About START

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START) is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, tasked by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate with using state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park, aims to provide timely guidance on how to disrupt terrorist networks, reduce the incidence of terrorism, and enhance the resilience of U.S. society in the face of the terrorist threat.

To achieve this goal, START has assembled a team of more than 30 researchers from institutions across the United States and around the world to conduct cutting-edge research related to the terrorist threat. These researchers represent the full range of disciplines within the social and behavioral sciences, including sociology, criminology, political science, psychology, communication, geography, economics, and anthropology. Adding to this truly interdisciplinary endeavor are the efforts of experts in public policy, history, public health, foreign languages, and engineering working as part of the START research team.

Through individual research projects and in-depth collaborative efforts, this research team provides the homeland-security community as well as the public at large with insights about how and why terrorist groups form, about the decisions and behaviors of individual terrorists and terrorist groups, and about how societies can best respond to and prepare for known and unknown terrorist threats.

START researchers use a variety of approaches in their projects, ranging from analyses of statistical data to in-depth examinations of individual case studies, from survey-based analyses to reviews of public documents, and beyond. This range of methods will help to provide both a broad and deep understanding of the dynamics of terrorism and terrorists, allowing for more effective counter-terrorism measures.

START will also launch a wide-ranging educational program and plans to serve as a clearinghouse for resources on teaching about terror and counter-terrorism to all audiences.

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