A Practitioner-Researcher Partnership to Develop and Deliver Operational Value of Threat, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Training to meet the Requirements of Emergency Responders

The Department of Homeland Security has funded an array of threat, risk and vulnerability assessment methodologies for use by law enforcement jurisdictions throughout the United States. Yet, in spite of this effort, many law enforcement agencies either do not conduct assessments or do not understand and use operationally, the information gathered in assessments. This article discusses a practitioner/researcher partnership model which successfully developed and delivered a training course to assist homeland security professionals in understanding and using operationally, information gathered by various threat, risk, and vulnerability methodologies. The model takes into consideration not only what participants needed to learn but also how they were going to learn it. This article discusses initial background research, course development, implementation, delivery, and lessons learned. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of a model which incorporates the strength of both practitioners and researchers and can be replicated to provide effective training throughout homeland security.