Homeland Security creates independent research center

The Homeland Security Department has created a top-secret, independent research and analysis center staffed with science and technology experts to review security initiatives for the department and other government agencies.

"This is a critical step that will ensure Homeland Security and other federal, state and local agencies working on issues related to our mission have access to an independent resource that uses a complex systems-engineering approach," Charles McQueary, Homeland Security's undersecretary for science and technology, said on Friday.

Experts at the new Homeland Security Institute plan to focus on evaluating systems that support programs such as networks to reduce vulnerabilities for the nation's critical infrastructures and key assets. Analytic Services Inc. (ANSER) will operate the institute, earning nearly $130 million over the next four-and-a-half years.

The institute also will engage in other activities, including assessing operations, advanced technologies and resources, and conducting field-operation analysis for government agencies.

Industry executives have bombarded the five-day-old center with telephone calls to pitch their products, said Carlos Marino, Analytic Services' chief operation officer. The experts do not plan to interact with industry unless it is part of an agency's request, he said.

The institute would "operate at the highest levels of classification," conducting studies that could range from 30 days to 12 months or more, the department's release said.

Marino said the company is recruiting heavily from academies, universities and the private sector. It plans to hire 120 full-time staffers. "We're doing a fast and furious ramp up," he said. He added that the institute would have a "mixed bag" of employees with doctoral, master's and undergraduate degrees. The company expects to hire staffers with expertise in biodefense, chemicals and radiology, among other fields.

Because the center is based in northern Virginia, Marino expects that staffers will travel frequently to the department.

The 2002 law that created Homeland Security mandated that the department establish an independent institute to help the department set priorities and guide investments. The law also required that McQueary's shop determine which requests from Homeland Security agencies and other federal departments the institute should review.

McQueary and the institute intend to negotiate with Analytic Services on research projects and costs annually. For the remainder of fiscal 2004, the institute has $8.5 million, Marino said.

Scientific and technical experts with the federal government and private sector selected Analytic Services from a group of seven contenders. The proposals for the contract had to meet four criteria: management and technical approach; past performance and experience; subcontracting and cost; and financial capability.