DHS S&T Component Liaison Program (Fiscal Year 2015 Report to Congress)   [open pdf - 782KB]

"This report details the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Partnering for Innovation and Operational Needs through Embedding for Effective Relationships (PIONEER) program. [...] PIONEER, as designed and outlined in the S&T Strategic Plan, will help S&T to identify and prioritize operational requirements and capability gaps through direct, on-the-ground collaboration and partnership with Components. Through PIONEER exchanges, S&T program staff will gain firsthand experience of Components' operational environments and grow their personal networks of operational end users. Concurrently, in addition to gaining insight into and influence over S&T's priorities, engagement by the Components will give them a better sense of state-of-the-art technology and how operations can be improved through collaboration with S&T. PIONEER aligns to the Secretary's vision for joint duty within the Department and represents a major step toward an established cross-departmental R&D culture. S&T's investment in richer awareness and understanding of operational needs through PIONEER will also allow more effective identification of crosscutting requirements, better prioritization of projects, and more strategic investment in force-multiplying solutions."