Assignment

Instructions

This assignment is a research paper assignment for which the student is expected to develop a 4-5 page response (not including title page or reference list) that fully responds to the question.

Question: Examine the role of risk management within the homeland security enterprise.

The Department of Homeland Security has stated that it will apply risk management principles to homeland security operations and has stated that "Ultimately, homeland security is about effectively managing risks to the Nation's security" (DHS 2010, 2). Drawing upon your class readings and additional research examine how risk management is used by the homeland security enterprise and how that use benefits such aspects as resource allocation, strategic planning, grant award, or any of the multitudes of other homeland security issues or operations.

Remember to address not only DHS headquarters, but the entire HLS enterprise as we have been discussing in this course (much more than one single federal agency HQ)

The basic equation for risk is defined as R = ƒ(C*V*T) where R is the level of risk, C is the consequences (public health, our economy, government action, public confidence in our institutions) of an attack, V is an assessment of the vulnerability of a potential target (how hard or easy it would be for it to be hit by terrorists) and T is the threat or the likelihood that a specific target will suffer an attack or disaster from a specific weapon.

Reference:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 2010. Quadrennial homeland security review report: A strategic framework for a secure homeland. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/qhsr_report.pdf.

Submission: All work is to be submitted as an attachment to the assignment link by midnight on the Sunday ending Week Six, the due date. All work should be prepared in Microsoft Word format and submitted as a single attachment. Use the attached example paper as a template for formatting.

Assignment Specifics:

• The body of your report is to be at least four FULL pages in length (not counting title page and references) and is to contain the following:

o A brief introduction, with the topic and your thesis

o A main body, containing the "meat" of the paper, where you provide the requested information supported by class readings and with your analysis

o A conclusion, summarizing your information clearly and concisely.