The Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Innovation Program is testing ways to increase public safety by sharing data that smart cities collect. The project, called the Smart City Interoperability Reference Architecture (SCIRA), is part of a long-running partnership with the Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology Directorate. The program aims to develop standards and practices to improve first responders' awareness and communication by studying how shared data can drive decisions and make disaster response more effective. "That really rests on being able to build a framework of systems that work together," Innovation Program Director Josh Lieberman said. The plan is to bring together data from sensors and other sources along with insights from people.