Each year, the Science & Technology (S&T) SubGroup and the Standards Coordination SubGroup (SCSG) support and coordinate the IAB’s efforts to identify and prioritize research and development (R&D) and standards development requirements within the first responder community.

To do so, each SubGroup conducts its own survey of the IAB. After respective gaps are identified across all IAB SubGroups, the gaps are evaluated using a standardized survey questionnaire. The survey responses are statistically analyzed and a rank order is established for gap selected for the evaluation. The end products of the surveys are two lists of priorities vetted by IAB membership: the IAB Research & Development Priority List and the IAB Standards Development Priority List.