Insights

Contributors
How Civilian Online Training and Outreach Can Prepare the Nation for Emergencies

How Civilian Online Training and Outreach Can Prepare the Nation for Emergencies

Emergency response training for both professional first responders and the public is critical. Average citizens are often the first to confront emergency situations. While emergency response is a daunting task, training can help prepare anyone for any event. Increased public awareness of free and online Government training courses, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute (EMI) courses, improves public preparation and response to crisis and strengthens the capabilities and effectiveness of professional emergency responders.

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Arc Aspicio
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74 Days: Transitioning Homeland Security from Election Day to Inauguration

74 Days: Transitioning Homeland Security from Election Day to Inauguration

From election night to inauguration day, the President Elect’s transition team has only 74 days to deliver new strategies for action. Being prepared on Day One means having a strategy that translates campaign policies into a plan for governing. The next president will inherit many challenges; lingering border security issues and cybersecurity threats are just two that stand out. How the next president meets those challenges relies heavily on managing his or her transition into office.

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Arc Aspicio
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The Agile IT Business Analyst as Mediator

The Agile IT Business Analyst as Mediator

In the past, advancements in information technology (IT) typically were a topic of discussion among high-level developers, project managers, and analysts. Analysts documented large complex requirements documents that sometimes took years to produce. It was difficult for systems development projects to adjust these documents to evolving needs and new priorities. This process is changing the Government’s broad adoption of Agile to deliver mission-critical software quickly to users.

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Arc Aspicio
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For Political Appointees: Why Acquisition Success Equals Mission Success

For Political Appointees: Why Acquisition Success Equals Mission Success

Acquisitions are the key to success in major programs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The procurement process deploys the materials, services, and knowledge necessary to operate the DHS’ protective and preventative missions. Without timely and effective procurements, DHS could face new and avoidable challenges in their mission to prevent terrorism, manage our borders, enforce immigration laws, secure cyberspace, and act with resilience in the face of disasters.

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Arc Aspicio
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Developing Organizational Resilience through Effective Transition

During administration changes, agencies face the challenge of onboarding new personnel while maintaining core functions to serve the mission. Fortunately, transition cycles are usually predictable, and preparation can begin well in advance. By adopting past best practices and the latest innovative thinking, Government agencies can become more operationally resilient in the face of both scheduled transitions and unexpected leadership changes.

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Corban von Ouhl
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Strategic Change for National Security: The Birth of a New Agency

Strategic Change for National Security: The Birth of a New Agency

In June 2015, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that hackers compromised millions of Americans personally identifiable information in one of the most severe data breaches in recent history. The successful intrusion into OPM servers, perpetrated by the Chinese, highlighted major issues in the Government’s information technology (IT) infrastructure, including continued use of legacy systems and lack of oversight of private contractors. As a result, the Government convened an interagency panel to perform a 90-day review of OPM’s background investigation infrastructure.

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Arc Aspicio
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A Victim-Centered Approach to the Human Trafficking Challenge

A Victim-Centered Approach to the Human Trafficking Challenge

Human trafficking is often difficult to identify due to the skilled practices of human traffickers and the challenge of defining a victim.Victims are often hidden, threatened with abuse, torture, and death. As a result, victims are unlikely to run away or speak for fear of reprisal from their captors. In this modern system of slavery, victims do not have a voice, so citizens and trained professionals must know what to do when encountering a potential victim.

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Arc Aspicio
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Does LPTA Really Cost More?

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.” – John Ruskin, 1819-1900

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Arc Aspicio
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