Section 2.0. Lessons Learned and Good Practices from the NSSE Practitioner Web Conference
September 30, 2009
Section 2.0 Table of Contents
Section 2.0 Introduction
FHWA Web Conference Participants
Acronyms
Planning for the Event
Good Practices
Lessons Learned
Event Execution
Good Practices
Lessons Learned
Post-Event/After-Action
Good Practices
Lessons Learned
Section 2.0 Introduction
NSSEs are public events that are deemed to require national-level security planning. NSSEs are not infrequent events. According to a November 2007 Congressional Research Service report, 27 NSSEs were held between September 1998 and February 2007 in 14 US cities.
Several factors are taken into consideration when designating an event as an NSSE including:
- Anticipated attendance by dignitaries
- Size of the event
- Significance of the event.
When an event is designated an NSSE, the US Secret Service assumes its mandated role as the lead federal agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plan and federal resources are deployed to maintain the level of security needed for the event and the area. The goal of such an operation is to prevent terrorist attacks and criminal acts. Since 1998, the Secret Service has led federal security operations for a range of major events including the 2005 Presidential Inauguration, the 2004 and 2008 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, President Ronald Reagan’s State Funeral in 2004, President Gerald R. Ford’s State Funeral in 2007, and the last four State of the Union Addresses.
The Secret Service is responsible for planning, directing, and executing federal security operations at designated NSSEs. The Secret Service also provides federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, who provide substantial critical support to the mission, with the necessary guidance and training regarding their role in the overall operational security plans.
The Secret Service regularly sponsors training seminars for command-level law enforcement and public safety officials from jurisdictions all over the country to provide fundamental principles for managing security aspects of major events and strategies for reducing vulnerabilities related to terrorism and other criminal acts. Seminars discuss key strategies and lessons learned from past events. The Secret Service will also provide training to local police departments on how the Secret Service wants traffic control conducted for the NSSE.
For NSSEs, the Secret Service relies on existing partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement and public safety officials to coordinate participating agencies in providing a safe and secure environment for the event and those in attendance.
The general phases of an NSSE include:
- Planning for the event – Planning should begin as early in the process as possible, ideally 12 to 18 months before the date of the event, if possible. This phase involves identification of resources and funding; lead agency collaboration with other partners and stakeholders; regular meetings with team members, partners, and stakeholders; development of detailed transportation and communication plans; training; and outreach.
- Event execution – Thorough and continuous communication, staffing, coordination, monitoring, and reporting are critical during the actual execution of the event. This involves keeping police and staff on extended stays, sending media alerts and using intelligent transportation system (ITS) devices to distribute information on road closures, having agency staff or field technicians conduct on-site observations to ensure key operational areas are functioning properly, credentialing, and more. It also involves tracking time and finances.
- Post-event/after-action – Post-event activities involve coordination, clean-up, reopening closures, and after-action review. Comprehensive review of the NSSE’s successes and areas needing improvement can help develop successful practices for future events.
Throughout the phases of an NSSE, timely and effective planning, training, coordination, communication, and outreach are critical to its success.
The purpose of this document is to institutionalize the information learned from the previously held NSSEs to provide those who will host NSSEs in the future with the knowledge they will need to carry out their responsibilities in these federally managed events. The primary focus of this document is on managing the surface transportation system as part of an NSSE.
The information in this summary was gathered through an FHWA-sponsored Web conference with participants involved in previous NSSEs as well as through published reports and presentations on the various events. The event and the source of the information are cited throughout the document.
FHWA Web Conference Participants
| Laurie Radow |
FHWA |
| Frank Cippel |
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) |
| Frank Murphy |
City of Baltimore |
| Marilyn Vancil |
City of Seattle |
| Virginia Swanson |
City of Seattle, Special Events Committee |
| Vince Pearce |
US DOT, Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response |
| Neil Boudreau |
Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Highway Division (MassDOT Highway Division) |
| Teofilo Rebagay |
City of Houston |
| Jim Kranig |
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) |
| Frankie Banerjee |
City of Los Angeles |
| Nancy Houston |
Booz Allen Hamilton |
| Andrea Vann Easton |
Booz Allen Hamilton |
| David Grant Hill |
Booz Allen Hamilton |
| Craig Baldwin |
Booz Allen Hamilton |
| AAR |
After-Action Report |
| APEC |
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation |
| BENS |
Business Executives for National Security |
| CCTV |
Closed-Circuit Television |
| CEPP |
Colorado Emergency Preparedness Partnership |
| DNC |
Democratic National Convention |
| DOT |
Department of Transportation |
| EOC |
Emergency Operations Center |
| EMS |
Emergency Medical Services |
| ESF |
Emergency Support Function |
| FHWA |
Federal Highway Administration |
| G-20 |
Group of 20 Finance Ministers |
| HAR |
Highway Advisory Radio |
| IAEM |
International Association of Emergency Managers |
| ICS |
Incident Command System |
| ITE |
Institute of Transportation Engineers |
| ITS |
Intelligent Transportation System |
| JIC |
Joint Information Center |
| MACC |
Multi-Agency Communications Center |
| MassDOT Highway Division |
Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Highway Division |
| MBTA |
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |
| MLB |
Major League Baseball |
| MnDOT |
Minnesota Department of Transportation |
| NFL |
National Football League |
| NIMS |
National Incident Management System |
| NRF |
National Response Framework |
| NSSE |
National Special Security Event |
| PennDOT |
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |
| RNC |
Republican National Convention |
| TMC |
Traffic Management Center |
| WTO |
World Trade Organization |
May 2011
Publication #FHWA-HOP-11-012
