This course is meant to be an introduction to and an overview of homeland security planning. The primary goal of this course is to familiarize all DHS employees with basic planning knowledge and to encourage them to learn more about the planning process. A secondary goal of this course is to introduce basic analytical and planning skills.

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Describe homeland security planning
• Describe characteristics of effective planning
• Recognize how the planning process and tools lead to increased homeland security preparedness
• Describe the planning considerations associated with the National Preparedness Mission Areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery
• Apply knowledge of homeland security preparedness to a given scenario

Knowledge Review screens provide activities for review of the lesson materials. Instructions appear at the top of the screen explaining how to complete the activity. After the activity has been completed, a pop–up window will appear with feedback.

There are several scenarios in the course. Lesson 5 consists solely of a scenario–based Knowledge Review planning activity that allows you to apply the content and information from the first four lessons to a scenario learning activity. It will be tailored to the mission area in which your work primarily falls. Follow the screen instructions to complete the activity.

Emergencies and disasters, both natural and man–made, can happen at any time, often without warning. DHS strives to provide its workforce and the nation with tools and training to prevent, protect from, mitigate, respond to, and recover from potential emergencies and disasters.

Homeland security planning is essential to help ensure that we are prepared. This course is part of the Employee Preparedness Initiative (EPI) designed to support and advance a culture of “One DHS” and to mature and strengthen the homeland security enterprise by fostering unity of effort. It is important to realize that preparedness is a shared responsibility. As a DHS employee, regardless of whether or not your job duties include direct planning responsibilities, it is vital that you have an understanding of planning and your role in homeland security planning.

You should know how to plan effectively and how to use planning processes and tools. Lastly, you should know the planning considerations associated with preparedness and how they may affect your job functions.

Think of it like this: The likelihood that you and your family will survive a house fire depends as much on your having a working smoke detector and pre–planned escape routes as it does on having a well-trained fire department in your area. With the proper knowledge and planning, you can help meet the DHS goals and also ensure that you, your fellow employees, and your family are prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster.

As a DHS employee, you should do some form of planning–both in your professional and in your personal life. Regardless of your job title, job description, or role, planning should be a part of what you do.

This lesson is an introduction and overview of planning, homeland security planning, and the role planning plays in preparedness.

Upon completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Define planning
• State the purpose of planning
• State the benefits of planning
• Describe homeland security planning
• Describe the role of planning in preparedness

Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness (PPD–8)

Planning is a methodical way to think through the entire life cycle of an organizational problem or a potential crisis. Planning provides a systematic process to engage the whole community in:

• Determining required capabilities
• Establishing a framework for roles and responsibilities
• Envisioning desired outcomes
• Selecting ways to achieve those desired outcomes

Planning is a tool commonly used throughout DHS.

DHS uses planning as a tool in:

• Strategic thinking 
• Problem solving 
• Decision making
• Leading intra–agency and interagency teams
• Working with intra–agency and interagency teams 
• Intra–Agency and interagency Operations
• Managing and conducting:
• Risk Management
• Incident Management
• Crisis Management
• Sharing intelligence and information
• Applying experience 
• Applying new ideas

Connie, Senior Policy Analyst, National Protection and Programs Directorate

My main job activity is to develop cyber security policy for the Federal civilian departments and agencies. I develop plans to assess departments and agencies for compliance and to assess Government cyber security posture. The majority of this work is done on an interagency basis. The planning processes and best practices are part of what I do every day.

James, Manager, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)–Intermodal Security Support Division

At TSA, we use planning to develop national security strategies and plans in accordance with Federal requirements. We also use planning to develop national–level operational plans and field–level tactical plans to meet requirements for the incidents within the TSA’s mission scope.

Robert, Chief, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)–Office of Counterterrorism and Defense Operations

At USCG, planning is used in all aspects of my every–day job duties–from informal internal issues that require a disciplined approach to develop viable options (Courses of Action) to formal interagency planning efforts. Planning is also used in annual cycles of reviewing the Department of Defense contingency plans.

Planning is considered one of the key success factors in protecting people and property in crises.

Planning is essential and beneficial because it:

• Positions you to be ready to act
• Shortens time required to gain control of an incident
• Reduces time between decision and action during operation
• Provides understanding of potentially complex situations
• Allows you to devise a workable solution to unforeseen and/or novel situations
• Provides conditions for rapid and effective exchange of information about a situation, its analysis, and alternative responses
• Helps Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial government to be more interoperable
• Helps planners be more agile in adapting to the dynamic environment and stakeholder requirements
• Ensures that organizational structures, processes, and procedures support the intended strategic direction effectively
• Enables continuity of services we depend on, such as:
• Receiving salary
• Security and safety

The Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 document provides guidance on developing emergency operations plans, and states that the benefits of planning are as follows:

• It brings unity of purpose through coordination and integration of plans across all levels of government, non–governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, individuals, and families I
• t provides logical and analytical problem–solving processes
• It addresses complexity and uncertainty inherent in potential hazards and threats

CPG 101 is applicable to all forms of planning.

PPD–8, the Presidential Policy Directive that deals with National Preparedness, required the development of a national preparedness system and a national preparedness goal. The National Preparedness Goal was issued in September 2011.

The National Preparedness Goal defines planning as “conducting a systematic process engaging the whole community as appropriate in the development of executable strategic, operational, and/or community–based approaches to meet defined objectives.”

The National Preparedness Goal identifies core capabilities grouped into Mission Areas that are critical to preparing successfully for threats and hazards to our nation. Below is a brief introduction to the Mission Areas. We will have a more in–depth discussion in a later lesson.

Prevention

Prevention includes those capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. It is focused on ensuring that we are optimally prepared to prevent an imminent terrorist attack within the United States.

Protection

Protection includes capabilities to safeguard the homeland against acts of terrorism and man–made or natural disasters. It is focused on actions to protect our citizens, residents, visitors, and critical assets, systems, and networks against the greatest risk to our nation in a manner that allows our interests, aspirations, and way of life to thrive.

Mitigation

Mitigation includes those capabilities necessary to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. It is focused on the premise that individuals, the private sector, communities, critical infrastructure, and the nation as a whole are made more resilient when the consequences and impacts, the duration, and the financial and human costs to respond to and recover from adverse incidents are all reduced.

Response

Response includes those capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred. It is focused on ensuring that the nation is able to respond effectively to any threat or hazard, including those with cascading effects, with an emphasis on saving and sustaining lives and stabilizing the incident, as well as rapidly meeting basic human needs, restoring basic services and community functionality, establishing a safe and secure environment, and supporting the transition to recovery.

Recovery

Recovery includes those capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to recover effectively. It is focused on a timely restoration, strengthening, and revitalization of the infrastructure; housing; a sustainable economy; and the health, social, cultural, historic, and environmental fabric of communities affected by a catastrophic event.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the process by which: 

• Requirements are generated 
• Long–range goals, priorities, and objectives are established 
• Responsibilities are agreed upon This is where performance and effectiveness measures are developed and applied in order to execute upper Government policy.

Operational Planning

Operational planning is the process by which specific personnel, resource, and asset allocations are made to execute the objectives of the strategic plan. An operational plan contains a full description of the concept of operations with supporting annexes.

Tactical Planning

Tactical planning is the detailed identification and development of goals, priorities, objectives, and actions tailored to specific situations and fact patterns at an operational level. It is meant to support and achieve the objectives of the operational plan.

As we discussed earlier, in order to protect you and your loved ones from potential emergency or disaster, you must be prepared–and in order to be prepared, you must plan!

In an emergency or disaster, it is important to remember that you and your family may not be together, so make sure to plan:

• How each of you will get to a safe place
• How you will contact one another
• How and where you will meet up
• What you will do in different situations

This lesson provided an introduction to planning, homeland security preparedness, and the role of planning in preparedness. You should now be able to:

• Define planning
• State the purpose of planning
• State the benefits of planning
• Describe homeland security planning
• Describe the role of planning in preparedness

Some key points from this lesson include:

• As a DHS employee, you should do some form of planning–both in your professional and in your personal life.
• Planning is a tool commonly used by DHS in a variety of situations.
• Planning is considered one of the key success factors in protecting people and property.
• Planning brings unity of purpose through coordination and integration across all levels of government, NGOs, private sectors, individuals, and families.

In Lesson 2, we will discuss the basic characteristics of effective planning.