Mission Resilience: The New Imperative for High Performance in Public Service
Accenture
This Accenture point of view examines resilience as it applies to public service agencies. What can they do to more systematically anticipate, monitor, minimize, recover from and even prevent small and large disruptions? In the following pages, we look closely at what it takes to implement a formal mission resilience capability; the benefits that improved resilience can deliver; and how public service decision makers can begin to improve their agencies’ mission resilience and enable high performance.

Using Risk-Based Process Safety in Contractor Selection
ABS Consulting
As companies continue to leverage their resources on an ever-wider range of products and services, the number of projects (and contractors) managed will drive the need for a standard approach to contractor selection.

Executive Brief on Federal Contracting and Procurement: The Impact of Laws, Regulations and Initiatives on the Homeland Security & Defense Industry
Homeland Security & Defense Business Council and Mayer Brown LLP
The issue of fair and open contracting has always been of concern to both government and industry. With the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the largest agency in the history of the U.S. government was created with numerous urgent missions that required substantial outsourcing. Working toward an environment that provides successful outcomes and achieves mission objectives is the ideal of both the government and contracting community. Recently, with the President’s Memorandum and several already existing initiatives, the climate has shifted toward enforcement and oversight rather than management and operational considerations. Assuring a competitive contracting process, selecting the proper contracting vehicle, and achieving effective oversight are critical goals; however, the move toward enforcement burdens both the contractor and procurement communities with an atmosphere of "blame" rather than one that facilitates mission execution.

On March 4, 2009, President Obama issued a Memorandum regarding government contracts that drew considerable attention in the media, throughout government, and in industry.1 The Memorandum emphasizes five areas of focus in government contracting that need particular attention: (i) competition; (ii) contract type; (iii) oversight; (iv) inherently governmental activities; and (v) the acquisition workforce. All five areas have been the focus of considerable attention in recent years, including enacted and pending legislative initiatives.  This paper explores the President’s Memorandum, mandatory disclosure rules, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the False Claims Act, among numerous other legislative and administrative initiatives that seek to improve the federal contracting process. The cumulative and unintended consequences of these changes are discussed and explored with suggestions on how to assure the Department can achieve its programmatic goals through an open and fair procurement and acquisition process.

Why Robust Use of the SAFETY Act is Critical to Homeland Security & How to Get There
Homeland Security & Defense Business Council and Dickstein Shapiro LLC
The intent of the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002  (“SAFETY Act” or “Act”) was to incentivize companies to develop, and customers to deploy, antiterrorist services and technologies without fear of excessive liability in the event an ‘incident’ impacted the customer’s facilities or networks. The Act is a powerful tool that should be better utilized by industry to document and certify anti-terrorism products and services and, in turn, provides organizations with tools and technologies to protect their facilities and operations against attack. The SAFETY Act, coupled with emerging new laws, regulations and other related programs, also provides economic, compliance and, possibly even underwriting protections that directly and indirectly benefit companies that could be affected by terrorism. The Homeland Security & Defense Business Council (“Council”) has prepared this paper to outline the Act’s significance for the private sector – both provider and user of homeland security solutions – as well as to encourage widespread utilization by highlighting complementary legislation and requirements that further support utilization of the SAFETY Act and its protections. Finally, the paper identifies a number of suggested strategies that can be employed to promote and expand the further utilization of the Act. This paper is part of a comprehensive effort by the Council to provide tools, strategies and programs that provide Corporate America with a 360-degree approach to preparedness.

The Challenge of Contracting for Large Complex Projects: A Case Study of the Coast Guard’s Deepwater Program
IBM
The U.S. federal government is increasingly acquiring products that have qualities that cannot be easily and clearly defined in advance and that are difficult to verify after the product or service has been delivered. These products are called complex products. Contracts for complex products are risky for both buyers and sellers. With few competing vendors, the buyer—in this case a government agency—bears the risk that the seller will deliver a product that does not meet its needs or will request payment that exceeds the expected value of the product.  And faced with a buyer who wants a very specialized product that few, if any, other buyers want, the seller bears the risk that it will invest time and effort to build a product for which it will not receive adequate compensation. These are difficult deals to negotiate. This report highlights the risk of becoming locked into or stuck in a contract with a vendor for a complex product or its components by examining the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater program, a major SoS acquisition to upgrade and integrate its sea and air assets (such as boats and airplanes). The Coast Guard is six years into a projected 25-year acquisition and production process for the Deepwater program,far enough along to examine options and tradeoffs at two initial stages: choosing whether to build, buy, or assemble the product, and designing the acquisition contract.

Strategic Risk Management in Government: A Look at Homeland Security
IBM
This report is focused on strategic risk management, which is the process by which decisions are informed by an analysis of risk. Risk management, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, is the “process of identify­ing, analyzing, assessing, and communicating risk and accepting, avoiding, transferring or controlling it to an acceptable level at an acceptable cost.” Risk management can be applied at several levels: tactical risk management, operational level decisions, and strategic risk management.

Optimize Programs and Fulfill Mandate Expectations with Project and Portfolio Governance
Oracle
Each year, program and project managers within the public sector are asked to be smarter and smarter about spending budget dollars by choosing investments that will result in the most value to their constituents. In theory, it sounds like a pretty simple concept, right? But in practice, it can be a challenging and tedious process that can easily end in failure to the tune of millions of dollars. This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of implementing a strategic governance solution to assist in better portfolio management and, ultimately, improved delivery of high value capabilities and citizen services from all projects and programs.  

Confronting 21st Century Risks to the Homeland
U.S. Representative Bennie G. Thompson (Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security)
This essay was featured in the Harvard Journal on Legislation and evaluates the success of past homeland security policies and offers proposals for the future.

A Platform-Based Approach to Public Security
SAP
When investigating crime, terrorism, fraud, and incidents, do your investigators face complexity in terms of data, information, content, processes and accountability? SAP for Public Sector supports the management of such investigations improving productivity, quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.