During its meeting on June 7-8, 2016, held in Palo Alto, CA, the Board of Governors of the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation awarded funding to two projects, selected by DHS and MOPS, between US and Israeli companies to advance technologies for First Responders.
In addition to the grants from BIRD, the projects will access private sector funding, boosting the total value of both projects to approximately $4.5 million.
The NextGen First Responder Technologies is a new program established by DHS S&T and MOPS to promote and fund joint US-Israel projects for the development of advanced technologies for First Responders (Law Enforcement,Firefighters, Emergency Medical Services), with significant commercial potential, in order to meet the most pressing requirements of First Responders.
The BIRD Foundation promotes collaboration between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological fields for the purpose of joint product development. In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.
Projects submitted to the "NextGen First Responder Technologies" program are reviewed by representatives of DHS, the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly, the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry), and experts from the Ministry of Public Security.
