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.

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  Assessing Social Equity in Disaster Preparation, Response, and Recovery January 5, 2022

  Melissa L. Finucane, Linnea Warren May, Joan Chang

  In this webinar, senior social scientist Melissa Finucane reviews the complex nature of social equity—including contextual, procedural, and distributional equity dimensions—and how a robust, evidence-based approach is needed to measure progress toward equity in disaster contexts. Challenges in identifying underserved groups and selecting appropriate equity metrics are discussed in the context of current policy initiatives to advance racial equity.

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  Cybersecurity November 30, 2021

  This brochure describes RAND Corporation research and analysis in this area, with examples from such diverse areas as organizational planning and implementation and cybersecurity workforce recruitment, retention, and management.

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  Immigration Policy and Border Security November 30, 2021

  A collection of RAND's interdisciplinary work on immigration and on managing the U.S. border.

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  The Origin and Evolution of the RAND Corporation's Terrorism Databases: Defining and Building a New Field of Knowledge November 30, 2021

  Brian Michael Jenkins, David Ronfeldt

  Two researchers at the forefront of collection and analysis of data on terrorism recount their experiences, challenges, and achievements. After discussing how to define terrorism, they explore the evolution of RAND Corporation databases about terrorist incidents, groups, individual attributes, and mindsets. They note challenges and criticisms that arose along the way, then conclude with lessons learned and thoughts about the future.

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  Shaping Coast Guard Culture to Enhance the Future Workforce November 1, 2021

  Michelle D. Ziegler, Aaron C. Davenport, Susan A. Resetar, Scott Savitz, Katherine Anania, Melissa Bauman, Karishma Patel

  Changing U.S. Coast Guard culture requires addressing recruiting, training, retaining, and empowering the future workforce. This Perspective describes organizational culture, observations made and experiences described by participants in strategic-foresight workshops, examples of other organizations addressing culture issues, research on organizational culture, and how the Coast Guard can leverage this knowledge in reshaping its future culture.

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  When Disaster Management Agencies Create Disaster Risk: A Case Study of the US's Federal Emergency Management Agency September 28, 2021

  Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Lena Easton-Calabria, Sonny Patel, Jay Balagna, Leslie Adrienne Payne

  This study is the first to examine disaster risk creation from an organizational perspective, and the first to focus explicitly on how disaster management agencies can shape risk creation.

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  A Review of Public Data About Terrorism and Targeted Violence to Meet U.S. Department of Homeland Security Mission Needs September 2, 2021

  Joe Eyerman, Richard H. Donohue, Nathan Chandler, Tucker Reese

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence calls for better data resources. Researchers reviewed DHS needs, existing resources, and alignment between those needs and resources. They document their findings and recommendations here: Available resources might meet current needs, but new resources will be required as needs evolve.

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  Developing the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: An Opportunity to Reduce Risk and Impacts of Future Spills in Freshwater August 31, 2021

  Anna Jean Wirth, Dulani Woods, Katherine Anania, Gary Cecchine, Debra Knopman

  Oil spills threaten the Great Lakes — the largest body of surface fresh water on the planet. In 2016, Congress passed a bill that directed the U.S. Coast Guard to establish the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response (GL NCOE). The authors of this report make recommendations for the near- and long-term trajectories of the GL NCOE, as well as its staffing needs, potential partnerships, and location.

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  Improving the Representation of Women and Racial/Ethnic Minorities Among U.S. Coast Guard Active-Duty Members August 11, 2021

  Nelson Lim, Kimberly Curry Hall, Kirsten M. Keller, David Schulker, Louis T. Mariano, Miriam Matthews, Lisa Saum-Manning, Devon Hill, Brandon Crosby, Leslie Adrienne Payne, et al.

  Researchers sought to identify the root causes of underrepresentation for women and members of racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Coast Guard; factors shaping representation at each phase of the career life cycle; and facilitators of and barriers to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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  Building A Resilient Telecommunications Sector in Puerto Rico in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria August 3, 2021

  Amado Cordova, Karlyn D. Stanley, Ajay K. Kochhar, Ryan Consaul, Justin Hannah Hodiak

  Describes courses of action for rebuilding the telecommunications sector in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Significant progress has been made, but substantial investment is still required to achieve a resilient, robust telecommunications sector.

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  A Scoping Literature Review on Indicators and Metrics for Assessing Racial Equity in Disaster Preparation, Response, and Recovery July 15, 2021

  Melissa L. Finucane, Linnea Warren May, Joan Chang

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency have committed to reduce social inequities but lack frameworks, indicators, and metrics for tracking progress. In this report, researchers describe the results of a literature review, the key themes related to conceptual frameworks, and indicators and metrics. They also identify knowledge gaps and provide recommendations for assessing racial equity in these programs.

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  A Systems Approach to Physical Security in K–12 Schools June 3, 2021

  Pauline Moore, Brian A. Jackson, Catherine H. Augustine, Elizabeth D. Steiner, Andrea Phillips

  School leaders across the United States face the challenge of creating safe and secure environments across their campuses in a way that helps promote the achievement of schools' educational objectives. In this report, Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center researchers define and present a systems approach to school physical security in which protection and mitigation elements work together to provide layered security benefits.

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  Challenges in Implementing Physical Security Measures in K–12 Schools June 3, 2021

  Elizabeth D. Steiner, Andrea Phillips, Pauline Moore, Brian A. Jackson, Catherine H. Augustine

  Researchers synthesized the literature on physical security planning from school-specific sources and related disciplines to discuss the policy and other challenges that local education agencies (LEAs) face in developing and implementing protection and mitigation measures for kindergarten-through–12th grade (K–12) school campuses. In this report, the authors conclude with implications for policymakers and LEAs.

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  America's 5G Era: Gaining Competitive Advantages While Securing the Country and Its People May 24, 2021

  Timothy M. Bonds, James Bonomo, Daniel Gonzales, C. Richard Neu, Samuel Absher, Edward Parker, Spencer Pfeifer, Jennifer Brookes, Julia Brackup, Jordan Willcox, et al.

  Researchers assessing the fifth-generation (5G) wireless ecosystem found that, although the United States dominates some portions of the 5G ecosystem, it has abandoned others. Furthermore, past technical or market leadership does not guarantee a lasting advantage. They also found important implications of 5G-era devices, networks, and algorithms for securing data and protecting individual privacy.

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  Analyzing a More Resilient National Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Capability May 17, 2021

  Richard Mason, James Bonomo, Tim Conley, Ryan Consaul, David R. Frelinger, David A. Galvan, Dahlia Anne Goldfeld, Scott A. Grossman, Brian A. Jackson, Michael Kennedy, et al.

  Because of the widespread use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), concerns have been expressed that a disruption of GPS might require a national investment in backup capabilities. The authors assess the costs associated with realistic threats to domestic, nonmilitary uses of GPS, and review possible additions to the PNT ecosystem in light of those costs.

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  Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Community Engagement and Data Collection Strategies in Post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico April 27, 2021

  Lisa Saum-Manning

  This paper examines community engagement and data collection strategies conducted in post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico, to assess how outreach approaches elicit different perceptions about disaster recovery and to identify best practices.

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  Developing Metrics and Scoring Procedures to Support Mitigation Grant Program Decisionmaking March 31, 2021

  Joshua Mendelsohn, Grant Johnson, Kelly Klima, Rachel Steratore, Samantha Cohen, Geoffrey Kirkwood, Lloyd Dixon, Jaime L. Hastings, Paul S. Steinberg

  The Federal Emergency Management Agency commissioned development of metrics that can inform decisionmaking for awarding predisaster mitigation grants. The authors established three lines of effort (LoEs) for analysis: indirect benefits, applicant institutional capability, and community resilience. Each LoE produced a metric or framework that could support grant decisionmaking and program performance evaluation.

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  Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center: 2019–2020 Annual Report March 22, 2021

  To support the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) across its missions, the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC). This is the center's 2019–2020 annual report.

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  Public-private Partnership for Building a Resilient Broadband Infrastructure in Puerto Rico January 26, 2021

  Amado Cordova, Karlyn D. Stanley

  This article will explore the use of an innovative approach to a public-private partnership to spur the deployment of broadband and create more resilient telecommunications networks in Puerto Rico.

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  Identifying Systemic Bias in the Acquisition of Machine Learning Decision Aids for Law Enforcement Applications January 21, 2021

  Douglas Yeung, Inez Khan, Nidhi Kalra, Osonde A. Osoba

  Bias in law enforcement systems that use machine learning can cause or exacerbate inequity. This Perspective describes ways the U.S. Department of Homeland Security can prevent or reduce, identify, and address such bias at various points in the process of acquiring these systems.

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  The U.S. Coast Guard Is Building an Icebreaker Fleet: What Comes Next? Issues and Challenges December 8, 2020

  Abbie Tingstad, Scott Savitz, Dulani Woods, Jeffrey A. Drezner

  Icebreaking has long been an important capability gap in U.S. polar operations. The authors of this Perspective recommend that the U.S. Coast Guard (1) assess needs for additional icebreaking capacity; (2) ensure that new vessels are built for a changing, multimission operating environment; and (3) consider other, related capability investments when planning. The Perspective includes short scenarios to illustrate potential needs for icebreakers.

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  Harassment and Discrimination in the FEMA Workplace: Topline Results from the Workplace Survey Support Study December 2, 2020

  Coreen Farris, Carra S. Sims, Terry L. Schell, Miriam Matthews, Sierra Smucker, Samantha Cohen, Owen Hall

  This brief summarizes findings and recommendations from a study of the prevalence and characteristics of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, racial/ethnic harassment, and racial/ethnic discrimination at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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  Harassment and Discrimination on the Basis of Gender and Race/Ethnicity in the FEMA Workforce December 2, 2020

  Coreen Farris, Carra S. Sims, Terry L. Schell, Miriam Matthews, Sierra Smucker, Samantha Cohen, Owen Hall

  Researchers assessed the prevalence and characteristics of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, racial/ethnic harassment, and racial/ethnic discrimination at FEMA. They surveyed FEMA employees about these civil rights violations and about workplace climate. This report documents the survey results.

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  Recovery in the U.S. Virgin Islands: Progress, Challenges, and Options for the Future November 11, 2020

  Shelly Culbertson, Blas Nunez-Neto, Joie D. Acosta, Cynthia R. Cook, Andrew Lauland, Kristin J. Leuschner, Shanthi Nataraj, Benjamin Lee Preston, Susan A. Resetar, Adam C. Resnick, et al.

  This report provides analysis to help the U.S. Virgin Islands accelerate its recovery from 2017's Hurricanes Irma and Maria by identifying recovery goals, recovery accomplishments, and challenges. The authors focused on crosscutting capacities needed for implementation, infrastructure, and the economy and public services and provide 76 recommendations to enhance recovery efforts, including steps to support implementation.

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  Insuring Public Buildings, Contents, Vehicles, and Equipment Against Disasters: Current Practices of State and Local Government and Options for Closing the Insurance Gap October 9, 2020

  Lloyd Dixon, Jason Thomas Barnosky, Noreen Clancy

  Researchers worked to improve the understanding of state and local financial risk management practices and the role that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Public Assistance program plays in them. They also examined several approaches for state and local governments to increase insurance coverage and the trade-offs associated with those approaches. This report documents the authors' methods, findings, and recommendations.

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