Importance of strategic planning for homeland security

Task: Students will select an organization that has a homeland security mission. Remember this is an organization not a subject/topic or mission.

This assignment consists of conducting detailed research and analysis on a specific organization that has a homeland security mission and writing a strategic plan for that organization; taking it from where it is today to where it needs to be in three to five years from now. Remember, this is not an Emergency Operations Plan, nor an Emergency Response Plan, nor an Incident Action Plan. It is a strategic planning document designed to frame a long-range planning effort for the organization’s success. You basically want to plan on how to take the organization from where it is today to where it should be 3-5 years from now.

The Strategic Plan Project for this course requires students to apply the knowledge and concepts learned to a real-world work environment to develop a strategic plan for a homeland security organization.

During this course, students will learn how strategic planning enables homeland security organizations to establish strategy, make decisions, allocate resources, and manage programs safely, effectively, and efficiently. Students will examine the basic strategic planning requirements that all homeland security organizations must complete: prepare to plan; establish mission, vision, and core values; assess the situation; develop goals, strategies, initiatives, work plans, and objectives; and complete the written plan.

There are three graded components to the project. Students will be provided with a sample Strategic Plan and must use that sample plan EXACTLY as a template when submitting their assignments. Failure to use the provided Sample Strategic Plan as a template will result in that assignment being returned without being graded. The late policy will apply after that. Students must submit the following project items for grading:

Chapter 1: Introduction 

The Introduction must contain the following items:

• Cover Page
• Working Table of Contents
• Body of Chapter (5 pages of narrative) comprising:
  • the background
  • the statement of the problem
  • operational definitions
  • the significance of the study
  • Chapter Summary
• References Page

The body of this chapter requires five full (5) pages of narrative, which does not include photographs, bulleted lists, or other inserts.

Research must be conducted for this introduction (see Research below under “All Chapters Information”). The research must be cited using APA format, with accompanying References listed on a References page at the end.