FPS is  primarily responsible for protecting federal employees and visitors in  federal facilities held or leased by GSA. GSA also has primary responsibility for providing  facilities maintenance, space for communications equipment, and building  plans, among other services. As such, we have made previous recommendations to  FPS and GSA related to improving their collaboration. FPS and GSA Collaborate to Some Extent, but Could Strengthen Efforts in Several Areas

		FPS and GSA Have Not Fully Defined or Articulated a Common Outcome or Established Mutually Reinforcing or Joint Strategies

While FPS and GSA officials have drafted a joint strategy, the agencies  have not defined and articulated a common outcome or fully established  mutually reinforcing or joint strategies because they have not agreed on  how they will work together to achieve their respective missions. As a  result, the regions rely on informal communication between the agencies  for day-to-day operations. For example, GSA officials at one region told us that their role, as  compared with FPS’s role, in the protection of federal facilities is not  clearly defined and said that they were unaware of formal security  standards, policies, and procedures for GSA. FPS’s and GSA’s Incomplete Collaboration Creates Inefficiencies and Security Risks at the Regional Level

FPS’s and GSA’s incomplete collaboration, particularly with regard to  three key collaboration practices—the lack of agreement on roles and  responsibilities, communicating compatible policies and procedures, and  mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results—essential  elements to organizing joint efforts and facilitating decision making across  agency boundaries—makes day-to-day operations more challenging and  creates inefficiencies and security risks at the regional level, as discussed  below. To meet these challenges,  FPS and GSA have taken some steps to improve collaboration over the  past year, and as of October 2015, FPS and GSA officials stated that they  plan to address several of these issues. Reaching agreement in these key areas will help to enhance the  agencies’ ability to protect federal facilities and has become more  pressing given how much has changed in the security environment since  the original MOA was put in place nearly 10 years ago. Recommendations for Executive Action

Given the collaboration challenges that FPS and GSA face in protecting  federal facilities, we are making four recommendations to the Secretary of  Homeland Security and the Administrator of the General Services  Administration. GSA agreed with our findings and agreed to work with FPS  to address them. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives of our report were to assess (1) how the agencies’  collaboration reflects key practices to ensure facility security and (2) the  impact of their collaboration practices on day-to-day operations at the  regional and facility levels. We used the  information from these site visits and interviews to provide illustrative  examples throughout our report.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO designated federal real-property management as a high-risk area in part because of physical security challenges at federal facilities. FPS and GSA have joint responsibility for protecting federal facilities held or leased by GSA. FPS has primary responsibility for the security and protection of buildings and their occupants, whereas GSA has primary responsibility for security fixtures, maintenance, and building access.
In light of these challenges, GAO was asked to review (1) how the agencies' collaboration reflects key practices to ensure facility security and (2) the impact of their collaboration practices on day-to-day operations at the regional and facility level. GAO analyzed pertinent laws and documents, compared FPS's and GSA's collaboration efforts against GAO's selected key-collaboration practices, and interviewed agency officials at the headquarters and regional levels selected based on various factors. While the results from regions cannot be generalized, they provided illustrative examples.

What GAO Found

The Federal Protective Service (FPS), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the General Services Administration (GSA) have taken some steps to improve collaboration, such as drafting a joint strategy. While each agency has some individual policies for collaboration, the two agencies have made limited progress in agreeing on several key practices as described below. Reaching agreement on these practices will help to enhance the agencies' ability to protect federal facilities and to improve day-to-day operations at the regional level.
As a result of not having key practices in place, regional officials said they were not aware of agreed upon collaborative policies and procedures to conduct day-to-day operations. GAO found that this created inefficiencies and security risks. For example, FPS officials told GAO that GSA did not coordinate with them on new construction intended for law enforcement tenants, and as a result, it was not suitable for law enforcement use. GSA officials told GAO that they did not have sufficient information from FPS about security plans for upcoming events and, therefore, were not able to inform tenants of necessary security measures.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that FPS and GSA take actions to improve their collaboration in several areas, including defining common outcomes, agreeing on roles and responsibilities, and communicating compatible policies and procedures. DHS specifically concurred with GAO's recommendations, and GSA agreed to work with FPS to address the findings.