Before Enrollment

What is the FOCUS survey? How was it developed?

The Fire service Organizational Culture of Safety (FOCUS) survey is a validated and reliable survey instrument that measures the safety climate of a fire and rescue department. It features scales that measure leadership support for safety, organizational outcomes, and mental health outcomes.

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Who can participate in the FOCUS survey?

Any non-military fire department within the United States is welcome to participate—career, combination, or volunteer.

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How is the survey administered?

The survey is administered to your membership through an online, secure REDCap link.

How much does the survey cost?

The cost of survey administration and analysis is covered by our FEMA grant funding and is FREE to you.

How are my department's FOCUS results returned?

After completing the FOCUS assessment, your data will be analyzed and returned in a comprehensive report via email. Your department's anonymous, de-identified results will only be shared with your department's points of contact and will not be shared or identified publicly.

What information is needed to complete the enrollment form?

The Demographic Enrollment Form Guiding Document lists all of the data points we collect when you first enroll. While all the information is nice to have so that we can do national-level analysis, to answer your research questions about relationships between safety climate domains and things like ISO rating or how long it takes to complete training at the academy, only the bolded metrics are required to create your report.

DOWNLOAD THE DEMOGRAPHIC ENROLLMENT FORM GUIDING DOCUMENT

How do I enroll in FOCUS?

One of the first steps in enrolling is to identify two FOCUS Champions. If you have a union, one Champion should represent labor, ideally someone from the joint labor-management safety committee if you have one. The other member should represent management, ideally the Safety Officer, Chief of Safety, or someone from the training office. If you don't have a union, then two people from the department should serve as Champions.

Champions have an important role in educating membership about the purpose and benefits of FOCUS, managing FOCUS survey administration, and maintaining communication with the FIRST team throughout the process.

Once you identify the Champions, you will need to fill out the Demographic Enrollment Form so we can capture preliminary data about your department before you receive the full FOCUS survey.

FILL OUT THE DEMOGRAPHIC ENROLLMENT FORM

If you have additional questions, please contact the FIRST Center FOCUS Team at FOCUS@drexel.edu

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