Homeland Security likes to make standardized formulas for things and uses the following master equation to prioritize projects:

This is my quick synopsis of the values, but you can read the whole document here.

People Protected
This value represents the number of people affected by a single incident (1 for 1-10 people; 2 for 11-100; 3 for 101-500 people; 4 for 501-1000 people; 5 for 1001-100,000 people and an additional point for each 20,000 people potentially protected).

Property Protected

The dollar value of property impacted by an incident and collateral damage. (1 point for each $50,000,000 of property protected).

Societal Perception

Basically will this type of technology make Homeland Security look bad. "For example, intrusive inspection technologies may be poorly perceived by the public, while stream-lined unobtrusive techniques may be favorably perceived," DHS says. Projects that may have better political or societal approval get more points. (0 points for “low”; 5 points for “medium”; and 10 points for “high”).

Cost Savings Realized by DHS

Would this make some task more efficient or save the department money? (1 point for each $1,000,000 saved)

Dollars Requested/Spent by DHS

What is the amount of money DHS should spend on this project or that is being requested (1 point for each $1,000,000)

Other Factors

When evaluating a technology, they also take into account, the threat Potential/Probability of occurrence and the Probability of Success.

Threat potential "is based on a percentage from 0.0 to 1.0 and is multiplied against the people and property protected. For example, 0.5 would relate to a 50% probability of success," DHS says. "The probability of success is based on a percentage from 0.0 to 1.0 and is multiplied against the people and property protected. For example, 0.5 would relate to a 50% probability of success."

Ratings for three hypothetical projects:
Wouldn't it be crazy if ... municipal projects were put through this in the bidding process?