How can the NTER Master Trainer Program better achieve its goals?

NTER Office Initiatives

So What?

The National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office's (NTER) Master Trainer Program prepares individuals within federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies to become Certified Master Trainers, who educate members of their communities on behavioral threat assessment and management practices to prevent violence and mitigate threats. There are currently 180 Certified Trainers with 150 more expected to complete training in 2023.

Project Summary

NTER seeks the help of NCITE to evaluate the effectiveness of the Master Trainer Program and offer recommendations for enhancing outcomes for Certified Master Trainers. This project will assess the effectiveness of the Master Trainer Program and provide recommendations for future training and evaluation. Additionally, it will support NTER’s efforts to develop knowledge about Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management program setup and implementation.

Purpose/Objective

The aim of this project is to provide recommendations for improving the Master Trainer Program so that NTER can better support Certified Master Trainers’ efforts to educate their communities about violence prevention and mitigation efforts.

Method

To evaluate the Master Trainer Program, the research team will collect existing documentation on past participant outcomes and interview relevant contributors and stakeholders of the Master Trainer Program, such as NTER personnel, those from other DHS components and other government agencies, and Master Trainer Program alumni. Additionally, members of the research team will review threat assessment program setup guides and draw from prior threat assessment experience to inform NTER’s refinement of the Master Trainer Program, as well as NTER’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Integration initiatives.

Projected outputs and impact

Program evaluation reports
Behavioral threat assessment and management program setup and implementation recommendations

	Andrea Walker, Ph.D. (PI) University of Nebraska at Omaha Research Associate at NCITE Center for Collaboration Sciences Expertise: Qualitative methods, program evaluation, sex offender treatment and policies
	Tin Nguyen, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Omaha Research Associate and Technology Transition Lead at NCITE College of Business Administration Expertise: Technology transition, industrial-organizational psychology
	Roni Reiter-Palmon, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Omaha Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology College of Arts and Sciences Expertise: Creative problem identification and evaluation, personnel training and development
	William Kramer, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Omaha Assistant Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology College of Arts and Sciences Expertise: Teamwork, multi-team systems, personnel training and development
	Denise Bulling, Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Senior Research Director at the Nebraska Public Policy Center Expertise: Civil and government systems, behavioral health, threat assessment, program evaluation
	Erin Kearns, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Omaha Associate Professor, Head of Prevention Research Initiatives at NCITE School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Expertise: Relationship between public perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism practices, relationship between communities and law enforcement
	Mario Scalora, Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor of Psychology Director of the Nebraska Public Policy Center Expertise: Threat assessment, terrorism and targeted violence risk assessment