Generally not achieved: Our work has shown that DHS has not  yet taken actions to satisfy most of the key elements of the  performance expectation but may have taken steps to satisfy some of  the elements. This act defined the department’s missions to include  preventing terrorist attacks within the United States; reducing U.S.  vulnerability to terrorism; and minimizing the damages, and assisting in  the recovery from, attacks that occur within the United States. DHS began operations in March 2003. Figure 2  provides a timeline of key events that have affected DHS’s  implementation. DHS Has Made Varying Levels of Progress in Implementing its Core Mission and Management Functions, but Has Faced Difficulties in Its Implementation Efforts

Based on the performance expectations we identified, DHS has made  progress in implementing its mission and management functions, but  various challenges have affected its efforts. Among these information technology management controls  and capabilities are  centralizing leadership for extending these disciplines throughout  the organization with an empowered Chief Information Officer,  having sufficient people with the right knowledge, skills, and  abilities to execute each of these areas now and in the future;  developing and using an enterprise architecture, or corporate  blueprint, as an authoritative frame of reference to guide and constrain  system investments;  defining and following a corporate process for informed decision  making by senior leadership about competing information technology  investment options;  applying system and software development and acquisition  discipline and rigor when defining, designing, developing, testing,  deploying, and maintaining systems; and  establishing a comprehensive, departmentwide information  security program to protect information and systems;  Despite its efforts over the last several years, the department has  significantly more to do before each of these management controls and  capabilities is fully in place and is integral to how each system investment  is managed. These issues have  impeded the department’s progress since its inception and will continue as  DHS moves forward. DHS Has Not Yet Transformed Its Component Agencies into a Fully Functioning Department

DHS has faced a variety of difficulties in its efforts to transform into a fully  functioning department, and we have designated DHS implementation and  transformation as high-risk. We  stated that the array of management and programmatic challenges  continues to limit DHS’s ability to carry out its roles under the National  Strategy for Homeland Security in an effective risk-based way. Our prior work on mergers and acquisitions, undertaken before the  creation of DHS, found that successful transformations of large  organizations, even those faced with less strenuous reorganizations than  DHS, can take at least 5 to 7 years to achieve. We reported that the  creation of DHS is an enormous management challenge and that DHS  faces a formidable task in its transformation efforts as it works to  integrate over 170,000 federal employees from 22 component agencies. DHS Has Not Fully Applied a Risk Management Approach in Implementing All Mission Areas

DHS has not fully adopted and applied a risk management approach in  implementing its mission and core management functions. These  challenges include developing productive information sharing  relationships among the federal government, state and local governments,  and the private sector; and ensuring that the private sector receives better  information on potential threats. The implementation of the National Strategy for Homeland Security  further underscores the importance for DHS of partnering and  coordination. Concluding Observations

Given the dominant role that DHS plays in securing the homeland, it is  critical that the department’s mission programs and management systems  and functions operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. DHS has had to  undertake these critical missions while also working to transform itself  into a fully functioning cabinet department—a difficult undertaking for  any organization and one that can take, at a minimum, 5 to 7 years to  complete even under less daunting circumstances. To address these challenges, DHS will need to continue its efforts to  develop a results-oriented mission and management framework to guide  implementation efforts and progress toward achieving desired outcomes. In moving forward, it will also be important for DHS to routinely reassess  its mission and management goals, measures, and milestones to evaluate  progress made, identify past and emerging obstacles, and examine  alternatives to address those obstacles and effectively implement its  missions. Homeland Security: Observations on the Department of Homeland  Security’s Acquisition Organization and on the Coast Guard’s  Deepwater Program.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recent 4 year anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress DHS has made since its establishment. DHS began operations in March 2003 with the mission to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce vulnerabilities, minimize damages from attacks, and aid in recovery efforts. GAO has reported that the creation of DHS was an enormous management challenge and that the size, complexity, and importance of the effort made the challenge especially daunting and critical to the nation's security. Our prior work on mergers and acquisitions found that successful transformations of large organizations, even those faced with less strenuous reorganizations than DHS, can take at least 5 to 7 years to achieve. GAO was asked to report on DHS's progress in implementing its mission and management areas and challenges DHS faces. This report also discusses key themes that have affected DHS's implementation efforts.

What GAO Found

At the time of its creation in 2003 as one of the largest federal reorganizations in the last several decades, we designated the implementation and transformation of DHS as a high-risk area due to the magnitude of the challenges it confronted in areas vital to the physical and economic well being of the nation. After 4 years into its overall integration effort, DHS has attained some level of progress in all of its mission and management areas. The rate of progress, however, among these areas varies. Key underlying themes have affected DHS's implementation efforts, and will be essential for the department to address as it moves forward. These include management, risk management, information sharing, and partnerships and coordination. For example, while DHS has made progress in transforming its component agencies into a fully functioning department, it has not yet addressed key elements of the transformation process, such as developing a comprehensive strategy for agency transformation and ensuring that management systems and functions are integrated. This lack of a comprehensive strategy and integrated management systems and functions limits DHS's ability to carry out its homeland security responsibilities in an effective, risk-based way. DHS also has not yet fully adopted and applied a risk management approach in implementing its mission and management functions. Some DHS component agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard, have taken steps to do so, but DHS has not yet taken sufficient actions to ensure that this approach is used departmentwide. In addition, DHS has taken steps to share information and coordinate with homeland security partners, but has faced difficulties in these partnership efforts, such as in ensuring that the private sector receives better information on potential threats. Given DHS's dominant role in securing the homeland, it is critical that the department's mission and management programs are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. DHS has had to undertake these responsibilities while also working to transform itself into a fully functioning cabinet department--a difficult task for any organization. As DHS moves forward, it will be important for the department to continue to develop more measurable goals to guide implementation efforts and to enable better accountability of its progress toward achieving desired outcomes. It will also be important for DHS to continually reassess its mission and management goals, measures, and milestones to evaluate progress made, identify past and emerging obstacles, and examine alternatives to address those obstacles and effectively implement its missions.