New Homeland Security Strategic Framework - A Reason for Optimism

I've been digesting the February 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) and believe it offers an opportunity to move the National Hoemland Security enterprise to another level over the next decade. http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/gc_1208534155450.shtm

The underlying premise is that the Homeland Security mission areas will migrate from a focus on Prevention, Protection, Response, and Recovery to that of Preventing Terrorism, Borders, Immigration, Cyber Security, and Disaster Resilience.

To accomplish this transformation will require significant change leadership. This change will come about from the design of people, processes, and rewards that create the kind of national enterprise envisoned in the QHSR. I learned over a decade ago from my two former colleagues Brad Schoener and Betsy Hostetler about Jay Galbraith's star model of organization design. The model differentiates typical organization design efforts that primarily rely on structure to create change. http://www.jaygalbraith.com/services/starmodel.html

I have practiced this approach many times over the years and know it works, but it requires incredibly hard work and dedicated leadership over extended periods.

The good news is that the change required to create the mission area focus across the Department of Homeland Security will drive the kind of change that might not otherwise occur with the Prevent, Protect, Respond, and Recover paradigm.

The change will also require a commitment to career development and systems engineering as tools to drive the enterprise in the direction to support the defined missions areas.

Since 2002 we have had the first national strategy, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Post Katrina Act of 2006, and the 9/11 Act in 2007.

The QHSR has the potential to set a course to make the changes necessary to move the National Homeland Security enterprise to a mission focused one that overcomes the stovepipes of the current previous mission areas.

Thanks for checking in,

Dennis

www.drs-international.com

National Disaster Recovery Framework

The draft National Disaster Recovery Framework has been released for public comment last week.

The three links below can take you to the FEMA announcement, the draft document, and the comment venue.

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=50366

http://disasterrecoveryworkinggroup.gov/

http://globalmessaging1.prnewswire.com/clickthrough/servlet/clickthrough?msg_id=6500773&adr_order=112&url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5yZWd1bGF0aW9ucy5nb3Y%3D in Docket FEMA-2010-0004

The document is groundbreaking doctrine and should be reviewed by those in the engineering and development communities. In particular, local elected officials should have their staffs analyze the doctrine.

The deadline is February 26, 2010 for comment.