DHS Science and Technology Directorate Grant for Violence Prevention and Program Evaluation in Homeland Security

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is committed to using cutting-edge technologies and providing scientific expertise in its quest to make America safer. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is tasked with researching and organizing the scientific, engineering, and technological resources of the United States and leveraging these resources to develop tools, methods and research to help protect the homeland. The Social Sciences Technology Center (SS-TC) advances technology and knowledge to improve performance, policy, strategy, tactics, techniques, procedures, and operational impacts to enable communities to augment their existing programs and prevention and response plans to ensure that they include effective protocols and strategies to address the immediate and long-term needs of victims, families, first responders and communities after mass violence or terrorism incidents and, human trafficking crimes.. 

Due to the growing number of threats our nation is combating, SS-TC supports the evolving threat landscape of a dynamic world with changing motivations, actors, communication models, and weaponry. Effective response requires a sophisticated understanding of the threat environment and innovations in technology and applications. These challenging tasks requires access to a broad set of expertise drawn from the fields of psychology, economics, criminology, political science, sociology, biostatistics, and other social and evaluation disciplines. Knowledge and findings from this research will be transferred to federal, state, local, and private organizations to enable education and awareness to reinforce a whole-of-society prevention architecture. These prevention efforts will equip and empower local efforts – including peers, teachers, community leaders, and law enforcement—to minimize a threat as it evolves while enhancing emergency preparedness and response.