Why the Department of Homeland Security Needs an Office of Net Assessment

Abstract

AbstractThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to search for a distinct “added value” within the national security community. Statute requires DHS to lead on various security‐related programs and activities for which the Department frequently lacks sufficient analytical capacity. The authors argue that establishing an Office of Net Assessment (ONA) at DHS would bring much needed analytical capacity to the Department's planning efforts and provide a distinct and significant contribution to U.S. security efforts. The DHS ONA work product would be diagnostic as opposed to prescriptive, providing DHS leadership with substantive future threat assessments necessary to conduct long‐term strategic planning and address vulnerabilities within the homeland security enterprise. The Department could, in turn, share this original information with other members of the homeland security enterprise to better prioritize and focus their short‐term and long‐term security and planning efforts.