	Background

		DHS Border and Maritime R&D Roles, Responsibilities, and Processes

Within DHS, three components have responsibilities for conducting  border and maritime R&D—S&T, the Coast Guard, and DNDO. In  addition to conducting projects for its DHS customers, S&T conducts  projects for other federal agencies and first responders. Table 1 provides DHS’s R&D budgets from fiscal years  2010 through 2013 for the various entities that conduct border and  maritime R&D. R&D Results Include Knowledge Products, Technology Prototypes, and Software, but S&T Should Do More to Obtain Feedback and Evaluate the Impact of Its Efforts

		Costs and Types of Completed Border and Maritime R&D Projects Varied

Between fiscal years 2010 and 2012, DHS border and maritime R&D  agencies reported producing 97 deliverables at an estimated cost of  about $177 million and 29 discontinued projects at a cost of about $48  million. DHS R&D deliverables were wide-ranging in their cost, scope, and scale. Customers Reported Mixed Views on the Impact of DHS’s Border and Maritime R&D Project Deliverables

S&T BMD, the Coast Guard, and DNDO’s R&D customers had mixed  views regarding the impact of the R&D products or deliverables they  received. Feedback Processes and Evaluation

Both the Coast Guard and DNDO reported having processes in place for  gathering the views of customers regarding the results of R&D  deliverables. Establishing time  frames and milestones for collecting and evaluating feedback from its  customers could help S&T better determine the usefulness and impact of  its R&D projects and deliverables and make better-informed decisions  regarding future work. DHS Has Taken Steps to Coordinate Border and Maritime R&D, but Opportunities Exist to Further Strengthen Internal and External Coordination

		DHS Uses Various Approaches to Internally Coordinate R&D; Broader Efforts to Develop Departmental Policies for Overseeing and Coordinating R&D Are Ongoing

S&T’s BMD, the Coast Guard, and DNDO reported taking a range of  actions to coordinate with one another and their customers to ensure that  R&D is addressing high priority needs. While BMD, the Coast Guard, and DNDO were each taking actions to  coordinate with their R&D customers, work remains to be done at the  departmental level to ensure border and maritime R&D efforts are  mutually reinforcing and are being directed toward the highest priority  needs. However, officials from DHS’s primary land border security Center of  Excellence reported challenges with respect to a lack of clarity regarding  protocols for access to DHS information when conducting R&D. But given the challenges raised by the  primary border security center, the Office of University Programs could  help ensure that the approximately $3 million to $4 million a year  dedicated to each university center is used more effectively by more  carefully considering data needs, potential access issues, and potential  data limitations with its federal partners before approving projects. Establishing timeframes and milestones for collecting and  evaluating feedback from its customers on the usefulness and impact of  the R&D projects and deliverables they receive could help S&T ensure  that the technologies being developed and delivered to the Coast Guard,  Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs  Enforcement, and other DHS components are meeting customer needs  and achieving their intended goals. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help ensure that DHS effectively manages and coordinates its border  and maritime R&D efforts, we recommend that the Secretary of  Homeland Security instruct the Under Secretary for Science and  Technology to: establish timeframes and milestones for collecting and evaluating  feedback from its customers to determine the usefulness and impact  of its R&D projects and deliverables, and use it to make better- informed decisions regarding future work, and ensure that design limitations with regard to data reliability,  accessibility, and availability are reviewed and understood before  approving Center of Excellence R&D projects.
Why GAO Did This Study

Conducting border and maritime R&D to develop technologies for detecting, preventing, and mitigating terrorist threats is vital to enhancing the security of the nation. S&T, the Coast Guard, and DNDO conduct these R&D activities and S&T has responsibility for coordinating and integrating R&D activities across DHS. The Centers of Excellence are a network of university R&D centers that provide DHS with tools, expertise, and access to research facilities and laboratories, among other things. GAO was asked to review DHS's border and maritime R&D efforts.
This report addresses (1) the results of DHS border and maritime security R&D efforts and the extent to which DHS has obtained and evaluated feedback on these efforts, and (2) the extent that DHS coordinates its border and maritime R&D efforts internally and externally with other federal agencies and the private sector. GAO reviewed completed and ongoing R&D project information and documentation from fiscal years 2010 through 2013 and interviewed DHS component officials, among other actions.

What GAO Found

Between fiscal years 2010 and 2012, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) border and maritime research and development (R&D) components reported producing 97 R&D deliverables at an estimated cost of $177 million. The type of border and maritime R&D deliverables produced by DHS's Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, the Coast Guard, and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) varied, and R&D customers we met with reported mixed views on the impact of the R&D deliverables they received. These deliverables were wide-ranging in their cost and scale, and included knowledge products and reports, technology prototypes, and software. The Coast Guard and DNDO reported having processes in place to collect and evaluate feedback from its customers regarding the results of R&D deliverables. However, S&T has not established timeframes and milestones for collecting and evaluating feedback from its customers on the extent to which the deliverables it provides to DHS components--such as US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)--are meeting its customer's needs. Doing so could help S&T better determine the usefulness and impact of its R&D projects and deliverables and make better-informed decisions regarding future work.
DHS has taken actions and is working to develop departmental policies to better define and coordinate R&D, but additional actions could strengthen internal and external coordination of border and maritime R&D. S&T's Borders and Maritime Security Division, the Coast Guard, and DNDO reported taking a range of actions to coordinate with their internal DHS customers to ensure, among other things, that R&D is addressing high priority needs. However, work remains to be done at the agency level to ensure border and maritime R&D efforts are mutually reinforcing and are being directed towards the highest priority needs. For example, officials from university centers of excellence reported difficulties in determining DHS headquarters contacts, and officials from the primary land-border security R&D center reported delayed and cancelled projects due to the inability to obtain data. DHS could help ensure that the approximately $3 million to $4 million a year dedicated to the university Centers of Excellence is used more effectively by more carefully considering potential challenges with regard to data needs, access issues and data limitations before approving projects.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DHS S&T establish timeframes and milestones for collecting and evaluating feedback from its customers to determine the usefulness and impact of its R&D efforts, and ensure that potential challenges with regard to data reliability, accessibility, and availability are reviewed and understood before approving Centers of Excellence R&D projects. DHS concurred with GAO's recommendations.