracking grant funds at the local level. So it's required. It needs to be updated once a year. It is free to register. You do not need to pay someone to make sure that your registration is up to date. These registration steps can take several weeks. So again, planning ahead is VITAM. Strategic planning and detailed documentation are going to be your best tools in crafting a successful grant application, which is why it's so important that these preparation steps are done well in advance of the grant application opening. You'll find in the targeted grants what those pre registrations are going to be. And if the targeted grant is not open now, don't worry, we can always look at the most previous grant cycles, notice of funding announcement or no foe to see what those registration steps are. In fact, most of our time here is spent helping folks get prepared to apply for the grants, which again can happen any time of the year. So when we're preparing for a grant submission, there are some things that can be done well in advance of an application opening. And just so our our attendees today understand, a typical open. For a grant is four to six weeks, which means that the other, you know, 11 months of the year. We can be working on some of these steps. And like I said before, we can look at the most recent notice of funding announcement to prepare for when that grant actually opens and for us to apply so we can start working on our needs assessment, pulling our local and regional data to support this grant request. What are the demographics that your community you know it is made-up of? What are the risks and threat assessments? And this is where too we start to introduce whatever solution that you're seeking to solve, what problem you are trying to fix within your community. We start looking at research based or evidence based solution. What is the data telling you that you need and why is the solution going to solve that unintended problem? What are the goals, objectives, outcomes, performance measures? What are the timelines with milestones? And who's part of your stakeholder team that's going to make sure that this program is implemented according to the terms of the grant? Who's involved? What are the partners and stakeholders that are going to benefit from this program? Think beyond your agency. Who in the community needs to be involved and who will who will be better for this program? How will you evaluate the success of this program? What type of data will you collect during the period of performance within the grant? And this is a big one, sustainability plan grants are, are finite, meaning that they have a period of performance. And in our world that ranges from, you know, one to five years that the grant maker will fund this particular program. So how will the solution tool technology be sustained after the period of performance? These are all things that we must address and talk about within the grant itself. And then of course our budget narrative. This is a detailed line item breakdown of all the costs including indirect by salaries, benefits, contracted fees, technology, equipment, travel, materials, reasonable and aligned to the entire project activity implementation timeline. So again, these are all very standard requests within a grant and these are things that we can be working on before the grant even opens. So in terms of a timeline commitment, most of the work to be done for a grant can actually be done well in advance of the grant actually opening. And we get this guidance from previous grant notice of funding announcements in preparation for future opening. So we estimate that most of the time can be done outside of the of the grant being open. The actual written part of the grant is the smallest percentage of time, assuming that we've done our homework ahead of time. And again, this is something that my team here at Flexible Fire Grants Help Police Grants Help, can support you and your organization with as we prepare for your radiation detection project. So just keep that in mind. You have a partner. So here is an example timeline for a law enforcement agency we worked with in the state of Florida here in the United States. So in in November this particular agency contacted us with a with a problem intending to look for a grant to solve their problem. By December we had assessed all of their pre registrations were in order. They were in good grand standing. We were able to start collecting data for their grant application, really work with their stakeholders to identify the need, the solution and the data to support both of those. By January we had identified a state grant opportunity actually submitted with, with them leading the charge and us supporting them. And by March we received a positive funding outcome. So again, planning preparation and looking several months out for that positive outcome. That's really a good case study example of forecasting, looking ahead and planning for that, for that grant and that funding. So in terms of receiving a grant award, you know once awarded begins the process of managing a grant. And This is why it's really important that you have folks in your finance office available to you that they know about this grant that you're applying to. So on positive communication of receiving that award that you're able to involve involve them in the management of the grants. Depending on the type of grants, you may need to front the cost before being reimbursed. Understanding the terms and conditions of the funding portion of the grant is very important to positive management. And again, grants are not free money. There are conditions with accepting that funding. One of them is how are the costs and the budget going to be funded? Is it reimbursable or will they will they front those costs? And then compliance and reporting. You do have to report back to the grant maker. And this is true regardless if it's a federal grant, a state grant or a private grant. You have to tell them what what did you do with the money? Reporting can be as often as quarterly over an annual year or it can be annual. And again, all of this is outlined in the notice of funding announcement or no foe on the front end. So hopefully there are no surprises on the back end when you receive this funding. So let's talk a little bit about the grant assistance program and what those benefits are. And then I'm going to share with you a couple of tips as you look towards your radiation detection grant project. So the grant assistance program is, is designed to support you, your organization, your municipality every step of the way through the grant process. And this includes personalized grant consulting, strategic planning, personal tailored grant research. Not every single grant is going to be 100% fit for your organization. We, we help remove that guesswork and then we'll provide tools to enhance your grant application and management process. And this includes access to our pool of over 40 grant technical experts who come from either public safety and or municipal government that can, you know, be in lockstep with you as you go through all of these steps within a grant process. We also give you access to our grant Finder grant research tool. And this is really a game changer for us as it helps keep you updated with eligible grant opportunities. And really, he simplifies the search process. The this this tool makes it easier to find grants to match your organization's needs and goals, keeping you very focused on the programs that are going to be the best fit. So just some things to think about here approaching, you know, your, your radiation detection grant, you know, first, are you requesting fund? Why are you requesting funds for this particular piece of equipment? Do you currently have access to any in house? Or if not, why are you requesting 1 some data points and we talk a lot about collecting data within grants data points to consider for your application. High number of calls for potential gases or radiation leaks? Number of medical centers in your response area? Or are there large industrial buildings as part of your critical infrastructure? These can heighten the need for a detector due to the amount of chemicals and radioactive items stored within. Just FYI, law enforcement agencies generally arrive for sun scene in many areas. This type of solution is great to have on officers that walk into uncertain calls such as welfare checks, calls for unknown smells, break insurance to medical facilities or industries, cost potential in home drug labs. These are all things that are going to be helpful data points within your grant applications. These devices are great to have on 1st responders as you never truly know what you're walking into. Your department will need to justify this need for your request with call data or the need due to a new industry or development within your community. If your organization is looking at FEMA preparedness grants, you'll need to reference FEMA's AEL and that stands for Authorized Equipment List for Radiation Detection. Also, the need must align terrorism related incidents in FEMA's national preparedness goal, mission areas, prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery. The Homeland Security suite of grants including you know, Operation Stone Garden Port Security Grant program. These are all great options if they are fit for your municipality organization to apply to. When seeking grant funds, first responder agencies will need to reference their Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk assessment Vera and STAKE Preparedness Review SPR. These are justification for the project. Vera and SPR are two processes that help communities prepare for disasters. The THERA is a risk assessment process that helps communities identify the capability targets and resource requirements necessary to address anticipated and unanticipated risk. Communities complete the Thera every three years. SPR is an annual three-step self-assessment of a community's capability levels based on the capability targets identified in the Thera. Communities use the data from the Thera process to assess their capabilities in the SPRSPR is used to train. It's used to identify and address capability gaps related to planning, organization, equipment, training and exercises. Because these are risk based grants. We should be thinking through three core areas. What are the threats, what are the vulnerabilities and what are the consequences? This is all data-driven projects are evidence based and this is what needs to be included in your grant request. So I know I've covered a lot. I just want you to know we're here to be your partner every step of the way. And I'm excited to turn it over to Keith to talk about the available equipment under the grant assistance program. And I'll be around to answer questions later on in the presentation. Thank you, Sarah. That was awesome and what a great program for our first responders and stakeholders around the nation. I'm Keith Spiro with Mirion Technologies, and I'd like to take you on a tour of the equipment that's available under the Scrant Assistance program. Specifically, we're going to cover the following, the DMC 3000 electronic personal decimeter, the Ultra Radiac Plus personal radiation monitor, the Acurad PRD personal radiation detector, the Acurad PRD SIM kit, the SPEAR ACE radio identification device, the SPEAR Pack human portable backpack system and the RDS 32 multi purpose survey meter. These products that we're going to discuss today fall under three specific areas, personal monitoring, detection and identification and handheld surveillance. So the first, let's discuss personal monitoring for occupational and emergency response. The DMC 3000, the number one electronic personal disseminar used worldwide. First responders benefit from the same world class measurement technologies that we use in nuclear power plants and by defense forces worldwide. The DMC 3000 it's easy to use, does not require a reader, it has a wide dose and rate measurement range up to 1000 R.E.M. per hour. It has alerting by multi directional LED, very loud beep and tactile vibration. The DMC 3000 is military rugged for those harsh environments and one AAA battery for one year of operating life. So the value proposition for first responders is high reliability, accurate performance and a very low cost of ownership. The DMC 3000 has a wide range of accessories for teledoc symmetry or remote monitoring. The DMC 3000 has a transmitter module. It has a Bluetooth low energy module and a Mirion watch. Coupled with the AWM adaptive wireless module and telemetry studio, you now have a remote monitoring system. There's also modules for beta and neutron detection, there's the DMC3000 training simulator system, and there's desktop readers. And these are accessories that complement operation the DMC 3000. And here's a sampling, brief sampling of radiological, mechanical and environmental specifications for the DMC 3000. And just as a reminder, you can visit Mirion.com and download the data sheets for this and all the equipment we're going to discuss as well as other equipment that made by American Technologies. The next device, the Ultra Radiac Plus, or as we call it, the URAD. This is the standard radiation monitor for Fire Rescue and hazmat operations for over 20 years. The URAD has military pedigree. It's derived from the military pocket Radiak especially for optimal performance and use in extreme environments. EU Red features a wide range of dose and rate measurements. It's programmable for audible, visual and vibration alarms. It has a unique time to alarm feature which allows the presence of in hot zones are for calculating stay times and preventing long exposures. Features a large, clear and easy to read backlit display and the plus is that EU Red is easy to operate in turn out gear, especially with large MOP gloves. Ultra Radiak accessories include the FC2B calibration verification device and this is a desktop unit that utilizes a small exempt quantity Cesium 137 source for Vera for verifying measurement accuracy. The beauty of this device is that there's no laptop or desktop software required. The routine is built into EU Red itself and that makes the process efficient. The second item here we show is the vehicle mount and this is designed to secure EU Red to vehicles, vessels, drones and robotics. And then here a sampling of the radiological, mechanical and environmental specifications for EU Red. The next section, detection, identification, search and security activities, the ACURAD personal radiation detector, the ACURAD PRD developed by and for first responders. The ACURAD is a very sensitive for low range detection in search and interdiction activities as well as high range measurements up to 1000 R.E.M. for emergency response operations. The ACURAD has dual displays, a large front mount, very bright, very large, and a top mount for easy reading from a belt or a vest. The ACURAD features the innovative radar for source localization. The ACURAD has the lowest cost of ownership, 2 commercial off the shelf AA batteries for over 900 hours of operation, integrated Bluetooth and an unbreakable clip. And to you that means no additional accessories are needed like pouches, Bluetooth modules or battery charging stations. The Acura also has a full-featured smartphone app which consists of interactive training, recording, alerting, event history mapping, reach back streaming and especially RED responder connectivity. The Acurad PRD has a third party ANSI compliant standard 4232 PR DS for Homeland Security Compliance Testing certificate. Our value proposition to you for the Acurad PRD is that you would require two or more of the competitors PR DS to have all the features found in one Acurad PRD. There's a full range of accurate PRD accessories for your operational needs and applications, earpiece, headset, vehicle, RAM mount, USB cable and storage cases. But I'd like to highlight a few new items. One is the source check fixture that allows you to perform response tests and periodic accuracy checks to keep your accurate operating optimally. There's also a pouch which I just told you you didn't need, but it's it's made of a ballistic nylon with a large metallic clip and a Molly ring, Especially for tactical vests and other garments. And then here a sampling of the radiological, mechanical and environmental specifications for the accurate PRD. The Accurate SIM is a training simulator designed to provide all the realism of radiological measurement operations, but without the risk of radiation exposure. The Accurate SIM functions identically to the accurate PRD, even with the smartphone app functionality. The system consists of one or more accurate Sims, a red source, a red SIM source, and then there's an app for programming. The source shown here is a concept of operation example using multiple accurate Sims where the red SIM source is hidden and the trainees practice search and localization techniques. Further, the accurate smartphone app can be used with the SIM system for added realism and reach back. OK, moving on to the Spirace. The Spirace is a radio isotope identification device or RID as we call it. The Spirace features one handed one mode operation with no buttons to touch. The Spirace starts up, stabilizes to background, and then it operates. And due to its innovative operation always running a background, Spectra allows the Spirace to operate an ID automatically. The Android operating system is used that allows the operator to use a finger to swipe left and right for menu navigation. The Spirace can be used for handheld surveillance, for mobile monitoring with the integrated mapping, or as a stationary monitor for pedestrian screening. And there's a feature internal to the to the Android operating system that enables a remote Wi-Fi connection to cast to another smartphone, innovative radar for localizing sources. Spirace also has internal Wi-Fi and a SIM slot for optional cellular connectivity and that can be used for messaging, reach back streaming and red responder connectivity. One of the added bonuses of the Spear Ace is the connector to add an optional Beta Gamma Contamination Probe and as an enhancement to the Spear Race. Talking about the Beta Gamma Contamination probe, the GMP 25 when connected to the Spear Race now provides a complete field survey solution in one package. Another enhancement includes the deployable tactical kit consisting of a Spear Race Red and accurate PR DS and this kit is configurable. The second detection and ID at the third detection ID device is the Spear Pack backpack radiation detection system. The Spear Pack is a operates in the same fashion as the Spear Race and uses the same app only with different hardware. One handed, one mode operation with no buttons to touch for basic operation. Android operating system using your finger to swipe left right for navigation. The backpack can be worn as a traditional backpack can also be affixed as a mobile monitor to a Gator, a Polaris or other type of cart vehicle with integrated mapping. Or the backpack can be used as a stationary monitor for pedestrian screening. And again the feature to cast the display on the backpack to a another smartphone through the Wi-Fi connection. The backpack has the innovative directional radar screen for localizing sources and also features internal Wi-Fi and SIM slot for cellular connectivity to message reach, back streaming and red responder just highlighting the source localization. This is inherent on both the Spirace and the SPIR pack the feature. These devices do use the same Android app, so the functionality and operation is similar, although the techniques for surveillance are different, and it's easy for the operator to transition from 1 device to the other. And here are sampling of the radiological, mechanical and environmental specifications for the spear race and the spear pack. Moving to the last category, handheld surveillance for radiation and contamination measurement, The RDS 32 is a rugged and compact multipurpose survey meter system. And when it's packaged with alpha, beta and contamination probe and gamma contamination probes and even throw a neutron search probe in there, now you have an excellent deployable field kit. The RDS 32 has wide measurement ranges up to 1000 R.E.M. for dose and rate. A large backlit rotating graphic display can be operated with one hand, has integrated Bluetooth as integrated telemetry for wireless remote surveillance and integrates into the Teledoc symmetry system that we spoke of with the DMC3000. There's a full-featured RDS 32 smartphone app for recording events, for mapping red responder reach back messaging and it uses Cox AA batteries. There's multiple versions of the RDS 32 depending upon your application, standard measurement ranges of up to 10 R.E.M. or extended up to 1000 R.E.M. And then there's the transmitter version for wireless monitoring. And the RDS 32 response kit shown, you know, becomes an all in one deployable field kit for radiological and emergency response. There's a wide selection of smart alpha, beta, gamma contamination probes and gamma, X-ray and neutron dose rate probes. And if you're considering fielding a deployment kit, you have many options available to the probes that you may need. In addition, GMP probes for high range and underwater monitoring and even a telescoping pole for overheads and inaccessible areas. And finally, a sampling of the radiological, mechanical and environmental specifications for the RDS 32. So again, just want to remind you that you can visit Mirion.com, access the data sheets for these and other pieces of equipment. So after hearing all of this, can a grant assistance program help your operations? So I'd just like to summarize what we've talked about today. The Mirion grant assistance program is here. Mirion and Lexapol have partnered to deliver a program to help first responders get the equipment they need. From EP DS to PR DS to RIDS, the training simulators, Mirion has the solutions for first responders daily challenges. Merion features world class customer service as well as maintenance, calibration and training services. The total package for our first responder community, Carol. Hey there. Great. Thanks. Thanks a lot, Sarah and Keith, that was very informative looking over and seeing that we, we do have some questions coming in as as I mentioned previously, we will be sending you a recording of this at a later date. So you'll you'll have it. How about extended warranties? Can they be included as part of the grant request? Carol, I can take that one if if that's helpful. Yeah, sure. Yeah, Yeah, great question. So it depends on a good non answer answer. It depends on the the grant that that we're targeting. So in general, yes, they can be included. What we want to do is we want to look at the application instructions within the notice of funding announcement. There will be eligible ineligible costs. Typically these are going to fall under contractual costs and again dependent on the period of performance, basically the length of time that the grant will will fund the project for how many years. OK, great. We also got a question in the same lines about training. So whether or not grants can include training in addition to the actual piece of equipment. So yes, most grant programs that we work with, yeah, will include and allow for the cost of training. Again, kind of the same answer is. It depends on the grant eligible and ineligible items, but I've been doing this for almost 20 years and training is always looked at as favorable to include with a grant request and encourage because grant makers want to make sure that you're going to use the equipment and you're going to be trained how to do so properly. Yep. OK. Canadian customers, are they eligible to participate? Another one for me. So the short answer is I love it. These are great questions. So the short answer is not at this time. All of our grant experts that we have as part of our program and I mentioned we have on staff a little over 40 technical grant experts all come from the United States. So our focus is on federal, state and private grants to fund municipalities, first responders here in the United States. So unfortunately no. OK. Another question is do you have some specific grants that are current for radiation detection? You know, maybe like I know you, I know you have some state wise is, is there an overarching Homeland Security that you know about? So just let me repeat the question. So are there any grant programs open right now? Yes. OK, so the short answer is there are programs open all the time. As I mentioned, we work with federal, state and private grants. So right now what's top of mind for a lot of municipalities and 1st responders are the Homeland Security grants. So right now we are looking at our state Homeland Security grant programs. These are the pass through funds that states apply to and then what we see is these open up to local jurisdictions in the fall. So now is a great time at the local level to be prepared for these pass through funding programs later later this year. So best thing to do that I would recommend because like I said, not every grant program is going to be a fit for every agency, is to sign up for the program. I believe the links to sign up for the grant assistance program are included in the resource section. So sign up, start working with our team, and we'll be able to connect you to those programs, whether they're open right now or in a few months, that are going to be the best fit for your agency. Great. That sounds easy. Great way to start. What about other Mirion products? What about if I need a mobile system that, you know, wasn't on our presentation today? I can answer that absolutely, absolutely spirit and mobile system. OK. Just fill out the form. Sounds easy enough, right? Tell us what you need. Yep. All right, Well, I I think that wraps up today's webinar. We hope you certainly got got some good interesting facts and and things to think about with your with products and grant assistance. And there's no harm in in signing up for the program and seeing where it it take takes you and we are happy to help. All right, thank you. And yeah, if you could answer this poll question quickly. All right. Thank you very much. _1734785200483