Department of Homeland Security Grant: Enhancing Terrorism Prevention Through Digital Forums

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 while respecting civil rights and civil liberties. These prevention efforts will equip and empower local efforts – including peers, teachers, community leaders, and law enforcement—to identify risk factors before a threat evolves while enhancing emergency preparedness and response.

Through this solicitation, SS-TC aims to assist in the development of science-based policy, programs and technologies in support of the DHS Strategic Plan 2020-2024Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence1; specifically, Goal 1 (Counter Terrorism and Homeland Security Threats), Goal 3 (Secure Cyberspace and Critical Infrastructure) and Goal 5 (Strengthen Preparedness and Resilience). This solicitation is also in support of the 2; specifically Goal 3 (Prevent Terrorism and Targeted Violence). Objectives of this effort will identify high quality data to understand the nature of terrorism and targeted violence (as defined in the above-referenced documents) prevention, mitigation, and response to these activities in the United States through use of the internet and emerging technologies, while providing independent, objective assessment of activities to ensure that state and local stakeholders can continually improve and integrate new evidence and basic research in pursuit of the general welfare of our citizens. Findings from this research activity aims to provide a comprehensive set of best practices for prevention to state, local, and private organizations and inform Federal, state, and local stakeholders of scientific evidence that supports or refutes programs addressing terrorism and targeted violence through the use of the internet and emerging technologie