Collaboration Enables Operational and Cultural Transformation on a Shoestring

In an era of resource uncertainty, skillsets related to agility, adaptability, and collaboration now trump traditional, predictable rank-and-file behaviors for achieving resilient, large-scale transformation in the public service mission space. After 10 years of treating most aviation passengers the same way, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) faced the possibility of shifting the security paradigm away from one-size-fits-all. The TSA administrator's extensive counterterrorism background informed the realization that most passengers do not pose a risk of catastrophic failure to an aircraft. Building on this premise, senior leaders understood that if passengers voluntarily provided information before they arrived at the airport (prescreening), TSA could tailor the physical screening experience accordingly, and air travel would be expedited for many people. An enhanced, risk-based approach would enable TSA to better focus resources on threats, thereby improving security, enhancing the passenger experience, and significantly transforming the aviation system for nearly 1.8 million people per day.