Executive Director’s Letter

Dear members and friends of the Alliance,

As the summer draws to a close, and so ends the brief respite from the frenetic pace of our busy careers, now is a good opportunity to assess what we accomplished in the last year and recommit ourselves to improve the things we could have done better.

The results from the 2010 Smart Card Alliance Annual Member Survey have been tabulated and analyzed. Our members responded in great numbers, with 47.3% of all member organizations participating. One question we ask is for members to give us a score on a 100 point scale that indicates satisfaction with the Alliance, with a score of 80 or higher meaning “clearly satisfied.” Our average satisfaction rating for 2009/2010 was 85.2. In addition 89.1% of the survey respondents gave the Alliance a score of 80 or higher, which is the highest percentage of clearly satisfied members that we have ever had. The Board of Directors , the staff and I consider this figure to be the best measure of whether the Smart Card Alliance is fulfilling its mission in the eyes of our supporters and the overall smart card industry.

Member Profile

This month Smart Card Talk spoke with Dale Grogan, Director of Smart Card Initiatives for SMART Association, Inc. (“SMART”), the leading provider of membership marketing programs for hospitals. At SMART, Grogan is responsible for product development, market positioning, and sales.

Prior to his efforts with SMART, Mr. Grogan was a founder of Leapfrog Smart Products, Inc., an early entrant into the smart card software development space. Mr. Grogan took the Leapfrog parent company public in 2000. Leapfrog sold into the governmental, healthcare, and international markets. Leapfrog was later sold to a private entity. During that period of time, Mr. Grogan was an original member of the GSA Interoperability Standards Committee for the development and usage of Smart card applications within the federal government.

Feature of the Month

First Responder Authentication Credential

In the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, U.S. homeland security professionals learned that responding to a disaster requires a multi-disciplinary response team including law enforcement, firefighters, medical professionals, and critical infrastructure workers. These emergency responders represent a broad array of disciplines within the local and state emergency management organizations and it is crucial for the incident command to recognize, in real-time, the certifications and abilities of each individual responding to the incident.

The Office of National Capital Region Coordination coordinated a major initiative to leverage a smart card identity system (the First Responder Authentication Credential) for emergency response officials (EROs). These smart cards would provide first responders from across the region with the ability to quickly and easily access government buildings and reservations in the event of a terrorist attack or other disaster. The initiative was designed to remedy access problems such as those encountered by state and local emergency officials responding to the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.

New CSCIP Accreditations

Congratulations to the LEAP members who have successfully completed the requirements for professional accreditation as Certified Smart Card Industry Professionals. Most recent additions to CSCIP certifications listed in bold type.

Click here for more information about LEAP and CSCIP certification program.

New CSCIP/G Accreditations

Congratulations to the LEAP members who have successfully completed the requirements for professional accreditation as Certified Smart Card Industry Professionals / Government. Most recent additions to CSCIP/G certifications listed in bold type.

Click here for more information about LEAP and CSCIP/G certification program.