Title: Applying Optimal Capital Allocation Methods to Homeland Security Resources:
A Case Study of California's Allocation of the Buffer Zone Protection Program Grants
Speaker: Henry H. Willis, RAND Corporation
Date: January 28, 2008 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Location: DyDan Center, CoRE Bldg, Room 431, Rutgers University, Busch Campus, Piscataway, NJ
Abstract:
Decision analysis has been used successfully in many fields to help organizations allocate resources most efficiently. The methods used build on the theory and practice of mathematical programming and multiattribute utility and value models. However, federal and state governments are only beginning to adopt these approaches to make decisions on the allocation of resources to protect and prepare communities from terrorism. The purpose of this work is to improve methods for risk-informed allocation of homeland security resources by providing sound analytical guidance to decisionmakers regarding the most effective way to obtain maximum impact from a given funding level. This paper presents a framework for applying the fundamentals of optimal capital resource allocation to homeland security policy. The framework was developed at the University of Southern California's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorist Events, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security University Center of Excellence. The framework draws upon a mix of methodologies including probabilistic risk analysis, economic analysis, and qualitative assessments by experts, as appropriate. This paper also reports on a pilot study of applying the framework to help the California Office of Homeland Security allocate funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Buffer Zone Protection Program in Fiscal Year 2006. The pilot study emphasizes the strengths of the framework as well as challenges and issues involved with implementation. This work provides demonstration of an analytic process that can be replicated in other states with the challenge of deciding how to homeland security grants.