Evidencing Competency Oversight Project

Norwich University will lead the Evidencing Competency Oversight Project, in support of the NCAE-C Program. In support of this effort are University of California, San Bernardino, Stevens Institute, and 32 faculty from 28 CAE-C Institutions. The project is comprised of three simultaneous efforts:

• Regional Cybersecurity Exercises – Norwich will design, develop, and implement 10 cybersecurity exercises for CAEs located within the 10 FEMA Regions. These exercises will enhance students’ skills and abilities in risk resiliency by providing an opportunity to exercise on a broad range of threats, while strengthening their knowledge about incident response plans and crisis communications.
   
• Security Situation Center for Evidencing Competency – The goal of the security situation center activity is to create a comprehensive resource for CAE-C institutions to replicate the model at their home institutions. The objectives are:
   
  • Identify CAE-C Community members employing “live” environments for educational purpose, collect information on operations, architecture, and operating models
  • Define tools and training requirements for Work Roles
  • Map Work Roles to Tasks for each role and define appropriate “evidencing competency” demonstration
  • Assemble concept of operations document for CAE-C institutions to replicate Norwich Security Situation Center
  • Produce final report of results and future opportunities
     
• Evidencing Competency Working Group – The evidencing competency workgroup has been in existence for two years. The workgroup has grown to approximately 60 individuals, mostly from academia, but includes some government and industry participants. It is broken into three sub-workgroups with the following purpose(s):
   
  • Sub-Working Group 1: Definitions and Documentation
  • Sub-Working Group 2: Competency Development and Measurement Tools(s)
  • Sub-Working Group 3: Cybersecurity Competitions as Competency Development and/or Evaluation Tools

The Evidencing Competency Working Group has agreed on the working definition of competency: Competency is the ability for students to complete tasks in the context of a work role. The definition is one that can be easily understood and implemented by faculty without the need to adopt new terminology or taxonomies. It is also a definition that can be easily understood and accepted by industry and hiring managers. Over the next two years the working group will follow a process to create and socialize a framework for evidencing competency that can be implemented through the CAE-C program. The activities will also tie together a comprehensive review of the marketplace of cybersecurity measurement and tools and cyber competitions.