Survey

N ational Preparedness Task Force

Preparedness Directorate

Washington, DC 20531

National Preparedness Task Force

Survey of State and Local Government Emergency Officials

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is surveying homeland security officials and first responders to help assess the effectiveness and user-friendliness of DHS programs. The results of this survey will guide ongoing efforts to improve DHS programs that serve State and local emergency officials. Feedback from stakeholders across the country is critical to this initiative.

You have been identified as an active member of the homeland security community and DHS needs your input to understand how we can more effectively meet the needs of those with whom we work most closely. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. It should take no more than twenty minutes to complete. If you have any questions at any time during this process please contact Jonathan Schneller at jonathan.schneller@associates.dhs.gov.

Your responses will be aggregated and reported to Congress in December 2006. No names will be used in the report. The results of the survey will be drawn upon to gauge the usability and effectiveness of DHS programs and to identify areas for potential improvements. We appreciate your support and willingness to participate in this important effort.

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On a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 = Not at All Effective and 7 = Extremely Effective please answer the following questions about the effectiveness of key DHS components.

1. How effective is the DHS grant recipient selection process?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

2. How effective is the DHS process of distributing grant awards?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

3. How effective is the DHS grant reporting process in capturing the results of grant programs?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

4. How effective are DHS intelligence sharing programs at transmitting meaningful intelligence information to the necessary State and local recipients?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

5. How effective is DHS in providing training courses relevant to State and local homeland security needs?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

6. How effective are DHS training programs in improving the knowledge of trainees?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

7. How effective is the DHS incident management system of protocols (for example, NIMS) in helping State and local officials shape incident management policy?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

8. How effective has DHS been in encouraging greater regional coordination?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

9. How effective is DHS in leading the facilitation of the prioritization of critical infrastructure assets?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

10. How effective is the DHS use of critical infrastructure prioritization information provided by State and local officials?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

11. How effective is DHS guidance in the development of long-term homeland security plans?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

12. In general, how effective are the DHS personnel with whom you have had contact in supporting State and local homeland security activities?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

13. Overall, how effective are DHS programs in supporting State and local homeland security activities?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

Effective Effective

Please use this space to let DHS know how you believe it can be more effective in its day-to-day operations.

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On a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 = Not at All User-Friendly and 7 = Extremely User-Friendly please answer the following questions about the user friendliness of key DHS components.

14. How user-friendly is the DHS grant application process?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

15. How user-friendly is the DHS grant reporting process?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

16. How user-friendly are the DHS intelligence sharing mechanisms used to deliver intelligence to the State and local levels?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

17. How user-friendly are the DHS intelligence sharing requirements used to obtain intelligence from the State and local levels?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

18. How user-friendly are the DHS training course materials?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

19. How user-friendly is the access (e.g., schedule and location) to DHS training courses?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

20. How user-friendly are DHS incident management guidelines?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

21. How user-friendly are DHS activities intended to facilitate regional coordination?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

22. How user-friendly is the DHS guidance provided for critical infrastructure prioritization?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

23. How user-friendly is the long-term homeland security planning direction provided by DHS?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

24. In general, how user-friendly is the guidance (both formal and informal) provided by DHS?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

25. Overall, in your interactions with DHS, how user-friendly has DHS been?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not Applicable

Not at All Extremely

User-Friendly User-Friendly

26. While in your current position, approximately how long have you been interacting with DHS?

_______________ Less than 6 months

_______________ More than 6 months but less than 1 year

_______________ 1 year or more but less than 2 years

_______________ 2 years or more but less than 3 years

_______________ More than 3 years

_______________ No answer/Not applicable

27. While in your current position, how much of your time is spent interacting with DHS?

_______________ None

_______________ Very little

_______________ A moderate amount

_______________ A significant amount

_______________ All of my time

_______________ Do not know/Not applicable

28. Listed below, please order the following eight DHS activities from most time consuming part of your job (most = 1) to least time consuming part of your job (least = 8.) If particular components are not a part of your position please indicate this with a N/A.

______ Grant Management

______ Intelligence Sharing

______ Training

______ Incident Management

______ Critical Infrastructure Prioritization

______ Regional Coordination

______ Long-Term Homeland Security Planning

______ Other

Please use this space to let DHS know how you believe it can become more user-friendly.

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Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. If you have any questions or comments regarding the nature or purpose of this survey, please contact Jonathan Schneller at jonathan.schneller@associates.dhs.gov.

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