define task force

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Definition of task force noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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English [ edit ]

Noun [ edit ].

task force ( plural task forces )

• ( business , government , military ) A group of people working towards a particular task , project , or activity , especially assigned in a particular capacity. The CEO's task force developed a thoroughgoing marketing strategy for the new product line.

Alternative forms [ edit ]

Translations [ edit ], see also [ edit ].

• working group

References [ edit ]

• “ task force ”, in Lexico , Dictionary.com ; Oxford University Press , 2019–2022 .

Italian [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

Unadapted borrowing from English task force .

task force   f ( invariable )

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• organization
• constellation
• congregation
• confederacy
• confederation

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“Task force.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/task%20force. Accessed 10 May. 2024.

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Definition: The Task Force is a type of a group, formed temporary, in which people from different disciplinary backgrounds come together to perform a specific task or mission. These are different from the committees in the sense, these are temporary and has broader powers of action and decision, greater responsibilities for investigation, analysis, planning and research.

The task force is temporary and comes to an end as soon as the mission for which it was created gets over. The purpose behind its creation is to capitalize the skills, expertise and experience of its members to find the solution to some unusual organizational problem. The task force usually comes into the power when the organization faces a complex problem which is beyond the capabilities of an individual and even the entire department to solve it.

Such groups can either be constituted at the time of; a launch of a new product, selection of a new assignment or for the negotiation of certain terms and conditions. Also, any member of the organization could be a part of this, irrespective of his hierarchical position in the organization.

Thus, the task force is constituted to capitalize the special skills of individuals to solve a complex problem, but sometimes it can also pose serious threats to the organization. Such as people may feel miserable if not selected in the task force, a feeling of independence may emerge in the minds of task force members and might lose attachment to the formal organization.

Related terms:

• Formal Groups
• Johari Window
• Sales Force Composite Method
• Job Simplification
• Social Loafing

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Definition of 'task force'

task force in American English

Task force in british english, examples of 'task force' in a sentence task force, trends of task force.

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In other languages task force

• American English : task force / ˈtæsk fɔrs /
• Brazilian Portuguese : força-tarefa
• Chinese : 特遣队
• European Spanish : grupo de operaciones
• French : corps expéditionnaire
• German : Sonderkommando
• Italian : task force
• Japanese : 機動部隊
• Korean : 기동 부대
• European Portuguese : força-tarefa
• Spanish : grupo de operaciones
• Thai : หน่วยเฉพาะกิจ

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Five Considerations When Creating a Task Force

As healthcare focuses more and more on consumer experience, we find ourselves sending out surveys for everything we do. We gather data through surveys and must make decisions about the results. Sometimes, the results of such surveys may be unfavorable enough that action needs to be taken. So, where do we begin?

One answer may be to create a task force. A task force is distinctive and should not be confused for a committee. 1 A task force is a group of stakeholders coming together to address a complex, major issue in a short period of time. 2 A task force provides diverse stakeholders an opportunity to work together to make unified recommendations. 2 Ultimately, these recommendations are reported to those who have the power to enact change.

Although creating a task force may seem intuitive, it can be challenging. 2 There are common themes to consider when creating a task force. Ultimately, addressing these themes early on may make the task force more efficient and effective in the long run. The considerations addressed in this article are not all-inclusive, nor rigid. Every issue and organization is unique, which necessitates a degree of flexibility suitable for each scenario. Nonetheless, the considerations to follow are generally applicable when creating a task force.

1. Appoint a Task Force Leader

A clear hierarchy is essential when creating a task force. There should be a task force creator, a task force leader, and task force members. The task force creator has power and influence to make impactful change, while the task force leader reports the findings and suggestions of the group to the task force creator. The task force leader should be appointed by the task force creator and should serve as a liaison between the task force creator and task force members. It should be decided early on if the task force should function as a working group with a focused leader or a team with shared leadership roles. 3

2. Select Task Force Members

Task force members should be selected by the task force leadership. Although members can volunteer to participate, the leader and/or creator of the task force must ensure the task force addresses key criteria including member accountability, group diversity, and stakeholder representation. Strategic selection of task force members may allow the task force to fulfill all of the aforementioned criteria, while maintaining a reasonable number of participants. 3

Members should be informed of expectations including roles and responsibilities before agreeing to serve on the task force. 4 Members should be accountable, dependable, and dedicated to the task force cause. Providing expectations ahead of time can help potential members make more informed decisions about their ability to serve as effective task force members. When selecting task force members, leadership should take diversity into account to ensure that the diversity of the personnel is represented. In addition to diversity, leadership should reflect on the number of members representing involved parties and decide how to appropriately distribute stakeholders to best address the issue being investigated. 2

3. Communicate Vision and Goals

The vision and goals of the task force creator should be communicated to the task force leader and members. Importantly, the vision and goals of the task force should align between all facets of the task force hierarchy and should be reconciled early in the task force’s establishment. Frequently reiterating the vision and goals of the group will foster a sense of purpose and remind members to stay focused on the group’s goals when discrepancies arise. 4

4. Create a Timeline and Agenda

A reasonable timeline should be set in advance for the task force. Doing so will not only keep the task force on schedule, but will also provide members with further information about expected time commitments. A timeline should be set for the expected establishment and disbandment of the task force as well as number of expected meetings in the interim. Meetings should be held at regularly scheduled intervals. Dates should be scheduled in advance for the task force leader to report progress to the task force creator. 2 An agenda for each meeting should be drawn up in advance with specific topics to be discussed to reinforce efficient and productive meetings. 5

5. Establish Formal Documentation

It is essential to appoint a task force secretary to perform formal documentation. This may be a task force member or non-task force member with the sole responsibility to document meeting minutes. Minutes should be detailed and describe agenda items discussed and all decisions reached. 5 Meeting minutes should be sent out after every meeting and previous meeting minutes should be reviewed at the start of every meeting. Minutes should be detailed to provide clarity between meetings and serve as a reminder to individuals of their responsibilities and tasks.

Leaders may choose to establish a task force to address problems identified in consumer surveys. There is no magical equation that guarantees the success of a task force; however, there are early considerations in the creation of the task force that may make the task force more effective and efficient. Although creating a task force may be challenging, leadership can benefit from the recommendations developed by various stakeholders with interdisciplinary expertise on a task force and can use these valuable recommendations to solve complex issues.

• Grigsby RK. What’s the Difference? Why Does It Matter? Academic Physician & Scientist . Published online January 2008:2.
• Leading Committees, Task Forces, or Project Teams. The Center for Faculty Excellence. Accessed October 29, 2021. https://cfe.unc.edu/leadership_old/managing-meetings/leading-committees-task-forces-or-project-teams/
• Katzenbach JR, Smith DK. The Discipline of Teams. Harvard Business Review . Published online March 1, 1993. Accessed October 29, 2021. https://hbr.org/1993/03/the-discipline-of-teams-2
• Lineback LH& K. For Your Team’s Success, Remember the How. Harvard Business Review . Published online November 22, 2011. Accessed October 29, 2021. https://hbr.org/2011/11/for-your-teams-success-remembe
• Jay A. How To Run a Meeting. Harvard Business Review . Published online March 1, 1976. Accessed October 29, 2021. https://hbr.org/1976/03/how-to-run-a-meeting

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(Definition of task force from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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Behind the Badges: Task Forces

By Stephen Owsinski

The lore of federal law enforcement agencies traditionally snubbing local cops may have once been a thing but, nowadays, city cops and county deputies work alongside federal agents in various ways, pool resources and intel, and cull criminals from our streets.

Like any other profession, real or perceived friction comes to the fore. Smoothing rough edges is the logical remediation for the enterprise to thrive. So, too, is the case in policing.

Although I didn’t quite hear of it much before my days as a policeman, the reality of law enforcement officers of any stripe and all levels of jurisdictional dominion melding together and working as interagency professionals is a relative staple in the biz of nabbing bad actors.

(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.)

Since law enforcement training is largely universal, no matter the governmental level (federal, state, county, municipal), why not pool resources and ally with each other to down devilish behaviors and preempt victimization? Police task forces are a workable antidote to any locale’s woes.

A task force is defined as “…a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. It is a temporary grouping under one leader for the purpose of accomplishing a definite objective. In government or business, a task force is a temporary organization created to solve a particular problem.”

I’m sure we can all agree that narcotics in our society is a particular problem, so let’s focus on that aspect, engendering a police task force…

A typical task force assemblage involves U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and local cops working in tandem to bring down criminal enterprises peddling dope. Following is a synopsis colorizing today’s topic:

“In 2016, the DEA State and Local Task Force Program managed 271 state and local task forces, which included Program Funded, Provisional, HIDTA, and Tactical Diversion Squads.

“The difference between funded and provisional state and local task forces is that the financial support for funded task forces is provided by DEA headquarters and includes additional resources for state and local overtime.

(Photo courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration.)

“Provisional task forces are supported by the operating budgets of DEA field division offices, without resources from DEA headquarters, and do not include state and local overtime. These task forces are staffed by over 2,200 DEA special agents and over 2,500 state and local officers. Participating state and local task force officers are deputized to perform the same functions as DEA special agents.”

Generally, a task force is comprised of sworn LEOs and civilian support personnel (public safety dispatchers, crime-scene technicians, administrative assistants, crime-lab scientists, etc.), exemplifying a bounty of shared experience and pooled police prowess to effectively sleuth criminality and jail evildoers.

My initial exposure to police task force concepts occurred when I was a rookie cop. One of our Street Crimes Unit cops, with a ton of law enforcement experience, was approved to join a federal task force, namely the U.S. Marshals Service . The combined effort was to round up as many fugitives in our city and other jurisdictions. Local cops’ authority outside of their jurisdiction? The answer is being “deputized” as a special federal agent operating among a task force.

(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marshals Service.)

Per the DEA’s stance on task force concepts, “state and local officers could be deputized as federal drug agents, thus extending their jurisdiction.”

Some of our police officers working with federal law enforcement partners are officially deputized, issued federal-agent badges (DEA, ATF, US Marshals), and work out a schedule with the federal agents to work some of their investigations (elsewhere) and ours (locally). “Participating state and local task force officers are deputized to perform the same functions as DEA special agents,” per the DEA.

Executives in police administration either give the affirmative nod or disapprove their cops from engaging in task force outings (based on typically modest staffing of America’s majority of size-sensitive law enforcement agencies). Generally, our administration more often affirmed working with federal agents. One of our cops was pretty nifty in undercover work; he went on to be deputized by three different federal law enforcement agencies, requiring an extra-large shadowbox upon retiring.

The co-reliance was recognized by the federal law enforcement community. Naturally, local cops know the players in their jurisdiction better than agents operating in a much larger context:

“As drug trafficking increased nationwide, DEA recognized the need for cooperation and coordination of drug enforcement efforts with their state and local counterparts. This cooperation provided several advantages to all participating agencies: DEA was able to draw on the expertise of state of local law enforcement; DEA could share resources with state and local officers, thereby increasing the investigative possibilities available to all; […] state and local participating agencies could receive an equitable share of forfeited drug proceeds; and DEA could pay overtime and investigative expenses for the state and local agencies.”

As delineated in the mission statement and its explanation in the DEA material posted herein, a symbiosis exists…

Local law enforcement benefits from the extra staffing of federal agents, their myriad resources, and the robust budgets they have at their disposal, dwarfing what most of America’s police departments and sheriff’s offices salivate over. Conversely, pedigrees of local criminals are usually already established by city cops and/or county deputies, bringing the intel to the task force table.

Similarly, task force assemblies of interagency personnel train together in both federal and local settings. Our department’s task force members engaged in firearms qualifications and defensive tactics and all-things-police skillsets at federal law enforcement facilities, and they reciprocated by training at our county-level public safety training center.

I remember one of our task force cops sharing how based on the size of the criminal organization investigated and arrested for operating in our city, the feds would sometimes “take the case” and prosecute it federally, with that determination being discussed by all involved LEOs, as equals, working harmoniously in a chronically violent society. No squabbling. Just various LEOs representing different agencies focused on erasing criminal enterprises, no matter whose primary jurisdiction it is.

Thus, the days of so-called federal bullying of modest dominion cops matured to same-page, same-objective, same-team victories…serving citizens and merchants as avowed upon swearing in after academy graduation.

Indeed, the members of task forces meet up again if/when their police operations netting miscreants goes to trial. It is logical to assume anyone sitting in the seats of a courtroom containing cops from different levels and agencies testifying for the same criminal cases, might raise an eyebrow. As mentioned at the onset of this material: the days of yonder whereby “the feds” didn’t want to play nice with local LEOs is a bygone blemish smoother over since.

This is another example of why the National Police Association brings to our readers the substance behind the badges, to be abreast of the ways and means invested in public safety and the citizenry’s sanctity. No matter where cops are from, the tin badges are relatively homogenous, the training is largely synonymous, and the cohesive task forces representing justice principles spanning American soil.

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