Homeland Security Enterprise Research Articles

Creativity training needs assessment for homeland security enterprise: a case for creative thinking

ABSTRACT Creativity, specifically creative problem solving, is often excluded from Homeland Security Enterprise efforts to train and develop their workforces. To determine if this lack of training was a key knowledge gap in the communities, we drew on organisational creativity literature. Using the personnel databases O*NET and Careers in the Military Database, we conducted a training needs assessment by identifying relevant job tasks, knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) that align with the creative process. More specifically, we sought to identify the need for creative problem-solving training and designated creative thinking time (e.g. red teaming) to influence innovative intelligence capabilities. Based on our findings, we recommend creativity training to facilitate creative thinking and action. Moreover, we outline situational and individual factors that will affect the transfer of the training, such as organisation environment, leadership, and creative self-efficacy. The impact of these recommendations will aid security, counterterrorism, and intelligence communities to efficiently detect and prevent emerging threats, as well as develop intelligence products to further support the Homeland Security Enterprise mission.

Defining Fire as a Weapon (FaaW): Clarity, Implications, and Opportunity for the Homeland Security Enterprise

Abstract Fire as a weapon (FaaW) is discussed within the first responder community but still vaguely defined. This ambiguity, coupled with absent reporting mechanisms, leads to an inability to estimate the size of the problem correctly. This research offers a comprehensive definition of FaaW and argues for its inclusion as a high-threat response. It evaluates fire as a weapon as a homeland security issue requiring additional attention and leadership by offering new data and analysis that demonstrates the severity of the problem, especially compared to other high-threat events such as active shooter incidents. It clarifies which incident types should receive the most focus and argues for strategic shifts in how we currently perceive this threat. It also elucidates the potential to apply established national standards and tactics for active shooter response to fire as a weapon mitigation strategy.

COVID-19 data driven planning: The SouthEast Texas approach.

This coautoethnographic case study used the Open-Source Public Health Intelligence process to explore and share the South East Texas Regional Advisory Councils' (SETRAC) experience in collecting, processing, disseminating/visualizing, and analyzing COVID-19 data during the pandemic in the largest national medical setting in the United States. Specifically, it details the production of Business Intelligence reports powered by PowerBI both with general publics and with Regional Healthcare Preparedness Program (HPP) Coalition Coordinators, County Judges and City Mayors, Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) executive leadership, the Offices of the Texas Governor, and the Federal Pandemic Task Force led by the US Vice President, in order to provide a foundation for situational awareness, inter-regional collaboration, allocation of scare resources, and local, regional, and state policy decisions. It highlights best practices in risk and crisis communications during the COVID-19 response, underscores cross-sector collaboration and standardization of data collection for effective planning and response, discusses pervasive data revealed during the analysis, and evaluates collaborative and feedback processes that have implications for the Health Care System and Homeland Security Enterprise information sharing.

Development of Competency-Based Education Standards for Homeland Security Academic Programs

Abstract Colleges and universities that educate aspiring homeland security professionals are duty-bound to supply a national workforce that is capable and adequately prepared to meet the National Preparedness Goal. It is perhaps not an exaggeration to suggest that developing a qualified homeland security (HLS) workforce could be considered a matter of national security. Indeed, an appropriately educated workforce is not only (at least implicit) part of the current FEMA National Preparedness Goal, it was identified as a national security imperative as early as 2001 by the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. A baseline set of education standards for homeland security education would, at the very least, ensure that academic programs would consistently graduate a workforce that has a common set of competencies aligned to the needs of both public and private sector actors engaged in domestic and national security. In turn, employers and students alike would better understand not only what homeland security is, but what HLS graduates can do. Many mature disciplines ultimately use education standards to not only define themselves, but to sanctify and protect their professional boundaries. Nutritionists, for example, are professionals protected by registration, and licensure (as well as certification in some cases). Yet to become a registered dietician, one needs to graduate from an accredited academic degree program, the basis of which is compliance to a set of education (i.e., accreditation) standards assessed by an external organization. In the same way, and to advance the HLS profession, it makes sense to think that HLS practitioners should have educational backgrounds (like doctors or lawyers) that share some common set of educational competencies. To date, we observe that higher education’s response as to how to best educate students to enter the homeland security enterprise has been to consider homeland security as a meta-discipline, or a discipline of disciplines. As such, homeland security curricula tend to include faculty, courses and student learning outcomes from a variety of other disciplines such as law, business, management, political science, international relations, emergency management, etc. Second, we note that academic homeland security education is still largely characterized as an emergent discipline. That is, the core theory of what is and is not “homeland security” remains under-developed. Indeed, it is accurate to characterize homeland security more as a “practice discipline” such as medicine, nursing or law (each of which, by the way, shares the characteristic of being meta-disciplines), albeit a practice with a growing literature and experience basis as well as a theoretical basis. This project leveraged the collective expertise of subject matter experts over roughly a 3-year period to emulate the structure and approach used by these better-established disciplines and create a consensus set of HLS education standards. Created were nine knowledge domains and a set of competencies (aka knowledge, skills and abilities as student learning outcomes) per domain. Taken together, such a set of knowledge domains and competencies (the minimum set of skills, knowledge, and abilities students of homeland security acquire academically) would describe the professional boundaries of the homeland security discipline. A major remaining challenge is how best to conceptualize and implement a system that integrates a set of competencies into all academic HLS programs nationwide. The paper tackles this issue by proposing a system of “voluntary academic accountability” from all academic institutions that offers a bona fide peer review of undergraduate level homeland security programs.

The Case for Technical Performance Standards for Radiation Inspection Systems

Abstract Technical performance standards operate within the homeland security enterprise to save significant time and money while increasing public safety. This is illustrated in this white paper through the lens of the standards infrastructure that is being developed to ensure the imaging performance and radiation safety of security screening systems in the United States that use active radiation probes to detect explosives and other contraband. The products of this effort include standard test objects, test methods, objective scoring algorithms, minimum performance requirements, technical guidance documents, and dosimetry protocols supported by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) measurement science and computational modeling. This project responds to government requirements for 100 % screening of transnational cargo and airline passengers and baggage while also establishing the means to harmonize national standards across disparate agencies and with international norms. This report will show how standards gaps are identified and anticipated and outline the standards development process, especially highlighting issues unique to technical performance standardization. Specific use cases are offered that document the impact of measurement standards when applied across the life cycle of radiation inspection systems in ways that complement and inform threat-based and operational testing and evaluation (T&E). Finally, a list of specific benefits to both public- and private-sector actors is given that, based upon experience to date, demonstrates the manifold and leveraged returns from applying technical performance standards to security screening.

Quadrennial Homeland Security Reviews: What Value for Whom?

AbstractThe second edition of the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) was issued in June of this year. A Congressional mandate requires each QHSR to examine the nation’s homeland security strategy and explain how this can lower risks from terrorism, natural hazards, and other challenges. The intended audience is not only Congress and the department of homeland security (DHS), but also the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) – stakeholders comprising federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), private sector partners, as well as communities, families, and individuals. The first QHSR institutionalized homeland security fundamentals and presented a set of missions and goals, but questions have been raised about the strategic benefits of the document and its value to all homeland security stakeholders. Will the second QHSR effectively build upon the first and function as a strategy that ensures homeland security programs will align with mission priorities? What improvements can be made in DHS’s efficiency and effectiveness as expressed in both documents? Will the QHSRs serve the entire HSE, particularly those below the federal level? What are future expectations for this series of documents? This article analyzes the QHSRs, with the objective of and illuminating these and other questions of interest to the homeland security community.

Fixing a Failure to Identify Intelligence in the Domestic Setting: Aligning Collection and Analysis to Address an All-Hazards Mission

AbstractThe US’ domestically-oriented, homeland security enterprise lacks a structure that facilitates an all-hazards intelligence mission. An all-hazards mission must account for both positive and negative intelligence information. The primary hubs for interagency collaboration and collection, within the US, are the Department of Homeland Security-funded state and local fusion centers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s joint terrorism task forces (JTTFs). Both of these entities focus on negative intelligence. The FBI JTTFs focus on one element of negative intelligence, the DHS fusion centers have unfocused, but still negative, missions, due to bureaucratic realities. Meanwhile, other government agencies, notably the CIA’s National Resources Division and even other elements of the FBI are engaged in uncoordinated collection, an activity that threatens to bring even more disorganization to the homeland-security enterprise. Rather than creating yet another agency, the strengths of both the JTTFs and the fusion centers should be leveraged, in conjunction with other domestically operating collectors, to establish new platforms, using fusion centers as a backbone, staffed with a service of joint duty personnel.

Beyond the Storms: Strengthening Preparedness, Response, & Resilience in the 21st Century

Looking Beyond the Storms of major events and reactionary tendencies to prevent future disasters—and continuing to fix things—the author introduces a fresh assessment in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the vexing challenge of domestic shootings, and a persistent nationwide drought. This paper offers a refreshing perspective on the need for transformational and innovative thinking on preparedness, response, and resilience, as well as disaster management. Against the backdrop of 9-11 terrorist attacks and natural disasters such as hurricanes Katrina, Irene, and Sandy, this paper, highlights that we—as homeland security planners and policymakers—must look beyond the immediate demands of grant proposals and a narrow focus on “prevention” and “protection” to a systemic analysis of “mitigation, response, and recovery”—based upon required functions and capabilities. It asserts the need for change from spending scarce dollars to prevent that which is inevitable and nervously trying to protect physical locations—in an environment of growing complexity and uncertainty—to a posture that integrates resilience as an active virtue in all elements of the homeland security enterprise. There is a sense of urgency that challenges leaders to understand the strategic imperatives and unique opportunities in building all-hazards community resilience.

Disaster Management in the Era of Lean Healthcare

Disaster Management in the Era of Lean Healthcare

An Analysis of the Primary Authorities Governing and Supporting the Efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to Secure the Cyberspace of the United States

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a central role to play in the cybersecurity of the United States. However, authorities governing and supporting this central role appear to lack sufficient clarity. As a result, it remains difficult to judge their adequacy — and, more importantly, the fundamental nature and extent of the department’s role in securing U.S. cyberspace. In an attempt to provide clarity to the national cybersecurity community, staff from the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute conducted research to determine: what are the primary authorities supporting/governing DHS efforts to secure U.S. cyberspace (and what do the authorities say); and what ambiguities, conflicts, and gaps appear to exist in these authorities (and what are their implications for the DHS mission). This paper presents the findings of the research. It is designed to serve as a foundational document for use by DHS and its partners in the U.S. government (USG) and broader homeland security enterprise. Overall, the research suggests that existing DHS-related authorities may not be fully sufficient for DHS to: require or incentivize the protection of critical systems and information; gather (i.e., collect) information to be shared; define clearly when DHS may intervene during a cyber incident; support actions necessary to manage and coordinate cyber incident response, including for the most serious of incidents; and delineate the responsibilities of DHS and DoD for the most serious of incidents.

Managing Risk at the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol

This article describes a risk analysis used to inform resource allocation at the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, the busiest sector for alien and drug trafficking along the Southwest land border with Mexico. The model and methodology that underlie this analysis are generally applicable to many resource allocation decisions regarding the management of frequently occurring hazards, decisions regularly made by officials at all levels of the homeland security enterprise. The analysis was executed by agents without previous risk expertise working under a short time frame, and the findings from the analysis were used to inform several resource allocation decisions.

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

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.

Assessing a Decade of Public Health Preparedness: Progress on the Precipice?

September 11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks marked the beginning of significant investment by the federal government to develop a national public health emergency response capability. Recognizing the importance of the public health sector's contribution to the burgeoning homeland security enterprise, this investment was intended to convey a "dual benefit" by strengthening the overall public health infrastructure while building preparedness capabilities. In many instances, federal funds were used successfully for preparedness activities. For example, electronic health information networks, a Strategic National Stockpile, and increased interagency cooperation have all contributed to creating a more robust and prepared enterprise. Additionally, the knowledge of rarely seen or forgotten pathogens has been regenerated through newly established public health learning consortia, which, too, have strengthened relationships between the practice and academic communities. Balancing traditional public health roles with new preparedness responsibilities heightened public health's visibility, but it also presented significant complexities, including expanded lines of reporting and unremitting inflows of new guidance documents. Currently, a rapidly diminishing public health infrastructure at the state and local levels as a result of federal budget cuts and a poor economy serve as significant barriers to sustaining these nascent federal public health preparedness efforts. Sustaining these improvements will require enhanced coordination, collaboration, and planning across the homeland security enterprise; an infusion of innovation and leadership; and sustained transformative investment for governmental public health.

Enabling the homeland security enterprise through systems engineering the National Exercise Program

On August 17, 2010, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano signed a memorandum directing an evolution of the National Exercise Program (NEP). The Memo emphasized the importance of the NEP for strengthening and evaluating our nation’s preparedness and reinforced core statutory and regulatory guidance.While the NEP has traditionally focused on national-level exercises, the revised NEP should serve the full homeland security enterprise. This article suggests a direction for evolution of the proposed NEP. It describes how exercise components and stakeholders operate and how they might be better synchronized using methodical system engineering and the careful application of innovative science and technology. Central to aligning and integrating subsystems into a coherent, synergistic whole is the concept of “interface.” System interfaces focus on describing common standards and protocols by which system components relate, interact, and share information. The authors identify five process interfaces from the Secretary’s Memo and describe system architecting principles that could improve NEP flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and robustness. Systems engineering methodologies provide time-proven approaches to describe system characteristics and behavior in ways that facilitate the development of effective interfaces—interfaces that promote overall systems efficiency and provide a basis for measuring and tracking systems performance. This harmonization of information promotes the application of modeling and simulation, which, in turn, promote greater exercise realism and efficiency and create a scientific environment in which to explore and experiment with new concepts and technologies.

The Challenges of Developing a Homeland Security Discipline to Meet Future Threats to the Homeland

This paper argues that homeland security education must continually adapt to future risks, threats and vulnerabilities. To do this, it will be necessary to look at the many ways of looking at homeland security thinking and practice from multiple perspectives and disciplines. Looking at the homeland security enterprise through a variety of perspectives, taken together and synthesized, can deepen understanding and shed additional light on the scope of the field or discipline. Next, this paper discusses the need for existing and future educational programs in homeland security that are inclusive of the theories, practices and research methods of emergency management, despite the current cultural differences between these fields. Finally, this paper highlights three challenges in the development of homeland security education programs: (1) the development and implementation of a standardized curriculum with core functions and competencies that are inclusive of emergency management, (2) the evolution into a new academic discipline; (3) and the adoption of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning.