The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has released an audit report calling out the DHS Science and Technology Directorate for deficiencies in its management of research and development activities concerning critical infrastructure security and resilience.
R&D Management Issues
In the report, which was released Aug. 20, the DHS OIG flagged the S&T Directorate for its failure to use a risk-based, holistic approach in prioritizing critical infrastructure R&D projects across the agency; its failure to follow its own project management policies as well as established PM principles; and its reliance on inaccurate or incomplete information when managing CI R&D.
The report attributed these issues to S&T’s having not established or updated department-wide strategic priorities, depending instead on component-based R&D prioritization processes; the directorate’s lack of a formal process to validate the quality of PM data; and the directorate’s having not ensured adherence to best practices in PM.
Implications
The issues raise questions about S&T’s ability to support the critical infrastructure R&D needs of the DHS and the directorate’s ability to effectively manage the $157.5 million in funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for critical infrastructure research efforts.
Recommendations
To address the issues, the OIG offered four recommendations:
- The identification of an entity responsible for updating and publishing CI R&D strategic plans and annual homeland threat assessments
- The establishment of a formal, risk-based process featuring strategic plans and threat assessments for the prioritization of research projects
- The development and implementation of improved controls to ensure compliance with program and project management principles
- The development and implementation of data validation controls
S&T officials concurred with the OIG’s recommendations.
