We live in a world of increased threats and risks. Within the past year alone we have seen the unprecedented impacts of natural disasters, terrorism, and public health emergencies. These threats require us to think differently about the role science and technology plays in saving lives and ensuring safety and security for all. To meet these growing challenges, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate must operate at the pace of innovation and discovery. It is a global imperative that we all play an active role in developing new technology solutions that improve our ability to prepare for and respond to emergencies and disasters on every level. To that end, S&T is reinventing the way the federal government conducts research and development.
I am pleased to launch the National Conversation on Homeland Security Technology—a multi-directional series of online and in-person discussions intended to foster exchange between everyone – responders and other users, industry, government, academia, and citizens. Through this exchange, we hope stakeholders will work together to generate innovative homeland security solutions that will help keep our communities, and those who protect them, safe and resilient into the future.
We want to provide the forum for everyone to come together to discuss issues such as equipping the responder of the future, enabling homeland security decision makers, establishing a trusted cyber future, screening at speed, and creating resilient communities. We are looking for your best thinking on how we can optimally design, develop, experiment, test, and transition technologies in support of these areas and encourage you to think out of the box. There are innumerable commercial solutions that are not currently used for homeland security purposes, but with a stretch of the imagination and thoughtful innovation, the possibilities for applying state-of-the-art solutions in new ways are endless.
Visit the National Conversation page for more information and the S&T's Collaboration Center to start talking!