National Security: Key Challenges and Solutions to Strengthen Interagency Collaboration

Book excerpt: Recent terrorist events such as the attempted bomb attacks in New York's Times Square and aboard an airliner on Christmas Day 2009 are reminders that national security challenges have expanded beyond the traditional threats of the Cold War Era. Today's threats are diffuse and ambiguous, making it difficult for any single fed. agency to address them alone. Effective collaboration among multiple agencies and across fed., state, and local governments is critical. This testimony highlights opportunities to strengthen interagency collaboration by focusing on four key areas: (1) developing overarching strategies; (2) creating collaborative org.; (3) developing a well-trained workforce; and (4) improving info. sharing. Figures.