R&DS&T selects RAND Corp. to operate new DHS research center
DHS has selected the RAND Corporation to operate the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), which will conduct technical and operational research and analysis to aid the department. The new center is a federally funded research and development center, and is funded under a five-year contract worth as much as $494.7 million.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has selected the RAND Corporation to operate the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center, which will conduct technical and operational research and analysis to aid the department, S&T officials announced Monday.
The new center is a federally funded research and development center, and is funded under a five-year contract worth as much as $494.7 million. RAND is a nonprofit research organization. “RAND is honored and excited to be selected by DHS to assist with its important work,” said Michael D. Rich, president and CEO of RAND. “The new center provides another opportunity for RAND to serve the public and apply its expertise on issues such as terrorism, border security and other topics critical to protecting the U.S. homeland.”
RAND says that the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center, also known as the HSOAC, will conduct analyses and make recommendations to strengthen all of DHS missions to prevent terrorism and enhance security, secure and manage U.S. borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace, and strengthen national preparedness and resiliency.
The inaugural director of the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center will be Terrence K. Kelly, a RAND senior operations researcher. Henry H. Willis, who has headed RAND’s ongoing portfolio of homeland security research, will serve as associate director.
RAND says it is joined in this effort by four partners that each bring special expertise and knowledge of DHS and its many missions: Innovative Decisions Inc., Microsystems Integration Inc., the University of Maryland, and the University of Southern California.
The center is expected to focus on seven areas: acquisition studies, homeland security threat and opportunity studies, organizational studies, regulatory doctrine and policy studies, operational studies, research and development studies, and innovation and technology acceleration.
DHS S&T notes that federally funded research and development centers, known as FFRDCs, are organizations sponsored by federal agencies to assist with research and development, study and analysis, systems engineering, and integration. RAND now operates four federally funded research and development centers and contributes to a fifth.
