Thomas G. McWeeney, PhD
Associate Director
Research Institute of Public Management and Governance
Dr. Thomas G. McWeeney is a political scientist, strategic planner and management consultant with 35 years of experience in designing and facilitating the implementation of strategic planning and strategic management systems, primarily for federal Intelligence Community Agencies. Dr. McWeeney is also an adjunct professor of political science and public administration, and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses for nearly two decades.
Dr. McWeeney is also the Owner and Executive Director of the Center for Strategic Management (CSM), a small business consulting firm that provides a wide array of consulting, training, and advisory services to federal executives seeking to establish clear strategic direction and organizational transformation. He also serves as the Executive Director of the CSM-Public Leadership Institute (CSM-PLI), a non-profit organization founded in 2009 that undertakes programs and activities that emphasize the critical role of leadership in improving government performance. In this role, he is currently managing an innovative and comprehensive regional information sharing project on behalf of the leading sheriffs and police chiefs in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Dr. McWeeney received his Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University in 1982, and has taught at various colleges and universities for more than 20 years. In 2010, Dr. McWeeney became an Associate Graduate Professor for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in its new Security Studies Program.
Consulting Services
Since 1995, Dr. McWeeney has served as the principle consultant to key executives in several federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In these efforts, he has led comprehensive projects designed to provide new direction and organizational transformation to agencies facing challenges from a changing external environment and diminishing internal capacity. He has provided strategic management consulting services to more than 25 federal agencies.
In recent years, Dr. McWeeney has personally led successful planning, evaluation, and performance management projects, primarily in national security environments, on behalf of the following executives:
- The Deputy Director, Executive Assistant Director for Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence, the Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, and the Assistant Director for Intelligence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
- The Director and Deputy Director, and the Assistant Directors for Operations, Intelligence, and Information Sharing for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS);
- The National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX);
- United States Attorneys from the Western District of Washington, the Eastern District of Missouri, and the Southern District of Illinois;
- The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);
- The Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC);
- The Director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program in the Department of Justice;
- The Director of Court Services and Offender Supervision Administration.
Of particular note has been the intensive application of Dr. McWeeney’s approaches and methods to the national security efforts of the FBI, the NCIX, and the NCIS. Dr. McWeeney has worked in close collaboration with the executives of these organizations to produce candid assessments of their strategic situation and their capabilities, a strong, compelling strategic direction, a structured implementation plan, and has personally overseen the development of pilot programs and other implementation initiatives.
Among the accomplishments associated with these activities are the following:
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Dr. McWeeney developed the first Bureau-wide Strategic Plan for the FBI, as well as its first Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Intelligence Program Strategies. In 2004, Dr. McWeeney designed and managed a program of comprehensive reviews for the Counterintelligence program in each of the FBI’s 56 field offices, which is ongoing. (1994-2010). In 2009, he facilitated the FBI’s first Intelligence Strategy and worked closely with the FBI Assistant Director for Intelligence in developing operational priorities and performance expectations for the new Intelligence Directorate.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS): Dr. McWeeney developed the first Strategic Plan for NCIS and was subsequently asked to lead an agency-wide modernization project in the aftermath of 9/11. Dr. McWeeney facilitated a three-year project that transformed all aspects of NCIS – its mission and organization, its operational programs, its management, and its relationship with the federal law enforcement community. (2001-2010)
Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX). Dr. McWeeney designed, developed, and led the first integrated law enforcement information sharing initiative that combined the investigative records from all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in a region into one data base, accessible by all participants, and which produces a composite record consisting of the data from the participating agencies. He managed the implementation of this effort on behalf of the NCIS Director, planned the extension of this landmark program in nine US Law Enforcement Communities, and served as the advisor to NCIS leadership throughout the implementation process. (2004-2010)
United States Attorney, Western District of Washington. Developed a crime strategy on behalf of the US Attorney that unified the various law enforcement entities in the District that identified emerging crime that was previously unknown, created District-wide priorities, and initiative innovative collaborative programs – all resulting in a significant performance collective improvement by the law enforcement community. (2004-2005)
Training
In 1994, Dr. McWeeney was named Program Director of Central Michigan University’s Center for Performance Management. Over the next 6 years, he conducted over 125 performance-related training seminars, attended by more than 4,500 federal employees from over 75 different agencies. He has also participated in training activities for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Capitol Police, and dozens of federal agencies and private organizations that requested on-site training.
The seminars resulted from Dr. McWeeney’s work in developing implementation approaches for the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). Following on the success of Dr. McWeeney’s public seminars, several federal agencies requested the development of specialized seminars to be developed in-house.
Below is a summary of the training seminars conducted by Dr. McWeeney over the past decade:
- Strategic Planning, including separate seminars on fundamentals, critical issues, implementation, and the planning process;
- Performance Measurement, including separate seminars in measuring performance for law enforcement, foreign policy, inspector generals, administrative programs, and advanced statistical measures;
- Program Evaluation, focusing on utilization approaches for federal agencies;
- Performance Budgeting, focusing on linking budgets to plans and making performance-based decisions;
- Program Management, developed for the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and NCIS mid level management, focused on responsibility and accountability of program managers in mission-critical programs;
- Situational Leadership, focusing on the expectations of leaders in different circumstances;
- Intelligence Program Management, emphasizing the unique role of intelligence program managers in describing intelligence success and ensuring quality intelligence work product throughout the organization.
Dr. McWeeney served as an affiliate of the G National Academy of Public Administration, with whom he still is closely affiliated. He has worked closely with high-ranking officials from OMB, GAO, Congressional Oversight Committees, NAPA, and others in the public administration community of Washington, D.C. to ensure the maximum relevance and credibility of the seminars.
Academic Programs and Activities
Dr. McWeeney served for 15 years as an Associate Graduate Faculty member with Central Michigan University, teaching graduate courses in Public Policy, Strategic Planning, Program Evaluation, Budget and Finance, Intergovernmental and International Relations, and Social Science Research Methods. He also taught International Relations for Anne Arundel Community College between 1986 and 1992, and has participated various courses at other area universities and colleges.
He served as a senior faculty advisor for the National Capitol region, and mentored over 100 students in their capstone projects. In addition, Dr. McWeeney designed and led four comprehensive graduate programs in which courses leading to a Master’s Degree were provided for the National Security Agency, the General Services Administration, and Motorola, Inc. The programs were focused on providing graduate training to emerging leaders in those organizations.
Dr. McWeeney has authored and coauthored articles on performance management, health care reform, public information, and information sharing as well as numerous special studies and reports that have had a significant impact on government operations. His work provided the foundation for the widely acclaimed book, “The Business of Government.”
Other Professional Experience
Dr. McWeeney was employed for nearly 20 years with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the U.S. Department of Justice. During this time he served as Budget Officer, Assistant Controller, and led DEA’s strategic planning, evaluation, and management analysis programs. In these positions he designed and facilitated the implementation of many innovative programs for the agency.