Six of  the seven primary operational agencies, and the Operations Directorate of  the department, have identified the need to conduct activities in support of  the homeland security mission 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a  year. CBP  sponsors two 24/7/365 multi-agency operations centers: the Air and Marine  Operations Center and the National Targeting Center. The products of the four multi-agency operations centers reflect their  different missions and range from reports on suspect individuals traveling  on commercial flights to reports on suspicious private air and marine craft. The NOC-Watch has a more strategic  mission in providing an overall assessment of situational awareness. NTC monitors the movement of potential terrorists and prevents them and  any weapons of terror from entering and exiting our country through land,  air, and sea ports. TSOC maintains situational awareness of  passengers on commercial flights and works to minimize and mitigate  security vulnerabilities of the National Capital Region and critical  infrastructure such as commercial airports, rail stations, and pipelines. NOC-Watch staff use information gathered and communicated by the three  tactical centers; other DHS operation centers; other federal, state, and  local entities; and a wide variety of other information sources to provide  overall national situational awareness related to homeland security. Opportunities Exist to Enhance Collaboration at DHS’s Four Multi- Agency Operations Centers

DHS has leveraged its resources—one key collaborative practice—by  having staff from multiple agencies work together at the four operations  centers. Our previous work has shown that  these are all critical components in enhancing collaboration among federal  agencies. Recommendations for Executive Action

To provide a setting for more effective collaboration among the staff at  each multi-agency 24/7/365 operations center, we recommend that the  Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security charge the Director of  the Operations Directorate with developing and providing guidance and  helping to ensure the agencies that sponsor the centers take the following  six actions:    define common goals and joint strategies;    clarify the roles and responsibilities for watchstanders;  implement compatible standards, policies, and procedures for using  DHS’s information network to provide a means of operating across  agency boundaries;    conduct staffing needs assessments;  implement mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on the results  of collaborative efforts; and    address collaborative efforts at the four multi-agency operations  centers in plans and reports on the level of each operation center’s  managing agency. 2. To what extent has DHS implemented key practices for enhancing and  sustaining collaboration at these multi-agency centers? We identified four centers that employed staff  from multiple DHS component agencies: the Air and Marine Operations  Center, the National Targeting Center, the Transportation Security  Operations Center, and the National Operations Center-Interagency  Watch. We assessed DHS’s  efforts and actions taken by the Operations Directorate to encourage  coordination among the multi-agency centers and to promote  collaboration among the staff representing DHS agencies at the centers to  determine the extent that they reflected consideration of key practices  that our previous work has shown can enhance and sustain a collaborative  relationship among federal agencies.
Why GAO Did This Study

Because terrorists do not operate on a 9-5 schedule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its operational components have established information gathering and analysis centers that conduct activities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Staff at these operations centers work to help detect, deter, and prevent terrorist acts. DHS has determined that out of 25 operations centers, four require higher levels of collaboration that can only be provided by personnel from multiple DHS agencies, and other federal, and sometimes state and local, agencies. For these four multi-agency operations centers, this report (1) describes their missions, products, functions, and customers and (2) assesses the extent to which DHS efforts to promote collaboration among the multiple agencies responsible for the centers reflect key practices for enhancing and sustaining collaborative efforts. To do so, GAO visited operations centers, reviewed data and reports from the centers, and interviewed center and other DHS officials.

What GAO Found

Each of the four multi-agency 24/7/365 operations centers has a different mission and therefore produces different products, yet all contribute to the larger mission of DHS and have similar functions and customers. Customs and Border Protection runs two of the four multi-agency operations centers--the National Targeting Center and the Air and Marine Operations Center. The former monitors the international movement of potential terrorists and produces reports on suspect individuals; the latter maintains situational awareness of the nation's airspace, general aviation, and sea-lanes and produces reports on suspicious private air and marine craft. The Transportation Security Administration's operations center monitors passengers on commercial flights; works to mitigate the vulnerabilities of commercial airports, rail stations, and pipelines, the National Capital Region, and critical infrastructure across the nation; and produces reports on these topics. DHS's Operations Directorate runs the National Operations Center Interagency Watch and works to enhance efficiency and collaboration among DHS components. This operations center has a more strategic mission in that it uses information gathered by the other operations centers to provide overall national situational awareness, and it prepares security briefs for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Opportunities exist to enhance collaboration among 24/7/365 multi-agency operations centers. While DHS has leveraged resources by having staff from multiple agencies work together, the centers lack joint strategies for collaboration and staffing needs assessments, and they have not established a definition of watchstander roles for all agencies at each center. The centers also lack standards and procedures for using DHS's primary information sharing network; mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results; and reinforced accountability through agency plans and reports. GAO's previous work has shown that such practices are effective in enhancing and sustaining collaboration among federal agencies. The establishment of DHS's Operations Directorate in 2005 provides a means to promote implementation of more collaborative practices at the centers.