Innovation Challenges inHomeland Security

Security Innovation NetworkInnovation Summit 2012August 8, 2012

Tara O’Toole, M.D., M.P.H.Under Secretary for Science and TechnologyU.S. Department of Homeland Security

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Homeland Security missions: cover broad scope of problems and operations, complex, dynamic

Value Proposition of DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)

How do we build national innovation ecosystem? Possible directions for government, academia, and private sector

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Key Points

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Department of Homeland Security

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Thinking Enemies:Evolution of Terrorist Attacks in Aviation

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Time Event/Threat Vulnerability Response

1970s Hostage/Hijacking Guns, weapons Magnetometers

1988 Pan Am 103, Lockerbie Bomb in baggage Baggage scans

Sept. 2001 WTC, PA, Pentagon Box cutters, etc TSA

Dec. 2001 Richard Reid Shoe bomb Shoes removed

2004 Chechen suicide attacks Vests Pat downs, backscatter

2006 Heathrow liquids plot Novel liquid bomb Liquids ban

2009 Non-metallic body bomb Body bomb in sensitive area ETD, WBI, pat down

2010 Printer cartridge bombs Explosives packed in cargo

Trace detection for cargo

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

U.S. Airline Flight Density

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Source: Koblin

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Worldwide Land and Sea Shipping Density

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Sources: Uchida, Nelson

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Visualization of the Internet

7Source: OPTE Project

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Deliberate biological attacks – human or agriculture targets

Natural pandemic – influenza or emerging disease

Improvised nuclear device – scale varies

Big earthquake, hurricane

Cyberattack(s) on critical infrastructure

Complex technological accidents

WMD and other Catastrophes

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

“In complex industrial, space, and military systems,the normal accident generally (not always)

means that the interactions are not only unexpected,but are incomprehensible for some critical period of time.”

–Charles Perrow, Normal Accidents, 1984

Complex Systems Fail Complexly

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003Sources: Reuters, Wikimedia Commons

Deepwater Horizon

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Magnitude 9.0

Sources: AP, Reuters

Three Near-Simultaneous Disasters

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DHS S&T MissionStrengthen America’s security and resiliency by providing

knowledge products and innovative technology solutions

for the Homeland Security Enterprise

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

S&T Value Proposition

S&T’s contributions to the Homeland Security Enterprise will come from: Creation, of new technological capabilities and process enhancements Cost savings due to technological innovation and analytics Leveraging scientific and engineering expertise to achieve improvements in

operational analysis, project management and acquisition management Progressively deeper, broader understanding of homeland security

technology priorities and capability gaps

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Goal 1: Transition to Use

Provide knowledge, technologies, and science-based solutions that are integrated into homeland security operations, employing 24-36 month innovation cycles from project inception through operational testing

Strengthen relationships with DHS components to better understand and address their high-priority requirements

Become “best-in-class” at technology foraging – find and use what’s out there; encourage and enable multidisciplinary teams

Focus on rigorous project selection and regular review of the entire R&D portfolio

Implement processes that strengthen project management, evaluation, and accountability within the Directorate

Rapidly develop and deliver knowledge, analyses, and innovative solutions that advance the mission of the Department

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Innovation as Goal

“The greatest change of all is probably that in the last 40 years purposeful innovation—both technical and social—has itself become

an organized discipline that is both teachable and learnable.”

“[E]very organization will have to learn to innovate—and innovation can now be organized and must be organized—as a systematic

process.”

“On the one hand, this means every organization has to prepare for the abandonment of everything it does. […] On the other hand, every

organization must devote itself to creating the new.”

–Peter Drucker, The New Society of Organizations, 1992

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Where Innovation Comes From

“In the cases I have studied, again and again I am struck that innovation emerges when people are faced by problems—

particular, well-specified problems.

“It arises as solutions to these are conceived of by people steeped in many means—many functionalities—they can

combine.

“It is enhanced by funding that enables this, by training and experience in myriad functionalities, by the existence of

special projects and labs devoted to the study of particular problems, and by local cultures that foster deep craft.”

–W. Brian Arthur, The Nature of Technology, 2009

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

R&D Investment Worldwide

Source: NSF 17

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Are we losing our edge?

How do we balance R&D investments in an austere budget cycle?

What happens in five years if we don’t invest in R&D?

Innovation Is Not a Given

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Innovation in DHS S&T

“Top heavy bureaucracies remain innovation sink holes.”Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From, 2010

DHS S&T innovation advantages Problem rich environment Multidisciplinary teams Leverage others’ investments Opportunities for operational test beds, pilots, T&E Capacity to partner with private sector, academia, other federal agencies,

internationally Convening power

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003

Collaborative Innovation New hubs and vehicles for sustained intellectual sharing,

collaboration

Common, comprehensive understanding of problems to be solved

System solutions – not just technology fixes

New partnerships between US government and other players: discussion groups, collaborations, grants, contracts

Faster transition to use in the field

Clear, repeated, public descriptions of purposes and stakes

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“The single most frequent failure in the history of forecasting

has been grossly underestimatingthe impact of technologies”

–Peter Schwartz, President, Global Business Network

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Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003