The Department of Homeland Security's SAFECOM Program has released a step by step plan that local communities can use to achieve interoperability. The Statewide Communications Interoperability Planning (SCIP) plan is available here.

The plan is based on the strategic planning approach jointly developed and
tested by the Commonwealth of Virginia and OIC/SAFECOM to create the Virginia
statewide plan in 2004. It offers ten steps:

Establish Key Relationships and Funding
-Gather Information
-Create Project Plan and Roadmap
-Identify Roles and Responsibilities for the Project Team
-Recruit Focus Group Participants and Meeting Preparation
-Conduct Focus Group Interviews
-Analyze Data and Prepare for Strategic Planning Session
-Prepare and Conduct Strategic Planning Session
-Develop Statewide Communications Interoperability
-Strategic Plan
-Guidelines for the First 90 Days of Implementation

The key compenent is the detailed, step-by-step explanations for each
phase-including critical tasks, timelines, planning resources, sample documents, and
templates for communication materials. It also reflects best practices and lessons learned
to guide new planning committees. Let us know if you are planning to use this planning tool, we will post updates as we get them.