I&A also has initiatives to identify state  and local information needs to ensure that its products provide  information of importance to these partners but it has not worked with  states to establish milestones for identifying these needs, which could  better hold I&A accountable for assisting states in completing this process  in a timely manner. Further, I&A has developed a new customer survey  intended to gather more detailed feedback on its products, but it could  enhance the transparency and accountability of its efforts and provide  assurance that partners’ views are informing its products by periodically  reporting to its state and local partners on the steps it has taken to assess  and respond to this feedback. I&A Is Taking Steps to Identify State Information Needs, but Establishing Milestones for Completing Efforts Could Better Hold I&A Accountable to Assist States and Support Future Product Development

As of August 2010, I&A had worked with 9 of 50 states to collect and  validate their definition of the kinds of information they need for their  homeland security efforts. As I&A moves forward with its efforts to  collect and analyze feedback from state and local partners, developing  plans for reporting the results of its feedback analysis—including time  frames and level of detail—to these partners and the actions it has taken in  response could help I&A demonstrate that the feedback is important and  makes a difference. In turn, this could encourage state and local partners  to provide more feedback and ultimately make I&A’s products and  services more useful. I&A Has Deployed Personnel to Fusion Centers and Provided Other Services to State and Local Partners That Generally Have Been Well Received

In addition to intelligence products, I&A provides a number of other  services to its state and local partners to enhance information sharing,  analytic capabilities, and operational support that generally have been  well-received, based on our discussions with officials at 10 fusion centers  and published third-party reports on I&A operations. I&A also facilitates access to information-sharing networks,  provides training directly to fusion center personnel, and operates a 24- hour service to respond to state and local requests for information and  other support. Defining How I&A Intends to Meet Its State and Local Information-Sharing Mission and Establishing Accountability for Results Could Better Position I&A for the Future

Part of I&A’s mission is to share information with state and local partners,  but I&A has not defined how it intends to meet this mission or established  a framework to hold itself and its divisions accountable for meeting it. Historically, I&A’s state and local  programs and activities have been in response to a variety of factors,  including its focus on addressing statutory requirements and efforts to  leverage and support fusion centers that state and local agencies had  established. Defining and Documenting Programs and Activities That Collectively Support I&A’s State and Local Mission Could Help Provide Transparency and Accountability for Results

I&A has begun its strategic planning efforts, but has not yet defined how it  plans to meet its state and local information-sharing mission by identifying  and documenting the specific programs and activities that are most  important for executing this mission. Periodically informing state and local partners of how I&A analyzed the  feedback they provided and what actions I&A took in response to this  feedback and analyses could help strengthen I&A’s working relationships  with these partners and encourage them to continue to provide I&A  feedback, which could ultimately make I&A’s products and services more  useful. Specifically, DHS agreed with our first recommendation related to  the need for I&A to work with states to establish milestones for the timely  completion of efforts to identify state information needs and identify and  work to resolve any barriers to this timely completion. Finally, DHS agreed with our fourth recommendation that I&A establish  plans and time frames for developing performance measures that gauge  the results that I&A’s information-sharing efforts have achieved and how  they have enhanced homeland security. Appendix III: Additional Initiatives That Support Information Sharing with State and Local Partners

	Technical Assistance to Fusion Centers (Workshops, Conferences, Privacy Policy Development)

In support of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis’s (I&A) objective to  strengthen the national network of fusion centers, the Department of  Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Preparedness Directorate and the  Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance—in  coordination with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the  Office of the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment,  the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and representatives from the  state and local community—partnered in 2007 to develop the Fusion  Process Technical Assistance Program.
Why GAO Did This Study

Information sharing among federal, state, and local officials is crucial for preventing acts of terrorism on U.S. soil. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through its Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), has lead federal responsibility for such information sharing. GAO was asked to assess (1) actions I&A has taken to enhance the usefulness of intelligence products it provides to state and local partners, (2) other services I&A provides to these partners, and (3) to what extent I&A has defined how it intends to share information with these partners. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed relevant statutes, strategies, best practices, and agency documents; contacted a nongeneralizable sample of 10 fusion centerswhere states collaborate with federal agencies to improve information sharingbased on geographic location and other factors; and interviewed I&A officials. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in September 2010. Information DHS deemed sensitive has been redacted.

What GAO Found

To enhance the usefulness of intelligence products it provides to state and local partners, I&A has initiatives underway to identify these partners' information needs and obtain feedback on the products, but strengthening these efforts could support the development of future products. As of August 2010, I&A had finalized information needs--which are owned and controlled by the states--for 9 of the 50 states. I&A was working with remaining states to identify their needs, but it had not established mutually agreed upon milestones for completing this effort, in accordance with program management principles. Working with states to establish such milestones and addressing any barriers to identifying their needs could better assist states in the timely completion of this process. In addition, I&A has begun issuing a new customer feedback survey to recipients of its products and plans to begin analyzing this feedback to determine the value of the products, but it has not developed plans to report the results of its analyses to state and local partners. Reporting the results to these partners and actions it has taken in response could help I&A demonstrate that the feedback is important and makes a difference, which could encourage state and local partners to provide more feedback and ultimately make I&As products and services more useful.
In addition to intelligence products, I&A provides a number of other services to its state and local partners--primarily through fusion centers--that have generally been well received by the center officials GAO contacted. For example, I&A has deployed more than 60 intelligence officers to fusion centers nationwide to assist state and local partners in areas such as obtaining relevant intelligence products and leveraging DHS capabilities to support their homeland security missions. I&A also facilitates access to information-sharing networks disseminating classified and unclassified information, provides training directly to center personnel, and operates a 24-hour service to respond to state and local requests for information and other support.
Historically, I&A has focused its state and local efforts on addressing statutory requirements and responding to I&A leadership priorities, but it has not yet defined how it plans to meet its state and local information-sharing mission by identifying and documenting the specific programs and activities that are most important for executing this mission. Best practices show that clearly identifying priorities among programs and activities is important for implementing programs and managing results. Further, I&A's current performance measures do not allow I&A to demonstrate the expected outcomes and effectiveness of programs and activities that support state and local partners, as called for in program management principles. I&A officials said they are planning to develop such measures, but had not established time frames for doing so. Defining and documenting how I&A plans to meet its state and local information-sharing mission and establishing time frames for developing additional performance measures could better position I&A to make resource decisions and provide transparency and accountability over its efforts. GAO recommends that I&A establish milestones for identifying the information needs of state and local partners, report to these partners on how I&A used feedback they provided to enhance intelligence products, identify and document priority programs and activities related to its state and local mission, and establish time frames for developing additional related performance measures. DHS agreed with these recommendations.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that I&A establish milestones for identifying the information needs of state and local partners, report to these partners on how I&A used feedback they provided to enhance intelligence products, identify and document priority programs and activities related to its state and local mission, and establish time frames for developing additional related performance measures. DHS agreed with these recommendations.