Protecting the Homeland: Lessons from Prior Government Reorganizations

At this event, Mr. Carlucci led a panel of Fellows in a lively discussion of the challenges and possible solutions associated with the Federal reorganization during the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Specific topics under discussion included personnel systems, budgeting, forging departmental identity and decentralized management.

The forum produced a number of specific suggestions for undertaking the complex problems presented by the reorganization of homeland security functions. It also identified the critical management issues facing the new department and options for addressing them. Although Panelists offered different strategies for addressing these issues, every one of them were reality-tested strategies from the past that could be used to make DHS organization process more effective, possibly creating a "model for public administration in the 21st Century."