Task: Students will select an organization that has a homeland security mission. Remember this is an organization not a subject/topic or mission.
This assignment consists of conducting detailed research and analysis on a specific organization that has a homeland security mission and writing a strategic plan for that organization; taking it from where it is today to where it needs to be in three to five years from now. Remember, this is not an Emergency Operations Plan, nor an Emergency Response Plan, nor an Incident Action Plan. It is a strategic planning document designed to frame a long-range planning effort for the organization’s success. You basically want to plan on how to take the organization from where it is today to where it should be 3-5 years from now.
The Strategic Plan Project for this course requires students to apply the knowledge and concepts learned to a real-world work environment to develop a strategic plan for a homeland security organization.
During this course, students will learn how strategic planning enables homeland security organizations to establish strategy, make decisions, allocate resources, and manage programs safely, effectively, and efficiently. Students will examine the basic strategic planning requirements that all homeland security organizations must complete: prepare to plan; establish mission, vision, and core values; assess the situation; develop goals, strategies, initiatives, work plans, and objectives; and complete the written plan.
There are three graded components to the project. Students will be provided with a sample Strategic Plan and must use that sample plan EXACTLY as a template when submitting their assignments. Failure to use the provided Sample Strategic Plan as a template will result in that assignment being returned without being graded. The late policy will apply after that. Students must submit the following project items for grading:
Chapter 3: The Strategic Plan and Chapter 4: Conclusions and Recommendations
The Complete Plan must contain the following items:
- Cover Page
- Table of Contents
- Updated Chapter 1, revised using instructor comments
- Updated Chapter 2, revised using instructor comments
- Body of Chapter 3 (8.5 pages of narrative) comprising:
- A chapter introduction
- a restatement of the problem
- a mission and vision statement
- the strategic plan description
- a chapter summary
- Body of Chapter 4 (1.5 full pages of narrative) comprising:
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
- References Page
For All Chapters (Every Submission):
Citations: Students must use the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition format to cite their research. Students are required to research and cite a minimum of three online sources, three print sources, and at least one reference from the course texts (seven-source minimum). Students must give others credit for others’ work by properly citing it. The university’s plagiarism policy applies to all written assignments for this course.
Research: Students must conduct academic research to substantiate their papers. The best source of this information resides in scholarly articles. These sources may be found in the course required readings, the UMUC Library, or any other scholarly sources that students identify. While Internet websites may be used as part of the research, students must be very cautious, as the content is often biased and represents someone’s personal opinion rather than academic research. Wikipedia is not a valid academic source and students must not use it. Papers with only Internet research will receive lower grades.
