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Vetting and Verification Process for Granting Access to GRaDER Program HSIN Site

The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office was established in December 2017 by consolidating primarily the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, a majority of the Office of Health Affairs, as well as other DHS elements.

For current information related to CWMD, please visit the following:

The GRaDERSM program grants HSIN access to those stakeholders with verified interest in programmatic guidance, procedures and requirement, unclassified performance and suitability evaluations, and other program-related information, all while protecting proprietary manufacturers’ information in accordance with legal guidelines.

Program stakeholders include:

  1. Federal Agencies:
    1. Department of Homeland Security/Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) Headquarters
    2. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Department components
    3. Other federal agencies with an interest in evaluating, selecting, and/or procuring radiological and nuclear (RN) detection and identification equipment and/or awarding federal grant funding for its purchase.
    4. Other federal agencies with an interest in examining GRaDER program processes and procedures.
  2. State, local, territorial, and tribal government agencies with an interest in evaluating, selecting, and/or procuring RN detection and identification equipment and applying for federal grant funding for its purchase.
  3. Laboratories interested in participating in the GRaDER program by providing testing services to manufacturers or Department of Homeland Security/DNDO.
  4. Manufacturers of RN detection and identification equipment applying for DNDO equipment evaluation under GRaDER program guidelines.
  5. Individuals at federally funded research and development centers, academic organizations or selected contractors supporting DHS/DNDO or federal, state, local or tribal PRND efforts.

Access to the GRaDER Program HSIN Site

Stakeholders requesting access to the HSIN network and GRaDER program Community of Interest (COI) must be nominated and validated by the HSIN system administrator. The level of access will be dependent on the type of stakeholder, the sensitivity of the information presented in the COI site, and the permissions granted by the system administrator. Those permissions are based on law, policy, agreements with other participating stakeholders, federal sponsorship and the permissions granted by manufacturers for distribution of proprietary information.

Stakeholders may request GRaDER program HSIN access by sending an email to GRaDER Comments. The subject line should read "GRaDER program HSIN Access," and the applicant should include his or her contact information in the body of the message. Applicants that currently have a HSIN account shall provide the email address that they use in conjunction with that account. 

Applicants that have a government email address, or are sponsored by a federal employee with a government email address, shall be checked within the agency of sponsorship for need for access, authenticity and to determine levels and types of access necessary. 

Applicants without a federal email address and a federal employee sponsor shall provide proof of identity documents, need for access justification and levels and types of access necessary. Applicants must complete and submit to DNDO the Request for Access to the GRaDER Program HSIN Website form (PDF - 3 pages, 20 KB), and sign and submit the GRaDER Program HSIN Website Access Agreement (PDF - 6 pages, 38 KB). These forms may be emailed (in their original PDF format) to GRaDER Comments.

Information in the GRaDER program HSIN site is segregated and categorized to provide appropriate access, protect the sensitivity of the information, and protect proprietary information. Sensitive information disclosed to DNDO will not be searchable using personal identifiable information (PIA).

Stakeholders must read and comply with DNDO instructions outlining responsibilities, restrictions, and limitations regarding the content and administration of access to it.

When those requirements have been satisfied, DNDO will determine the requester's appropriate type and level of access. DNDO staff may nominate the requester to HSIN administrators for access to both HSIN and the GRaDER program COI site as necessary.

Post-Nomination Process

  1. The HSIN network administrator will automatically begin the process of creating a new HSIN account. The user (applicant) will be asked to:
    1. Provide contact information to HSIN
    2. Provide sponsor information (must be a HSIN member and federal employee or work supervisor)
  2. Once the user has completed the information submission process, the DNDO nominator will use the HSIN validation form to:
    1. Confirm user contact information
    2. Confirm user sponsor information
    3. Approve, decline, or require further vetting
    4. Enter a synopsis of actions taken in the validation process
    5. Decide whether or not to send a synopsis to the user
  3. If the user is declined, he or she receives an email and the process ends there.
  4. If the user is accepted:
    1. He or she receives an email containing a link to the HSIN COI membership creation form.
    2. The user must then agree to the HSIN End User Agreement.
    3. HSIN creates the link to the community and updates the user profile (this creates the account).
    4. The user receives an email indicating that his or her COI membership is active.
    5. The user's HSIN contact card will be updated, and a viable link will be displayed.

Members must periodically verify and update their user profiles in HSIN. Members of the GRaDER program COI must also notify the DNDO GRaDER Program Coordinator upon any change of status that may affect the type of access necessary or the need for access to GRaDER program information. DNDO reserves the right to remove or change a member's access whenever such a status change occurs or if profile information is not updated and verified at least annually.

Last Updated: 01/23/2023
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