Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR)

Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report

The Department of Homeland Security delivered the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) Report to Congress on February 1, 2010 (PDF, 108 pages - 989 KB). The QHSR outlines the strategic framework to guide the activities of participants in homeland security toward a common end.

Read the executive summary of the report (PDF, 4 pages - 95 KB).

The QHSR is the beginning of a multi-step process. It offers a vision for a secure homeland, specifies key mission priorities, outlines goals for each of those mission areas, and lays the necessary groundwork for the subsequent steps. The next step, which is currently underway, is a bottom-up review of the Department which will align the programmatic activities and organizational structure of the Department with the strategic framework set out in the QHSR. The third and final step of this process will culminate in the Department's fiscal year 2012 budget submission.

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Bottom-Up Review Report (July 2010)

The Bottom-Up Review (BUR) (PDF - 70 pages, 649 KB) provides the results of an unprecedented Department-wide assessment of the Department of Homeland Security, begun in November 2009, to align the Department's programmatic activities and organizational structure with the mission sets and goals identified in the QHSR. The BUR report focuses on the following questions:

• How can we strengthen the Department's performance in each of the five mission areas?
• How should we improve Departmental operations and management?
• How can we increase accountability for the resources entrusted to the Department?

The BUR will serve as a road map for these questions. First and foremost, it provides direction for reinforcing the cornerstone of homeland security: preventing terrorism. The BUR also focuses on combating cybersecurity threats, ensuring resilience to all hazards, and the critical need to reform our immigration system. It also provides new emphasis on the importance of enhancing the security and resilience of the global systems that are responsible for the movement of people and goods across our borders. Finally, the review lays a foundation for improving Departmental operations and management and increasing accountability for the resources entrusted to the Department.

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Success of the National Dialogues on the QHSR

Between July 16 and October 4, 2009, more than 20,000 stakeholders from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia participated in the National Dialogue on the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR). The valuable comments and ideas solicited were used directly to inform the study groups tasked with writing the QHSR for the Department of Homeland Security. The final report (PDF, 108 pages - 949 KB) has been delivered to Congress.

Though the National Dialogue has concluded, the three dialogues in this series remain archived online in their entirety here:

First Dialogue: August 3-9
An initial forum of participant ideas on the goals and objectives developed by Department study groups across six topic areas. See the archived results at http://www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org/dialogue1.

Second Dialogue: August 31-September 9
A deeper discussion into how best to prioritize and achieve the proposed goals and objectives. See the archived results at http://www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org/dialogue2.

Third Dialogue: September 28-October 4
A review of the final products of each study group with participant feedback and identification of next steps. See the archived results at http://www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org/dialogue3.

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