OpenHomelandSecurity New Ways of Doing Business, New Tools...

Many organizations have improved their operations a great deal by encouraging their employees to contribute improvement ideas. If it is made easy, fast and the ideas get implemented the majority of employees will have ideas to contribute. The DHS has a trained, experienced workforce, let's give them a way to contribute their ideas for improvement. Let's set an expectation that all DHS personnel will watch for opportunities... more »

DHS needs to improve its hiring methods. It seems that the department is missing opportunities to recruit and hire qualified candidates. There are many individuals who have an education in national security and could bring new ideas to agency yet these people are excluded from consideration based entirely on how they answer a questionaire during the application process on USAJobs.com. The entire application process is... more »

I currently have clients who have to deal with up to five separate federally regulated or supervised risk management programs. These include MTSA, CFATS, NERC CIP, EPA Programs and TSA Pipeline Security (Not to mention DOT Security for their vehicles). All have different risk management practices to include different threat assessment methodologies (if any) methods for measuring consequence and techniques for identifying... more »

After years of disaster preparedness education, only about 50% of the population has indicated they have engaged in some kind of preparedness activity. More must be done to reach and motivate people.

One method, not currently in widespread use, is to involve property management organizations in the preparedness process.

Property managers represent an administrative connection to buildings or communities and their... more »

I know that the DHS Secretary has announced that we would have IdeaFactory up and running by 1/11/10, but it has never been rolled out. If there are technical issues or labor issues with certain components, roll it out to the rest. We are anxiously awaiting our opportunity to submit ideas to make DHS a better place to work. If you are able to get this system up and running, why can't we get IdeaFactory rolled out?

Has anyone ever considered attempting to integrate general situational awareness strategies and personal preparedness as part of the school curriculum from grade school on through high school?

Kids love this stuff, but it is not taught in school unless it is about drugs, alcohol, sex, and don't talk to strangers. Very few if any schools work to create situational awareness and personal preparedness in students. You... more »

Too many Government programs overrun these days. I believe that favorable program acquisition decisions should not be made without realistic life cycle program costs. Those costs should be reviewed in conjunction with the current budget constraints to determine whether they are viable or whether capability should be traded off in order to stay within a constrained budget. Too often programs are allowed to proceed through... more »

DHS should should have all reporting agencies take off their regulatory hats when making decisions on security related issues. Instead of holding stakeholders at arm's length, DHS should ensure they are invited in as full partners in the decision making process from day one. This will ensure greater likelihood of the right course of action being decided upon and much better buy-in by the stakeholders when the regulatory... more »

I believe that the SPP PROGRAM SHOULD BE STOPPED ALTOGETHER. The DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION work in UNISON to FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM..and to PROTECT OUR MODE'S OF TRANSPORTATION abroad. With that, I believe that the American people have come to recognize us as ONE TEAM- FIGHTING TOGETHER FOR ONE CAUSE. If this "unison" is broken by some airports becoming privatized and... more »

Have you ever thought that some citizens might have very valuable ideas and strategies to offer. People who have backgrounds and experiences that may have a different view on security situations to offer, take this example. A person who was born 1951 and grew up in N.Ireland amidst the conflict with the British army against the IRA, the UDR in conflict with Police, terrorist splinter groups at war between themselves and... more »

National Homeland Security Initiative “Homeland Security Critical Infrastructure Watch Program”.

The mission of Homeland Security in part is to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure systems. This proposal directly and proactively solicits the involvement of the American public to become the eyes and ears of local, state and federal officials, toward enhancing the security of the nation’s critical infrastructure... more »

The Automated Export System (AES) is the paperless way to file the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) and the ocean manifest information directly to CBP. The process requires exporters to first file a Letter of Intent (LOI) that provides basic company profile information and sets forth a commitment to develop, maintain and adhere to CBP and Census performance requirements and operational standards. DHS should optimize... more »

Problem: Too much money spent on follow-up to EMI, fireacademy training and other training.
Examples: After a course, we are mailed an evaluation form. Postage and paper going to my house, postage and paper going back to EMI costs money. Then I receive a color certificate in the mail. Large size enevelope postage and color high stock paper costs money to send to me.

Solution: Send an email to students after the... more »

Collaborate with the DOT and state and local agencies to develop a single, real-time border delay notification system. The system should connect with a mobile application that enables citizens to identify the approximate delay times for both personal and business travel at all major border crossings. The system also should send out text messages to subscribers who can pre-register date/time ranges for travel. In event... more »

With the advent of ISO 18000-7 RFID tags that can be used on everything from pallets to containers, including Tanker Monitoring trucks, why isn't Homeland Security working towards using this information? The military has a website which could be used to track fuel trucks/containers/pallets/medical supplies (with sensors) in real time, including the fuels within them to avoid a ground based attack. Additionally, Cargo... more »