Day 1 Evening Remarks

Keynote Speaker

Laura Dawson, Executive Director, Future Borders Coalition

Laura Dawson began by emphasizing the importance of collaboration in modernizing airport border zones. She outlined several key principles that should guide these efforts: accessibility and convenience, creating nonthreatening yet secure environments, and providing a consistent experience across various locations. Dawson stressed the need for seamless information sharing among passengers, governments, airports, airlines, and other entities, facilitated by secure digital collaboration tools. She also highlighted the importance of leveraging advanced passenger information for risk assessment and moving nonessential screening tasks away from physical checkpoints. Additionally, she advocated maximizing decision support and analytic tools for security personnel and ensuring that improvements are scalable to meet varying demands.

Dawson noted that while there is broad agreement on these principles among industry and government decision-makers, progress is often hindered by the complexities of implementation, especially when multiple government departments are involved. She shared an anecdote from her time at a large tech company, where her role was to translate technical jargon into language that government officials could understand and embrace. The frequent complaint from her tech colleagues was that while technology is straightforward, dealing with people is challenging. This frustration stemmed from differing priorities and languages among stakeholders, making it difficult to achieve consensus on transformative solutions.

To address these challenges, Dawson suggested breaking down complex problems into simpler, more understandable concepts and relationships. She emphasized the importance of empathy, encouraging stakeholders to put themselves in each other’s shoes to better understand different perspectives and motivations. By fostering clear communication, aligning problems with objectives, and identifying opportunities for reciprocal value exchange, stakeholders can work together more effectively to modernize airport border zones and enhance security and efficiency.

Dawson elaborated on her framework of five groups relevant to CBP modernization, first turning to the Political Tribe, whose mission focuses on accumulating power through votes and public approval. Politicians, especially new leaders, often seek short-term gains, while seasoned leaders tend to become risk-averse to maintain their power. Bureaucrats, a subtribe, aim to deliver what their leaders want in the least risky and most incremental way possible. Politicians use language that reflects support for insiders and suspicion of outsiders, focusing on accumulation and progress without

regard for details. Their objective is public recognition, taking credit for good outcomes and blaming others for bad ones. Effective strategies for working with this tribe include understanding their political agendas and presenting proposals that solve their problems without trade-offs, emphasizing security, efficiency, and convenience.

The Airport Operators Tribe was highlighted next. Operators are described as eternal balancers, managing both long-term growth and short-term survival amidst multilayered governance and funding challenges. They are data-driven and must handle exogenous changes such as geopolitics and pandemics with time and resources. They are multilingual, fluent in the languages of politicians, guardians, businesses, and builders, but their communication is prone to translation errors. Their objective is manageable growth and continuous improvement in uncertain conditions. Effective strategies for working with members of this tribe include listening to them, understanding their constraints and objectives, and presenting thoroughly prepared proposals.

The Aviation Business Tribe, including airlines, food and retail, frequent flyer programs, cargo services, and support services, focuses on prosperity and growth. They speak the language of dollars and cents and dislike bureaucratic delays and political doublespeak. Their objective is to earn more and spend less, but they are willing to invest in the future if incentives are right. Strategies for working with this tribe involve presenting a business case with full risk analysis and mitigation strategies, as they prefer to be at the forefront of innovation. The Guardians Tribe, responsible for security and border screening, prioritizes vigilance and minimizing threats. They value duty, commitment, and hierarchy, and aim to keep people safe, even if it means enforcing unpopular rules. Effective strategies include providing this tribe’s members with decision-making tools, framing proposals within sensible rules, and ensuring that changes are verified. Lastly, the Designers and Builders Tribe focuses on innovation and iterative change, motivated by the belief that they can improve airport efficiency and security. They value clear objectives and resources but prefer flexible paths to achieve goals, thriving on iterative processes and defined timelines.

Dawson emphasized the importance of collaboration among multiple stakeholders to modernize CBP facilities. She noted that while there are shared values, strategies, and language among the airport tribes, significant gaps remain. The least flexible are often the Guardians and Political tribes, who require their needs to be met before they can be persuaded to support new initiatives. In contrast, the Designers and Builders and Aviation Business tribes are more adaptable and can be motivated to move in various directions if the right incentives are provided.

Dawson highlighted the role of airport operators as gatekeepers and peacemakers, ensuring that any proposed changes make sense and align with their objectives. She pointed out that aviation businesses and airport operators excel at cross-cultural communication and creative thinking, which are essential for navigating the complexities of airport operations. While no tribe is eager to change quickly, most can adapt in times

of crisis, such as during a pandemic. However, the real challenge lies in finding a common direction and building consensus for long-term transformation during periods of relative stability.

To achieve successful modernization, Dawson proposed using an anthropologist’s checklist, emphasizing the need for effective communication, agreement on problems and objectives, and opportunities for reciprocal exchange of value. Identifying allies and opponents is crucial for building support and overcoming resistance. She stressed the importance of storytelling and analogy in mobilizing collective action and fostering empathy, which involves putting oneself in others’ shoes to understand their perspectives and motivations. By addressing these factors, stakeholders can work together to create a more efficient, secure, and resilient CBP facility.