National Capital Region
2010 Strategic Plan is Generally Consistent with Characteristics of Effective Strategies Gao ID: GAO-12-276T December 7, 2011This testimony discusses the status of efforts to enhance emergency preparedness in the National Capital Region (NCR). The NCR is a partnership among the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, area local governments, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office for National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC) within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and nonprofit organizations and private sector interests. The partnership aims to help the region prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from "all-hazards" threats or events. Gridlock and hazardous conditions during recent events like the January 26, 2011, snow and ice storm and the August 23, 2011, earthquake demonstrate the importance of regional communication and coordination in the NCR and that challenges remain. Well-crafted and executed operational plans are critical for effective response to emergencies, but sound strategic planning is also important. A coordinated strategy to establish and monitor the achievement of regional goals and priorities is fundamental to enhancing emergency preparedness and response capabilities in the NCR. We reported on this issue repeatedly from 2004 through 2006. This testimony focuses on the extent to which strategic planning for NCR preparedness is consistent with characteristics we have previously identified as desirable for strategies for complex undertakings, such as NCR preparedness. This statement is based on work we recently completed for Congress.
The 2010 NCR strategic plan, when accompanied by its supporting documents--investment plans, work plans, and a Performance Management Plan--collectively referred to in this statement as the NCR strategy, is largely consistent with the six characteristics of a strategy that we advocated for complex homeland-security undertakings where multiple organizations must act together to achieve goals and objectives. However, neither the Performance Management Plan nor the investment plans have yet been finalized; decisions remain regarding how the NCR will conduct future regional risk assessments; and it is not clear that NCR has systematic processes in place to identify the full range of resources available to support its goals. Finally, it is important to keep in mind that strategies themselves are not endpoints, but rather, starting points. As with any strategic planning effort, implementation is the key. The ultimate measure of the 2010 NCR strategy's value is how useful it is as guidance for policymakers and decisionmakers in allocating resources and balancing priorities.
GAO-12-276T, National Capital Region: 2010 Strategic Plan is Generally Consistent with Characteristics of Effective Strategies
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United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
Testimony:
Before the Subcommittees on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental
Affairs and Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce
and the District of Columbia; Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Oversight Committee:
For Release on Delivery:
Expected at 2:30 p.m. EST:
December 07, 2011:
National Capital Region:
2010 Strategic Plan is Generally Consistent with Characteristics of
Effective Strategies:
Statement of William O. Jenkins, Jr., Director:
Homeland Security and Justice:
GAO-12-276T:
Chairmen Akaka and Pryor, Ranking Members Johnson and Paul, and
Members of the Committees:
I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today's hearing on the
status of efforts to enhance emergency preparedness in the National
Capital Region (NCR). The NCR is a partnership among the District of
Columbia, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, area
local governments, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office
for National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC) within the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and nonprofit organizations and
private sector interests.[Footnote 1] The partnership aims to help the
region prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover
from "all-hazards" threats or events. Gridlock and hazardous
conditions during recent events like the January 26, 2011, snow and
ice storm and the August 23, 2011, earthquake demonstrate the
importance of regional communication and coordination in the NCR and
that challenges remain. Well-crafted and executed operational plans
are critical for effective response to emergencies, but sound
strategic planning is also important.[Footnote 2] As I have previously
testified, a coordinated strategy to establish and monitor the
achievement of regional goals and priorities is fundamental to
enhancing emergency preparedness and response capabilities in the NCR.
We reported on this issue repeatedly from 2004 through 2006, and I
testified most recently on the NCR's preparedness before the
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal
Workforce and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, in September 2006. My remarks
today focus on the extent to which strategic planning for NCR
preparedness is consistent with characteristics we have previously
identified as desirable for strategies for complex undertakings, such
as NCR preparedness. This statement is based on work we recently
completed for you. To conduct this work, we compared the 2010
strategic-plan update with six characteristics of an effective
homeland-security strategy we previously identified.[Footnote 3] We
reviewed the content of the strategic plan and associated documents--
such as investment plans--but we did not evaluate whether and how well
NCR has fostered, implemented, and executed coordinated capability
efforts. We have recently initiated a review of NCR preparedness
efforts for these subcommittees and expect to issue a report late next
year.
We conducted this work from November 2011 through December 2011 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe the
evidence provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions
based on our audit objectives.
In summary, the 2010 NCR strategic plan, when accompanied by its
supporting documents--investment plans, work plans, and a Performance
Management Plan--collectively referred to in this statement as the NCR
strategy, is largely consistent with the six characteristics of a
strategy that we advocated for complex homeland-security undertakings
where multiple organizations must act together to achieve goals and
objectives.[Footnote 4] However, neither the Performance Management
Plan nor the investment plans have yet been finalized; decisions
remain regarding how the NCR will conduct future regional risk
assessments; and it is not clear that NCR has systematic processes in
place to identify the full range of resources available to support its
goals.[Footnote 5] Finally, it is important to keep in mind that
strategies themselves are not endpoints, but rather, starting points.
As with any strategic planning effort, implementation is the key. The
ultimate measure of the 2010 NCR strategy's value is how useful it is
as guidance for policymakers and decisionmakers in allocating
resources and balancing priorities.
Background:
The NCR is a unique regional partnership, in that it is the only
region that has a statutorily created and federally funded office
devoted solely to supporting coordination and cooperation within the
region. Appendix I provides more information about the region and the
organizations responsible for supporting preparedness coordination.
We have reported in the past on preparedness efforts for the NCR. Our
past work for Congress has tracked the evolution and development of
increasingly effective efforts to develop a coordinated NCR
preparedness strategy, along with some opportunities for continuing
improvement in strategy-related efforts. See appendix II for more
information about our past NCR work.
The 2010 NCR Strategy Is Largely Consistent with Desirable
Characteristics for Effective Strategies:
We have previously identified six characteristics of effective
strategies that could be applied to the NCR.[Footnote 6] We noted that
these six characteristics would help to enable its implementers to
effectively shape policies, programs, priorities, resource
allocations, and standards and enable relevant stakeholders to achieve
intended results. These characteristics call for strategies to include
(1) purpose, scope, and methodology; (2) problem definition and risk
assessment; (3) goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and
performance measures; (4) resources, investments, and risk management;
(5) organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination; and (6)
integration and implementation.[Footnote 7] More information about the
six desirable strategy characteristics and their application to a
regional preparedness strategy appears in appendix III.
Purpose, Scope, and Methodology:
The 2010 NCR strategy addresses why the strategy was produced, the
scope of its coverage, and the process by which it was developed. The
introduction to the plan specifies that it was produced to help
identify the capabilities needed to strengthen the region's homeland
security efforts and to define the framework for achieving those
capabilities. The scope of the plan, as outlined in the introduction,
is strategic investment in new and existing capabilities to help all
localities in the NCR prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond
to, and recover from all-hazards threats and events. Specifically, the
plan's goals and objectives are designed to build new and expanded
capabilities and to ensure maintenance of previous investments.
Additionally, the aim of these capabilities, according to the plan, is
to help support the localities in the NCR as they execute their
operational plans in all phases of homeland security. The plan's
methodology appendix specifies that the effort to produce the 2010
plan started with an NCR partner-led assessment of progress under the
2006 NCR Strategic Plan and stakeholder recommendations on how best to
update the goals to reflect current priorities of the NCR.[Footnote 8]
As part of this effort, subject-matter experts identified priority
capabilities from the 2010 UASI Investment Justifications that serve
as the foundation for the plan's goals and objectives.[Footnote 9]
Additionally, the appendix outlines how the NCR partners (1) accounted
for legislative, policy, and economic factors; (2) facilitated
stakeholder engagement; (3) drew on capabilities-based analysis to
identify priorities; and (4) designed capability initiatives to be
specific and measurable.
Problem Definition and Risk Assessment:
The 2010 NCR strategy generally addresses the particular problems and
threats the strategy is directed towards, and the NCR has undertaken
efforts to assess threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences. In our
September 2006 statement on NCR strategic planning, we noted that an
ongoing risk-assessment methodology is important to help ensure
identification of emerging risks. It is not clear from the strategy
how the NCR plans to update risk information, but according to
responsible NCR officials, a regional risk assessment will be
conducted every 2-4 years, and during this fiscal year the NCR will be
making decisions about the timing and methodology for the next
regional risk assessment. In addition, the officials said risk
information can enter prioritization decisions as subject matter
experts bring to bear their knowledge of critical-infrastructure
sector-specific risk assessments and lessons learned from regional and
worldwide incidents.
The 2010 NCR Strategic Plan includes a profile of the region that
details how particular social, economic, and critical-infrastructure
factors in the region serve to increase both the threat and
consequence components of its profile. For example, the plan's profile
explains that the NCR has more than 340,000 federal workers; 2,000
political, social, and humanitarian nonprofit organizations; more than
20 million tourists per year; 4,000 diplomats at more than 170
embassies; and some of the most important symbols of national
sovereignty and democratic heritage. The plan notes that the region
needs to be prepared for a variety of threats and challenges. The
region has historically experienced, and in some cases routinely
experiences, natural events such as ice, snowstorms, and flooding;
special events such as international summits, inaugurations, and
parades; and human-caused threats such as terrorist attacks.
The plan identifies previously conducted risk-assessment efforts that,
along with other information, helped inform the identification of
priority goals, objectives, and activities. First, the NCR's Hazard
Information and Risk Assessment, conducted in 2006, was used to
identify threats and vulnerabilities and then to consider consequences
of various incidents. Second, NCRC conducted another assessment--the
NCR Strategic Hazards Identification Evaluation for Leadership
Decisions (SHIELD)--in 2008. NCRC developed SHIELD with input from
federal, state, local, and private-sector partners and in
collaboration with DHS's Office of Risk Management and Analysis.
SHIELD's analysis ranks potential critical-infrastructure hazards and
provides options for risk reduction, with a focus on probable
scenarios for the region.
Goals, Subordinate Objectives, Activities, and Performance Measures:
The 2010 NCR strategy addresses what the strategy is trying to
achieve, and steps to achieve those results in the next 3 to 5 years;
however, the Performance Management Plan to help monitor progress
toward those results is not expected to be finalized until December
31, 2011. The strategy clearly identifies updated and prioritized
goals from the previous version of the strategy. Each of these four
goals is accompanied by supporting objectives, which in turn, are
supported by more targeted initiatives. According to the strategy, the
goals, objectives, and initiatives were developed by multiple
stakeholders, including emergency managers, first responders, health-
care officials, and information-technology specialists, among others,
and focus on developing and sustaining key capabilities in the region.
(A full description of the goals, objectives, and initiatives
identified in the 2010 NCR strategy appears in appendix IV.)
In our work on desirable strategy characteristics, we reported that
identification of priorities, milestones, and performance measures can
aid implementing parties in achieving results in specific timeframes--
and could enable more effective oversight and accountability.[Footnote
10] The strategy states that a Performance Measurement Plan will guide
monitoring of the strategy's implementation to evaluate progress in
achieving its goals and objectives. NCR provided us with a draft copy
of the Performance Measurement Plan, which is currently under
development. Our review of this draft showed that the NCR has begun
efforts to develop measures. While the 2010 plan states that the
initiatives it defines are intended to be attained during the next 3
to 5 years, the strategy does not currently communicate specific
milestones for achieving the plan's objectives and initiatives.
However, according to NCR officials, with the annual planning and
implementation cycle beginning in January 2012, they plan to enter
into a new phase of their strategy efforts, designed to make the
strategy process more data-driven and project-management focused.
According to the officials, this phase entails each objective being
assigned a designated leader, who will be responsible for setting
milestones and monitoring project plans for achieving his or her
objective across the region.
The Performance Measurement Plan template information for each
initiative includes (1) the strategic goal and objective the
initiative supports; (2) a scale to track progress toward achieving
the initiative;[Footnote 11] (3) the initiative's relationship to
DHS's Target Capabilities List;[Footnote 12] (4) applicable national
standards; and (5) multiple metrics for each initiative to be tracked
separately for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. For example,
in the draft plan, the NCR initiative to "catalog all critical
infrastructure and key resources in the NCR and conduct consequence-of-
loss analysis" ties in with three separate DHS Target Capabilities and
is based on the DHS National Infrastructure Protection Plan's
definition of Tier-2 Critical Assets.[Footnote 13] It then provides
five separate metrics to monitor the identification and documentation
of assets, as well as the completion of consequence and loss analyses.
A senior official in the NCR said that subject-matter experts are
currently completing progress reports on the metrics for each of the
initiatives in the strategy.
Resources, Investments, and Risk Management:
The 2010 NCR strategy contains information and processes designed to
help address what the strategy will cost, the sources and types of
resources and investments needed, and where resources and investments
should be targeted based on balancing risk reductions with costs.
According to the strategic plan, its implementation will be guided by
investment plans that define the activities required to achieve the
goals and objectives, and an annual work plan will lay out grant-
funded projects needed to complete the investment plans. We have
reviewed draft copies of 16 investment plans, which are out for NCR
partner comment until December 22, 2011. Our review of the draft
investment plans show that they specify their relationship to the
strategic objective they are designed to support, but we did not
evaluate how well the specific content of each investment plan is
designed to achieve those objectives.
In our work on desirable strategy characteristics, we reported that,
ideally, a strategy would identify appropriate mechanisms to allocate
resources, such as grants, in-kind services, loans, and user fees,
based on identified needs.[Footnote 14] The strategic plan notes that
the UASI grant program provides a key source of funding for achieving
the priority capabilities in the NCR's Strategic Plan. The strategic
plan's methodology appendix states that the 2010 UASI Investment
Justifications serve as the foundation for the strategic plan's goals
and objectives. In previous NCR work, we raised concerns about NCR's
singular focus on UASI resources.[Footnote 15] The strategic plan
states that the NCR draws upon federal grant programs outside of those
provided by DHS, such as public health-related grants from the
Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice.
However, it is not clear that NCR has a systematic process for
identifying and allocating funding other than UASI to help achieve
priority objectives. According to responsible officials, NCR officials
coordinate with local, state, and federal jurisdictions to help ensure
UASI investments do not duplicate existing federal, state, and local
assets. These officials also said the new Management Review Process,
set to begin in January 2012, is to help with the identification and
documentation of available resources.
Similarly, the plan does not identify nonfinancial resources--such as
Department of Defense (DOD) NORTHCOM or National Guard Bureau
resources--that potentially could support priority objectives.
[Footnote 16] The federal government has an array of resources that
can be made available, at request, to assist state and local response.
For example, DOD has significant capabilities to augment a federal
chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosive
(CBRNE) response, like those identified in the strategic plan, and
also contributes to the organization, training, and equipping of state-
controlled military units focused on consequence management.
According to the 2010 strategic plan's methodology appendix, the
region's priorities are informed by risk assessments--specifically
SHIELD--gap analyses, after-action reports, and other studies.
According to NCR officials, NCR and its jurisdictions coordinate with
various DOD organizations to ensure the availability of CBRNE assets.
Moreover, they said that subject-matter experts also bring their
knowledge of other resources and capabilities to bear during efforts
to identify gaps and prioritize resources. However, they acknowledged
they have not systematically considered how existing federal
capabilities--like DOD resources--relate to efforts to build the
capabilities within their priority objectives, but are considering how
they might further enhance coordination in the future. We will
continue to monitor this issue as we conduct future work on NCR
preparedness.
Organizational Roles, Responsibilities, and Coordination:
The 2010 NCR strategy addresses the roles and responsibilities of the
various NCR organizations. We previously reported that identifying
which organizations will implement the strategy, their roles and
responsibilities, and mechanisms for coordinating their efforts helps
answer the fundamental question about who is in charge, not only
during times of crisis, but also during all phases of preparedness
efforts: prevention, vulnerability reduction, and response and
recovery. The NCR has responsibility for coordinating information and
resources from multiple jurisdictions at the federal, state, and local
levels to ensure that strategic goals are met.
According to the 2010 NCR strategy, NCR stakeholders have constructed
the strategy to complement state and local operational plans.
Operational plans remain the responsibility of state and local
emergency-management agencies, and state and local emergency-
operations plans describe how each jurisdiction will coordinate its
response to an event regionally.
The Governance appendix to the NCR strategic plan details the various
organizations involved in preparedness for all-hazards disasters in
the region and their roles and responsibilities. For example, the
Emergency Preparedness Council is described as the body that provides
oversight of the Regional Emergency Coordination Plan and the NCR
Strategic Plan to identify and address gaps in readiness in the NCR,
among other responsibilities. Additionally, the appendix lays out the
Regional Emergency Support Function committees for functions most
frequently used to provide support for disasters and emergencies in
the region.
According to the plan, representatives from various sectors work
together toward building capabilities within each support function and
the chairs of the committees provide leadership in identifying gaps in
regional capabilities in the committee's areas of responsibility and
identify the need for UASI funds or other resources to address those
gaps. An example of a Regional Emergency Support Function committee is
the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee which focuses on
nutrition assistance, animal and plant disease and pest response, food
safety and security, as well as the safety and well-being of household
pets.
Finally, the appendix highlights the Regional Programmatic Working
Groups which consist of practitioners, policymakers, and
representatives from the government, civic, and private sectors. The
groups serve to fill gaps, coordinate across the Regional Emergency
Support Function, and provide more focused attention on high-priority
areas. For example, the Exercise and Training Operations Panel Working
Group supports training and exercises for all Regional Emergency
Support Functions.
Integration and Implementation:
The 2010 NCR strategy addresses how the plan is intended to integrate
with the NCR jurisdictions' strategies' goals, objectives, and
activities and their plans to implement the strategy. An appendix
dedicated to the plan's alignment with national and state strategic
plans lays out how the NCR's strategic plan aligns with related
federal, state, and local strategies, programs and budgets, and
emergency plans. The appendix states that the aim of the NCR strategic
plan is to align regional strategic planning efforts with federal,
state, and local planning efforts by identifying common goals,
objectives, and initiatives to be implemented by the region. In
addition, it says the strategic plan provides a framework by which
state and local entities can plan, resource, and track priority
homeland security-related programs and budgets.
Concluding Observations:
The NCR faces a significant challenge coordinating federal, state,
local, and regional authorities for domestic preparedness activities.
Due to the size and complexity of the NCR, coordination with relevant
jurisdictions may confront challenges related to, among other things,
different organizational cultures, varying procedures and work
patterns among organizations, and a lack of communication between
departments and agencies. A well-defined, comprehensive homeland
security strategic plan for the NCR is essential for effectively
coordinating investments in capabilities to address the risks that the
region faces, and our preliminary observations are that the 2010
Strategic Plan was comprehensively developed. However, we have
previously noted that strategies themselves are not endpoints, but
rather, starting points. As with any strategic planning effort,
implementation is the key. The ultimate measure of value for a
strategy is how useful it is as guidance for policymakers and
decisionmakers in allocating resources and balancing priorities. It
remains to be seen the extent to which the plan is implemented
effectively. We will continue to monitor this as part of our ongoing
work.
Chairmen Akaka and Pryor, Ranking Members Johnson and Paul, and
Members of the Subcommittee, this completes my prepared statement. I
would be pleased to respond to any questions that you or other Members
of the Committee may have at this time.
Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
For further information about this statement, please contact William
O. Jenkins, Jr., Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, at
(202) 512-8777 or jenkinswo@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this statement. In addition to the contact named above, the
following individuals from GAO's Homeland Security and Justice Team
also made key contributions to this testimony: Chris Keisling,
Assistant Director; Kathryn Godfrey, Susana Kuebler, David Lysy, Linda
Miller, and Tracey King.
[End of section]
Appendix I: The NCR Region and Organizations:
National Capital Region:
The National Capital Region (NCR) is a complex multijurisdictional
area comprising the District of Columbia and surrounding counties and
cities in the states of Maryland and Virginia (as shown in figure 1)
and is home to the federal government, many national landmarks, and
military installations. In addition to being the headquarters to all
three branches of the federal government, the NCR receives more than
20 million tourists each year. The NCR is the fourth-largest U.S.
metropolitan area in the country and is also close to other densely
populated areas, including Baltimore and Philadelphia. Those living
and working in the NCR rely on a variety of critical infrastructure
and key resources including transportation, energy, and water. The
transportation system contains the nation's second-largest rail
transit and fifth-largest bus systems. The intricate network of major
highways and bridges serve the region's commuters and businesses, and
the NCR also has two major airports within its borders. These
attributes both heighten the threat and raise the consequences to the
region in the instance of human-caused incidents. An incident caused
by any hazard could result in catastrophic human, political, and
economic harm to the region, as well as the entire nation.
Figure 1: National Capital Region Jurisdictions:
[Refer to PDF for image: area map]
District of Columbia;
Maryland:
* Montgomery County;
* Prince George's County;
Virginia:
* Arlington County;
* City of Alexandria;
* Fairfax County;
* Loudoun County;
* Prince William County.
Source: National Capitol Planning Commission.
[End of figure]
Roles and Responsibilities of the NCRC:
The Homeland Security Act established the Office of National Capital
Region Coordination (NCRC) within the Department of Homeland Security.
The NCRC is responsible for overseeing and coordinating federal
programs for and relationships with state, local, and regional
authorities in the NCR and for assessing and advocating for the
resources needed by state, local, and regional authorities in the NCR
to implement efforts to secure the homeland, among other things. One
of the NCRC mandates is to coordinate with federal, state, local, and
regional agencies and the private sector in the NCR to ensure adequate
planning, information sharing, training, and execution of domestic
preparedness activities among these agencies and entities.
NCR Governance Structure and Organizations that Support Preparedness:
Figure 2, below, depicts the NCR organizational structure.
Figure 2: NCR Organizational Structure:
[Refer to PDF for image: organizational structure]
Top level:
Senior Policy Group: DC, MD, VA, NCRC.
Second level, reporting to Senior Policy Group:
* Emergency Preparedness Council (Assessment & Advisory);
* CAO Committee:
- R-ESF/RPWG Committee Chairs.
Third level, reporting to R-ESF/RPWG Committee Chairs:
* R-ESF Committees & Working Groups.
Emergency Preparedness Council (EPC):
Provides oversight regarding the implementation of the Regional
Emergency Coordination Plan and the NCR Homeland Security
Strategic Plan to identify and address gaps in readiness in the NCR.
The EPC functions as the federally required Urban Area Working Group
with oversight responsibility for the Urban Area Security Initiative
process in partnership with the SPG, CAO, and State Administrative
Agencies.
Regional Emergency Support Function (R-ESF)/Regional Program Work
Group (RPWG) Committee Chairs:
R-ESF Chairs are elected by members to lead the R-ESFs for a year and
are responsible to the CAOs.
RPWG chairs are selected by the SPG with concurrence of the CAOs and
lead for RPWG for a year and are responsible to the SPG and CAOs.
Senior Policy Group (SPG):
Provides continuing policy and executive-level focus to the NCR's
homeland security concerns. Membership consists of senior officials
from Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia, and DHS/FEMA's Office
of National Capital Region Coordination.
Regional Emergency Support Function Program Work Groups (RPWG):
The 16 R-ESFs provide the structure for coordinating regional
interagency support for a regional preparedness, response, and recover
from an incident under leadership of CAOs.
The 4 RPWGs provide the structure for coordination when multiple R-
ESFs need to come together on a continuing basis to address matters
for concern for the region. RPWGs are responsible to both the SPG and
CAO.
Chief Administrative Officers Committee (CAO):
Comprised of Chief Administrative Officers, City Managers and
Administrators, the General Manager of WMATA. The CAOs provide
leadership for R-ESFs, RPWGs and committees and address regional
concerns.
Source: National Capital Region Homeland Security Program.
[End of figure]
[End of section]
Appendix II: Our Past Work on NCR and Related Emergency Preparedness
Efforts:
GAO product: Homeland Security: Management of First Responder Grants
in the National Capital Region Reflects the Need for Coordinated
Planning and Performance Goals, GAO-04-433 (Washington, D.C.: May 28,
2004);
Findings and recommendations: NCR faced several challenges organizing
and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness
programs. Among these challenges included the lack of a coordinated
strategic plan, performance standards, and reliable, centrally sourced
data on funds available and the purposes for which they were spent. We
concluded that, without these basic elements, it would be difficult to
assess first-responder capacities, identify first-responder funding
priorities, and evaluate the effective use of federal funds to enhance
first-responder capacities and preparedness. We recommended, for
example, that the Secretary of Homeland Security (1) work with local
National Capital Region (NCR) jurisdictions to develop a coordinated
strategic plan to establish goals and priorities. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) generally agreed with our recommendations and
NCR finalized its first strategic plan in 2006.
GAO product: Homeland Security: Effective Regional Coordination Can
Enhance Emergency Preparedness, GAO-04-1009 (Washington, D.C. Sept.
15, 2004);
Findings and recommendations: The characteristics of effective
regional coordination we previously identified were applicable to the
NCR's efforts to coordinate emergency preparedness. We noted that, if
implemented as planned and as observed in its early stage, the NCR's
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program would include a
collaborative regional organization. While we remained concerned that
the NCR did not include a full array of homeland-security grants in
its planning, we reported that the NCR's UASI program planned to
address those issues by identifying non-UASI funding sources and
collecting information about the funding allocations, expenditures,
and purposes, as well as data on spending by NCR jurisdiction. NCR is
currently planning to implement a process to help ensure
identification of other funding resources.
GAO product: Homeland Security: Managing First Responder Grants to
Enhance Emergency Preparedness in the National Capital Region, GAO-05-
889T (Washington, D.C.: July 14, 2005);
Findings and recommendations: In this statement, we reported on the
implementation of the recommendations from our May 2004 report. DHS
was working with the NCR jurisdictions to develop a coordinated
strategic plan. At that time, we identified the need for NCR to gather
data regarding the funding available and used for implementing the
plan and enhancing first-responder capabilities in the NCR--data that
were not routinely available. We reported that such data would allow
DHS to implement and monitor the future plan, identify and address
preparedness gaps, and evaluate the effectiveness of expenditures by
conducting assessments based on established guidelines and standards.
We remained concerned that no systematic gap analysis had been
completed for the region. We noted that the NCR planned to complete an
effort to use the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) as
a means of conducting a gap analysis and assess NCR jurisdictions
against EMAP's national preparedness standards. Since we last
reported, the District of Columbia has received its EMAP accreditation.
GAO product: Homeland Security: The Status of Strategic Planning in
the National Capital Region, GAO-06-559T (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 29,
2006);
Findings and recommendations: At the time of this report, a completed
NCR strategic plan was not yet available. We identified five areas
that would be important for the NCR as it completed a strategic plan.
Specifically, we reported that a well-defined, comprehensive strategic
plan for the NCR was essential for assuring that the region is
prepared for the risks it faces and that the NCR could focus on
strengthening (1) initiatives that will accomplish objectives under
the NCR strategic goals, (2) performance measures and targets that
indicate how the initiatives will accomplish identified strategic
goals, (3) milestones or time frames for initiative accomplishment,
(4) information on resources and investments for each initiative, and
(5) organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination and
integration and implementation plans.
GAO product: Homeland Security: Assessment of the National Capital
Region Strategic Plan, GAO-06-1096T (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 28, 2006);
Findings and recommendations: We concluded that the 2006 NCR strategic
plan included all six characteristics we consider desirable for a
regional homeland-security strategy. To illustrate, the plan includes
regional priorities and presents the rationale for the goals and
related objectives and initiatives. However, we noted that the
substance of the information within these six characteristics could be
improved to guide decision makers.
Source: GAO.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Six Desirable Strategy Characteristics:
We previously outlined a set of desirable characteristics for
strategies involving complex endeavors that require coordination and
collaboration among multiple entities.[Footnote 17] The desirable
characteristics are presented in table 1, along with a brief
description and the benefit of each characteristic.
Table 1: Desirable Characteristics for a Strategic Plan, Their
Description, and Benefit:
Characteristic: Purpose, scope, and methodology;
Description: Addresses why the strategy was produced, the scope of its
coverage, and the process by which it was developed;
Benefit: A complete description of the purpose, scope, and methodology
in a strategy could make the document more useful to the entities it
is intended to guide, as well as to oversight organizations, such as
Congress.
Characteristic: Problem definition and risk assessment;
Description: Addresses the particular problems and threats the
strategy is directed towards;
Benefit: Use of common definitions promotes more effective
intergovernmental operations and more accurate monitoring of
expenditures, thereby eliminating problematic concerns. Comprehensive
assessments of vulnerabilities, including risk assessments, can help
identify key factors external to an organization that can
significantly affect that organization's attainment of its goals and
objectives and can help identify risk potential if such problem areas
are not effectively addressed.
Characteristic: Goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and
performance measures;
Description: Addresses what the strategy is trying to achieve, steps
to achieve those results, as well as the priorities, milestones, and
performance measures to gauge results;
Benefit: Better identification of priorities, milestones, and
performance measures can aid implementing entities in achieving
results in specific time frames--and could enable more effective
oversight and accountability.
Characteristic: Resources, investments, and risk management;
Description: Addresses what the strategy will cost, the sources and
types of resources and investments needed, and where resources and
investments should be targeted based on balancing risk reductions with
costs;
Benefit: Guidance on resource, investment, and risk management could
help implementing entities allocate resources and investments
according to priorities and constraints, track costs and performance,
and shift such investments and resources as appropriate. Such guidance
could also assist organizations in developing more effective programs
to stimulate desired investments, enhance preparedness, and leverage
finite resources.
Characteristic: Organizational roles, responsibilities, and
coordination;
Description: Addresses who will be implementing the strategy, what
their roles will be compared to others, and mechanisms for them to
coordinate their efforts;
Benefit: Inclusion of this characteristic in a strategy could be
useful to organizations and other stakeholders in fostering
coordination and clarifying specific roles, particularly where there
is overlap, and thus enhancing both implementation and accountability.
Characteristic: Integration and implementation;
Description: Addresses how a strategy relates to other strategies'
goals, objectives, and activities (horizontal integration), and to
subordinate levels of government and their plans to implement the
strategy (vertical integration);
Benefit: Information on this characteristic in a strategy could build
on the aforementioned organizational roles and responsibilities--and
thus further clarify the relationships between various implementing
entities, both vertically and horizontally. This, in turn, could
foster effective implementation and accountability.
Source: GAO.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix IV: NCR 2010 Strategic Plan Goals, Objectives, and
Initiatives:
Goal: Ensure Interoperable Communications Capabilities;
Ensure response partners have the ability to transmit and receive
voice, data, and video communications:
Objectives: Ensure response partners can communicate by voice in all
environments on a day-to-day basis;
Initiatives: Increase access to voice systems capable of transmitting
and receiving voice information to and from National Capital Region
(NCR) response partners.
Objectives: Ensure response partners can communicate and share
necessary, appropriate data in all environments and on a day-to-day
basis;
Initiatives:
* Develop and maintain secure data communications governed by common
standards and operating procedures.
* Share Computer Aided Dispatch data between jurisdictions and other
related data systems to streamline the process of capturing 911
information and responding to incidents.
* Share Geographic Information System data between jurisdictions and
other related data systems.
Objectives: Ensure response partners can communicate and share
necessary, appropriate video information in all environments on a day-
to-day basis;
Initiatives: Increase access to video systems capable of transmitting
and receiving video information to and from NCR response partners.
Goal: Enhance Information Sharing and Situational Awareness;
Ensure NCR partners share the information needed to make informed and
timely decisions; take appropriate actions; and communicate accurate,
timely information with the public:
Objectives: Ensure the public has all information necessary to make
appropriate decisions and take protective actions;
Initiatives: Improve the dissemination of accurate, timely information
to the public using multiple venues, including social media outlets,
to ensure that the content of emergency messages and alerts is easily
accessible and available to the public.
Objectives: Define, obtain, and share appropriate situational
information with NCR partners so that they have the necessary
information to make informed decisions;
Initiatives: Define essential elements of data and information for
situational awareness for each discipline and all partners in the NCR.
Then develop, maintain, and utilize business practices and common
technical standards for situational awareness in order to make
informed decisions.[A]
Objectives: Improve the NCR's ability to collect, analyze, share, and
integrate intelligence and law enforcement information so that NCR
partners receive appropriate information;
Initiatives:
* Ensure all NCR fusion centers share information through secure and
open systems, produce relevant and standardized analytical products,
and share information in a timely manner with appropriate NCR
partners.[B]
* Ensure NCR partners have the systems, processes, security
clearances, tools, and procedures to access, gather, and share
appropriate intelligence, law enforcement, and classified data.
Goal: Enhance Critical Infrastructure Protection;
Enhance the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure and
key resources (CI/KR) in the NCR to reduce their vulnerability to
disruption from all-hazards events:
Objectives: Understand and prioritize risks to CI/KR;
Initiatives:
* Catalog all CI/KR in the NCR and conduct consequence-of-loss
analysis.
* Conduct a comprehensive risk analysis of the NCR CI/KR, including a
review of the critical systems upon which they depend and the
interdependencies of those systems.
* Develop and implement a plan for sharing CI/KR information among
public and private entities throughout the NCR.
Objectives: Reduce vulnerabilities and enhance resiliency of CI/KR;
Initiatives:
* Develop and implement sector vulnerability-reduction plans.
* Conduct a technology-feasibility assessment and develop a plan for
technology investments for CI/KR.
* Develop and implement a cybersecurity plan for NCR critical systems.
Objectives: Ensure continuity of critical services required during
emergencies and disaster recovery[C];
Initiatives:
* Identify key facilities throughout the NCR that require backup
critical services.
* Assess facilities' plans for loss of critical services.
Objectives: Promote broad participation in CI/KR community outreach
and protection programs;
Initiatives:
* Develop a community-awareness training and education program.
* Develop a strategy for using CI/KR data to inform law enforcement.
* Establish a regional business information-sharing committee.
Objectives: Monitor Critical Infrastructure to provide situational
awareness and to promote rapid response;
Initiatives:
* Develop and implement a plan for a comprehensive CI/KR monitoring
program.
* Develop and implement a plan that integrates CI/KR monitoring
information into response operations.
Goal: Ensure Development and Maintenance of Regional Core Capabilities;
Develop and maintain the basic building blocks of preparedness and
response by ensuring the NCR develops a baseline of capabilities
including: Mass Casualty, Health Care System Surge, and Mass
Prophylaxis; Mass Care and Evacuation; Citizen Participation, Alert,
and Public Information; Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear,
and Explosive Detection and Response; and Planning, Training, and
Exercises:
Objectives: Increase the Region's capacity for medical surge
preparedness and response to an all-hazards event to reduce deaths and
injuries;
Initiatives:
* Ensure that private health care, federal, state, and local public
health, and EMS programs and providers in the NCR can increase surge
capacity to respond to mass-casualty incidents and events requiring
mass prophylaxis.
* Establish a regional monitoring and response system that allows for
health and medical-response partners to track patients, hospital bed
availability, alerts, and EMS/hospital activity in a shared, secure
environment.
* Ensure the ability to track patients from the start of pre-hospital
care to discharge from the health-care system during both daily
operations and mass-casualty incidents.
Objectives: Improve the region's capacity to evacuate and provide mass
care for the public, including special needs individuals, when
impacted by an all-hazards event;
Initiatives:
* Develop, coordinate, and integrate local and state evacuation plans
so that evacuation polices and routes complement each other to ensure
the NCR's ability to coordinate evacuation across the region.
* Ensure the NCR's ability to provide sheltering and feeding for the
first 72 hours following an incident for individuals in the general
population, persons with special needs, persons with special medical
needs, and pets.
Objectives: Strengthen individual, community, and workplace
preparedness for emergency events through public engagement and
citizen participation designed to reach the general population and
special needs citizens in response to and recovery from all-hazards
events;
Initiatives:
* Sustain the NCR's ability to alert and warn residents, businesses,
and visitors using multiple methods including social media.
* Bolster recruitment, management, and retention of volunteers through
Community Emergency Response Team, other citizen corps programs,
Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster member agencies, the
Medical Reserve Corps, and registration in Emergency System for
Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals programs.
* Ensure post-incident human services and recovery assistance
throughout the NCR including case management, emergency housing,
behavioral health, spiritual care, and family reunification.
Objectives: Ensure the NCR has region-wide capacity to detect,
respond, and recover in a timely manner from CBRNE events and other
attacks requiring tactical response and technical rescue;
Initiatives:
* Enhance the NCR's ability to detect chemical, biological,
radiological, and other types of contamination.
* Ensure region-wide access to Type 1 hazardous material (HazMat),
bomb response/Explosive Ordnance Device units, and tactical teams and
ensure each unit/team is able to respond in a reasonable amount of
time.
* Ensure all responders in the NCR have access to Personal Protective
Equipment, equipment, and apparatus that match the identified
capability needs.
* Establish a regional monitoring and response system that provides
health and medical-response partners with central access to
biosurveillance.
Objectives: Improve capacity to develop and coordinate plans among all
NCR partners and ensure the availability of region-wide training and
exercise programs to strengthen preparedness, response, and recovery
efforts from all-hazards events;
Initiatives:
* Develop and exercise key regional emergency response and recovery
plans.
* Ensure regional procedures, memoranda of understanding, and mutual-
aid agreements are in place to allow for rapid coordination of
resources including health assets across jurisdictional boundaries.
* Develop and update a matrix of training and exercises that meet
Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program standards needed to
maintain core regional capabilities. This matrix should address new
and emerging threats and concerns raised in gap analyses and after-
action reports from events and exercises.
Source: 2010 National Capital Region Homeland Security Plan.
[A] Although the specific elements needed for situational awareness
vary according to the field and area of expertise, the term
"situational awareness" in the 2010 strategic plan refers to the
ability to identify, monitor, and process important information,
understand the interrelatedness of that information and its
implications, and apply that understanding to make critical decisions
in the present and near future. For example, if the region is
threatened by a hurricane, awareness of the status of roads, shelters,
traffic, available medical resources, power outages, and the like is
important in making decisions about what type of assistance is needed
and where it is needed. To coordinate an effective response, NCR
partners need to share their information and have access to the
information of others.
[B] The NCR fusion centers include the Maryland Coordination and
Analysis Center, the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center,
the NCR Intelligence Center, and the Virginia Fusion Center. A fusion
center is a physical location where data can be collected from a
variety of sources, including but not limited to police departments,
fire departments, health departments, and the private sector. Experts
analyze the incoming information and create intelligence products,
which can be used to maximize resources, streamline operations, and
improve the ability to address all-hazards incidents and threats.
Fusion centers help to prevent terrorism and criminal activities as
well as support preparedness for man-made and natural hazards to
trigger quick and effective response to all-hazards events.
[C] Critical services are defined as life-sustainment services during
an emergency and include energy (electric power and gas), water
supply, transportation, food, and communications. These are all
supplied routinely by the CI/KR sectors. During a disaster, providing
critical life-sustaining services ensures that government and private
health, safety, and emergency services continue, and that plans are in
place to compensate for losses among interdependent systems.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] The Office for National Capital Region Coordination was
established in the Homeland Security Act. Pub. L. No. 107-296, § 882,
116 Stat. 2135, 2246-47 (2002).
[2] According to the 2010 NCR Homeland Security Strategic Plan,
operational plans are the responsibility of state and local emergency
management agencies and they are to describe how each jurisdiction
will coordinate its response to an event regionally.
[3] See GAO, Combating Terrorism: Evaluation of Selected
Characteristics in National Strategies Related to Terrorism,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T] (Washington,
D.C.: Feb 3, 2004) and Homeland Security: The Status of Strategic
Planning in the National Capital Region, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-559T] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 29,
2006).
[4] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T] and
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-559T]. In February
2004, we identified six characteristics of effective strategies that
could be applied to the NCR. We noted that these six characteristics
would help to enable its implementers to effectively shape policies,
programs, priorities, resource allocations, and standards and enable
relevant stakeholders to achieve intended results. In our testimony on
the 2006 NCR Strategic Plan, we elaborated on the desirable
characteristics of a strategic plan at the regional level based on our
six characteristics. The six characteristics are: (1) purpose, scope,
and methodology; (2) problem definition and risk assessment; (3)
goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and performance measures;
(4) resources, investments, and risk management; (5) organizational
roles, responsibilities, and coordination; and (6) integration and
implementation. For more details, see appendix III.
[5] The UASI Program provides funding to address the unique planning,
organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat,
high-density urban areas, and assists them in building an enhanced and
sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to, and
recover from acts of terrorism.
[6] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T].
[7] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T].
[8] NCR partners refers to the region's local, state, regional, and
federal entities, citizen community groups, private-sector
organizations, nonprofit organizations, and nongovernmental
organizations.
[9] UASI applicants must develop investment justifications that
demonstrate how proposed projects address gaps and deficiencies in
current capabilities.
[10] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T].
[11] The status scale for the draft Performance Measurement Plan is as
follows: 0 = No effort underway or recognition of the need; 1 =
Recognition of the need but no effort or resources to accomplish the
output; 2 = Initial efforts and resources underway to achieve the
output; 3 = Moderate progress towards accomplishing the output; 4 =
Sustained efforts underway and outputs nearly fulfilled; 5 = Output
achieved and resources devoted to sustain the effort.
[12] The Target Capabilities List is a national-level, generic model
of operationally ready capabilities defining all-hazards preparedness.
It is intended to help jurisdictions assess capabilities, identify
needs, and inform plans and strategies, taking into account their risk.
[13] Tier 1 or Tier 2 assets are those that if destroyed or disrupted
could cause significant casualties, major economic losses, or
widespread and long-term disruptions to national well-being and
governance capacity. According to DHS, the overwhelming majority of
the assets and systems identified through this effort are classified
as Tier 2. Only a small subset of assets meet the Tier 1 consequence
threshold--those whose loss or damage could result in major national
or regional effects similar to the effects of Hurricane Katrina or the
September 11, 2001, attacks.
[14] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T].
[15] GAO, Homeland Security: Effective Regional Coordination Can
Enhance Emergency Preparedness, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-1009] (Washington, D.C. Sept. 15,
2004).
[16] NORTHCOM is the unified military command responsible for
planning, organizing, and executing DOD's homeland defense and federal
military support to civil authorities' missions within the continental
United States, Alaska, and U.S. territorial waters. DOD's civil-
support missions include providing support during disasters and
declared emergencies (both natural and man-made); providing support
for restoring public health and services and civil order; and
providing support for national special security events.
[17] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T].
[End of section]
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