Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center

HSOAC: Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faces complex challenges in preventing terrorism, managing U.S. borders, enforcing and administering immigration laws, safeguarding cyberspace, and strengthening national preparedness and resilience. To help address these challenges, RAND operates the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) for DHS. HSOAC is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) that conducts studies and analysis for federal sponsors.

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Our Focus

HSOAC analyses focus on seven functional areas that cut across DHS mission categories

Acquisition and Development

  • Acquisition studies
  • R&D studies
  • Innovation and technology acceleration

Strategy, Policy, and Operations

  • Organizational studies
  • Regulatory, doctrine, and policy studies
  • Operational analysis
  • Homeland security threat and opportunity studies

HSOAC is housed within the RAND Homeland Security Research Division.

What We Do

The latest from HSOAC

  • Central America on a globe, photo by Bobtokyoharris/Getty Images

    Human Smuggling Operations from Central America to the United States

    Apr 22, 2019

    Smuggling unlawful migrants from Central America to the United States generated between $200 million and $2.3 billion for human smugglers in 2017. The wide range reflects uncertainty about the number of migrants, their use of smugglers, and the fees they pay. Transnational criminal organizations are only one type of actor involved.

  • Petty Officer 1st Class Krystyna Duffy, a boatswain's mate assigned to Coast Guard Station Golden Gate in San Francisco, drives a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat near the Golden Gate Bridge, February 8, 2018, photo by PO3 Sarah Wi/U.S. Coast Guard

    Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Could Encourage Them to Stay?

    Mar 29, 2019

    Women leave the Coast Guard at higher rates than men. Focus groups raised concerns about work environment, career issues, and personal life matters. More inclusive personnel policies could help the Coast Guard address these concerns and retain more women.

  • An illustration of a double helix with binary code. Photo by ymgerman / Getty Images

    Assessing the Need for and Uses of Sequences of Interest Databases

    Mar 21, 2019

    Advances in biotechnology have created opportunities for malicious actors to harness available tools to create biological threats. A workshop of key experts considered how a genetic database of "sequences of interest" could improve the safety and security of biotechnology research.

  • A woman speaking in a community meeting, photo by Hero Images/Getty Images

    How to Strengthen Terrorism Prevention Efforts

    Feb 14, 2019

    Shortfalls in national terrorism prevention efforts have come not only from limited programmatic focus and resource investment, but also from critics seeking to constrain or halt such efforts. The most effective path for the U.S. government would be to support state, local, nongovernmental, and private terrorism prevention efforts rather than building capabilities itself.

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HSOAC Leadership

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