Information sharingDHS’s intelligence framework and analytic planning process ineffective: GAO

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says DHS’s intelligence framework and analytic planning process are ineffective, raising concerns about the department’s ability to coordinate and prioritize intelligence strategies despite having systems put in place for integrating intelligence and analytic activities. DHS’s other problems include establishing departmental priorities and maintaining a skilled intelligence workforce according to the report

DHS’ intelligence framework and analytic planning process, set better to integrate analytic activities throughout the department, fails to establish “strategic departmental intelligence priorities that can be used to inform annual planning decisions, such as what analytic activities to pursue and the level of investment to make, as called for in DHS guidance,” the GAO report says.

DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) notes that the department’s components sometimes struggle to develop strategic and tactical priorities that support their specific operations.

According to Federal Times, GAO did praise DHS for some efforts to integrate analysis within the department’s offices. “On the other hand, intelligence officials from I&A and all five components (the U.S. Coast Guard, TSA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) in our review reported that efforts to implement these mechanisms, particularly the analytic planning process, have allowed them to coordinate component activities and avoid unnecessary overlap or duplication of efforts,” the report stated.

DHS I&A faces challenges with its workforce development, including trouble with recruiting and hiring analysts because of shortfalls in human resources and though the agency has changed its hiring authority in 2013, it has not assessed the new mechanisms put in place.

DHS agrees with GAO’s review and recommendations addressed in the report, which includes establishing strategic departmental intelligence priorities in the Homeland Security Intelligence Priorities Framework (IPF) to help with annual enterprise planning efforts. Once priorities are established, the IPF will serve as a resource to evaluate any progress made and to determine if any changes to priorities or strategies are needed.