On July 25, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science
and Technology Directorate (S&T) wrapped up a joint meeting
with members of the 5 Research and Development (5RD) Council in New York City
on research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) efforts.
The United States has
long worked across the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance for defense and intelligence
purposes; now, 5RD is expanding the scope of the FVEY alliance beyond defense
and intelligence to ensure the safety and security of each partner country in
homeland security.
The 5RD Council is a
multilateral forum that informs and coordinates public safety and security
RDT&E to expand capacity and deliver more efficient and cost-effective
access to results across the five countries. Joining DHS S&T at the
three-day meeting were representatives from Australia’s National Security
Science and Technology Centre; Defence Research and Development Canada; New
Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment; and the United
Kingdom’s Home Office for the Council Members Meeting (CMM).
The primary purpose
of the gathering was to conduct a year-in-review of the activities of the 5RD
Council and the three 5RD Networks, where most of the research coordination is
conducted:
- Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Network—The CVE Network aims
to conduct, share, and disseminate terrorism prevention research to deliver new
knowledge and capabilities in cooperation and partnership with the 5RD partners
in policy and operational communities.
- Technology Foresighting Network (TFN)—TFN aims to inform
policy and RDT&E decision makers of the impact of technology foresighting
and its influence on strategic decision-making for security and public safety.
- Combatting Child Exploitation Network (CCEN)—CCEN aims to
develop, share, and implement capabilities to combat child exploitation across
all nations.
The CMM review evaluated 5RD research activities and priorities, assessed the scope of 5RD activities, and ensured outputs serve the needs of the five partners. While in New York, the 5RD Council members were given a tour of the DHS S&T National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, and they received a briefing from the Office of the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act (SAFETY Act), as well as incorporated meetings with private sector security partners from Madison Square Garden, the National Football League, and Amazon Web Services.
The rise of
borderless threats makes multilateral RDT&E cooperation in areas of
national security and public safety increasingly important. “We work
multilaterally with our Five Eyes partners to advance RDT&E activities that
keep our countries safe and help to fight borderless threats,” said Bob Burns,
Executive Director of DHS S&T’s Office of Innovation and Collaboration.
“5RD demonstrates the tireless commitment to ensuring a safe and prosperous
future for us all.”
5RD will continue to work across the FVEY partners, as well as with research, policy, and practitioner organizations with primarily domestic missions to further identify opportunities in areas of mutual interest to maximize cost savings, accelerated schedules, burden sharing, and peer validation.
Source: DHS S&T
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