HSOAC Publications

The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) conducts research and analysis for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in two program areas, the Acquisition and Development Program, and the Strategy, Policy, and Operations Program.

• 

  U.S. Coast Guard Emergency Response and Disaster Operations: Using Social Media for Situational Awareness March 17, 2020

  Douglas Yeung, Sarah A. Nowak, Sohaela Amiri, Aaron C. Davenport, Emily Hoch, Kelly Klima, Colleen M. McCullough

  Social media can enhance situational awareness in response operations, but using social media this way poses challenges. Researchers sought to contribute to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mission to ensure resilience to disasters by helping DHS understand whether and how social media might be better leveraged for such situational awareness. The primary focus of this research was on U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) response operations.

• 

  How the U.S. Coast Guard Can Leverage Social Media and Enhanced Cell Phone Data to Improve Emergency Response March 17, 2020

  Douglas Yeung, Sarah A. Nowak, Sohaela Amiri, Aaron C. Davenport, Emily Hoch, Kelly Klima, Colleen M. McCullough

  Researchers are helping the U.S. Department of Homeland Security understand how social media might be better leveraged for situational awareness—particularly location information—in U.S. Coast Guard response operations.

• 

  Small Unmanned Aerial System Adversary Capabilities March 12, 2020

  Bradley Wilson, Shane Tierney, Brendan Toland, Rachel M. Burns, Colby Peyton Steiner, Christopher Scott Adams, Michael Nixon, Raza Khan, Michelle D. Ziegler, Jan Osburg, et al.

  To support U.S. Department of Homeland Security efforts to prioritize capability investments, this report examines trends in small unmanned aerial system development, the features that are likely to aid nefarious users, and how such actors could use an sUAS (or multiple systems) to conduct various types of operations—from surveilling U.S. government facilities to dispersing a chemical agent at a large public event.

• 

  How to Analyze the Cyber Threat from Drones: Background, Analysis Frameworks, and Analysis Tools March 5, 2020

  Katharina Ley Best, Jon Schmid, Shane Tierney, Jalal Awan, Nahom M. Beyene, Maynard A. Holliday, Raza Khan, Karen Lee

  In this report, the authors explore approaches for understanding, inventorying, and modeling cybersecurity implications of the rapid growth in drone usage, focusing specifically on current vulnerabilities and future trends. The authors propose conceptual approaches meant to enable the enumeration and categorization of drone-related cyber threats and explore some of the potential benefits and challenges of modeling the commercial drone threat.

• 

  The Role of Intellectual Property in U.S. Homeland Security September 19, 2019

  Geoffrey McGovern, Maria McCollester, Douglas C. Ligor, Sheng Tao Li, Douglas Yeung, Laura Kupe

  Reported here is an investigation into the current baseline level of intellectual property (IP) support at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its components. The results suggest that IP initiatives offer greater opportunities for operational improvement than department leadership currently recognizes. The research revealed several examples of overlooked IP issues that are currently exposing programs to substantial risk.

• 

  Characterization of the Synthetic Opioid Threat Profile to Inform Inspection and Detection Solutions September 9, 2019

  Bryce Pardo, Lois M. Davis, Melinda Moore

  The majority of opioid overdoses are due to illicitly manufactured imports. Researchers from the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center evaluated publicly available data to better understand the dimensions of the consumption and supply of these substances. They performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of these data and provide their findings and recommendations in this report.

• 

  Balancing Quality of Life with Mission Requirements: An Analysis of Personnel Tempo on U.S. Coast Guard Major Cutters July 29, 2019

  Jennie W. Wenger, Maria C. Lytell, Kimberly Curry Hall, Michael L. Hansen

  The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) faces a challenge in determining the optimal length of days away from home port for personnel on major cutters. The authors analyze how USCG servicemembers serving on major cutters respond to various levels of personnel tempo, as well as the effects of working conditions on these responses.

• 

  Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center: 2017-2018 Annual Report July 24, 2019

  To support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) across its missions, RAND operates the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC). The HSOAC 2017–2018 Annual Report offers an overview of HSOAC capabilities, highlights how RAND is supporting the DHS mission, and looks ahead at projects in the core research programs.

• 

  Development of Standardized and Best Practices for the USCG Boats Acquisition Program June 24, 2019

  Brendan Toland, Michael Vasseur, Aaron C. Davenport, Scott Savitz, Katheryn Giglio

  The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) depends on its fleet of more than 1,600 boats to conduct its most critical operations, which span all 11 of the USCG's statutory missions. This report contains a review of the USCG boats acquisition program and the programs of similar organizations inside and outside the USCG, possible funding and structural strategies, and recommendations for USCG leadership.

• 

  An Analytic Inventory of DHS Headquarters Business Processes April 24, 2019

  Jeffrey B. Wenger, R. Kekoa Koehler, Henry H. Willis

  This report provides an inventory of U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) analytic capabilities in the including current capabilities in use for decisionmaking, as DHS establishes an Analytic Agenda. It details the inventory approach and enumerates the analytic capabilities of each business process owner providing a benchmark for evaluating the analytic maturity of such processes and a strategic direction to improve data collection.

• 

  Human Smuggling and Associated Revenues: What Do or Can We Know About Routes from Central America to the United States? April 21, 2019

  Victoria A. Greenfield, Blas Nunez-Neto, Ian Mitch, Joseph C. Chang, Etienne Rosas

  Unlawful migrants from Central America apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border each year often hire smugglers for assistance or pay others for rights of way during their journey north. The authors of this report examine what is known or knowable about the structure, operations, and financing of actors that engage in human smuggling along routes from Central America to the United States and develop a preliminary estimate of associated revenue.

• 

  Human Smuggling from Central America to the United States: What Is Known or Knowable About Smugglers' Operations and Revenues? April 21, 2019

  Victoria A. Greenfield, Blas Nunez-Neto, Ian Mitch, Joseph C. Chang, Etienne Rosas

  RAND researchers examined the structure, operations, and financing of actors that engage in human smuggling along routes from Central America to the United States and developed a preliminary estimate of revenues associated with human smuggling.

• 

  Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: Identifying Barriers to Female Retention March 29, 2019

  Kimberly Curry Hall, Kirsten M. Keller, David Schulker, Sarah Weilant, Katherine L. Kidder, Nelson Lim

  This report documents the results of a study designed to identify the root causes of female attrition in the active-duty Coast Guard. The study analyzed trends in retention data and conducted focus groups with over 1,100 active-duty Coast Guard members. The report describes key retention factors identified through these analyses and provides recommendations for addressing identified barriers to Coast Guard female retention.

• 

  Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Can Be Done to Encourage Them to Stay? March 29, 2019

  Kimberly Curry Hall, Kirsten M. Keller, David Schulker, Sarah Weilant, Katherine L. Kidder, Nelson Lim

  For active-duty women, many complex factors influence the decision to stay in or separate from the Coast Guard. This brief summarizes research on these factors and makes recommendations for improving female retention in the Coast Guard.

• 

  Assessing the Need for and Uses of Sequences of Interest Databases: A Report on the Proceedings of a Two-Day Workshop March 21, 2019

  Ritika Chaturvedi, Paul Brenner, Monique Martineau, Martha V. Merrill, Marek N. Posard, Seifu Chonde

  This report documents the proceedings of a Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center workshop in which key experts considered a genetic database of "sequences of interest." This effort is intended to further the understanding of the potential user base for such a database and the needs of these stakeholders, as well as potential risks related to safety, security, proprietary rights, and privacy to improve biotechnology research efforts.

• 

  Practical Terrorism Prevention: Executive Summary February 14, 2019

  Brian A. Jackson, Ashley L. Rhoades, Jordan R. Reimer, Natasha Lander, Katherine Costello, Sina Beaghley

  Researchers examined past U.S. countering violent extremism and terrorism prevention efforts and explored options to strengthen them. This document summarizes findings from the main report.

• 

  Building an Effective and Practical National Approach to Terrorism Prevention February 14, 2019

  Brian A. Jackson, Ashley L. Rhoades, Jordan R. Reimer, Natasha Lander, Katherine Costello, Sina Beaghley

  RAND researchers examined past U.S. countering violent extremism and terrorism prevention efforts and explored options to strengthen them. They found that current capabilities are relatively limited and future efforts must build trust to succeed.

• 

  Practical Terrorism Prevention: Reexamining U.S. National Approaches to Addressing the Threat of Ideologically Motivated Violence February 14, 2019

  Brian A. Jackson, Ashley L. Rhoades, Jordan R. Reimer, Natasha Lander, Katherine Costello, Sina Beaghley

  Researchers examined past U.S. countering violent extremism and terrorism prevention efforts and explored policy options to strengthen terrorism prevention in the future. They found that current terrorism prevention capabilities are relatively limited and that there is a perceived need for federal efforts to help strengthen local capacity. However, any federal efforts will need to focus on building community trust to be successful.

• 

  Environmental Biodetection and Human Biosurveillance Research and Development for National Security: Priorities for the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate November 28, 2018

  Melinda Moore, Eric Landree, Alison K. Hottes, Shoshana R. Shelton

  National biodefense is a critical element of national security. Environmental biodetection and human biosurveillance are part of the foundation of national biodefense. This report examines the Department of Homeland Security's chemical and biological defense research and development portfolio to identify priorities for future investments to effectively address biological threats.

• 

  An Assessment of the Joint Requirements Council's (JRC) Organization and Staffing September 6, 2018

  Michael Vasseur, Dwayne M. Butler, Brandon Crosby, Benjamin N. Harris, Christopher Scott Adams

  The Joint Requirements Council (JRC) is an executive-level body in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged with building a unified, effective, and efficient operational requirements process for DHS. This report offers actions to improve the JRC's efficacy, effectiveness, and ability to plan for the future. We preliminarily recommend that DHS give the JRC more authority over components and add staff to ease the JRC workload.

• 

  HSOAC Annual Report 2016–2017 May 7, 2018

  The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) 2016–2017 Annual Report offers an overview of HSOAC capabilities and highlights how RAND is supporting the mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

• 

  Gap Analysis and Alternatives Analysis of the Coast Guard Cost Estimating Workforce April 11, 2018

  Irv Blickstein, Tim Conley, Brynn Tannehill, Abby Schendt, Jason Michel Etchegaray

  This report briefly summarizes a gap analysis and alternatives analysis of the Coast Guard cost-estimating workforce and provides recommendations to achieve flexibility to deal with future requirements.

• 

  Identifying Potential Gaps in U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Capabilities April 11, 2018

  Abbie Tingstad, Scott Savitz, Kristin Van Abel, Dulani Woods, Katherine Anania, Michelle D. Ziegler, Aaron C. Davenport, Katherine Costello

  This report documents a research project that focused on identifying priority potential Arctic capability gaps with respect to U.S. Coast Guard operations in the region in the present and in the 2030s. It is becoming increasingly important to determine how to operate in the region, given changing conditions and the potential for increasing activity that will drive demand for more frequent U.S. government presence across a spectrum of roles.