Dhs Research And Development

DHS Research and Development: Science and Technology Directorate's Test and Evaluation and Reorganization Efforts

The Directorate of Science and Technology (DST) is the primary organization for R&D in the Dept. of Homeland Security. With an budget of $932.6 million in FY 2009, it conducts R&D in several labs. of its own and funds R&D conducted by other gov¿t. agencies, the Dept. of Energy nat. labs., industry, and univ. The directorate consists of six divisions: Chemical and Biological; Explosives; Command, Control, and Interoperability; Borders and Maritime Security; Infrastructure and Geophysical; and Human Factors. Additional offices have responsibilities, such as lab. facilities and univ. programs, that cut across the divisions. In the past, there has been criticism of the DST¿s performance. Although management changes have somewhat muted this criticism in recent years, fundamental issues remain, which this paper discusses. Charts and tables.

Policy-makers generally believe that science and technology can and will play significant roles in improving homeland security. When Congress established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Homeland Security Act of 2002, it included the Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) to ensure that the new department had access to science and technology advice and capabilities for research and development (R&D). The S&T Directorate is the primary organisation for R&D in the DHS. It conducts R&D in several DHS laboratories and funds R&D conducted by other government agencies, the Department of Energy national laboratories, academia, and the private sector. Additionally, the directorate supports the development of operational requirements and oversees the operational testing and evaluation of homeland security systems for the DHS. This book provides a brief overview of the S&T Directorate's mission, organisation, and budgetary structure; a discussion of selected critiques of the S&T Directorate; and an analysis of selected issues facing congressional policy-makers.

In establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Administration and Congress determined that science and technology should play a key role in the nation's efforts to counter terrorism. Congress included an S&T directorate prominently in the DHS. Within that directorate, is the Office of University Programs, which is responsible for sponsoring a number of homeland security centers of excellence in the nation's universities. These centers are to work on a spectrum of short- and long-range R&D and carry out crosscutting, multidisciplinary work on a variety of threats. To assist it in planning for these centers, TSA asked the NRC to hold a workshop to generate a broad range of ideas to draw on to help define the centers. This report presents the results of that workshop including the major ideas that emerged from the discussions.

" Conducting R&D on technologies for detecting, preventing, and mitigating terrorist threats is vital to enhancing the security of the nation. Since its creation, DHS has spent billions of dollars researching and developing technologies used to support its missions including securing the border, detecting nuclear devices, and screening airline passengers and baggage for explosives, among others. Within DHS, S&T conducts R&D and is the component responsible for coordinating R&D across the department, but other components, such as the Coast Guard and DNDO, also conduct R&D to support their respective missions. GAO was asked to identify (1) how much DHS invests in R&D and the extent to which DHS has policies and guidance for defining R&D and overseeing R&D resources and efforts across the department, and (2) the extent to which R&D is coordinated within DHS to prevent overlap, fragmentation, or unnecessary duplication. GAO reviewed information on DHS R&D budgets, contracts, and DHS spending on R&D at DOE national laboratories for fiscal years 2010 through 2012. GAO also reviewed DHS R&D plans and project documentation, and interviewed DHS headquarters and component officials. "