The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has used a partnership planning model of implementation to address the protection of critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR). The partnership relies upon existing regulators and operators to secure CIKR with little ability of DHS to compel action. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security acts to define and draw attention to tasks related critical infrastructure protection. This article analyzes Government Accountability Office reports to characterize variations in success of the partnership by assessing the extent to which DHS has addressed key components of partnership planning: creating a structure that encourages collaboration, establishing trust across partners, monitoring partners’ performance, attending to differences in partners’ organizational culture, identifying and leveraging existing relationships among partners, and instilling a sense of a common mission in the partnership. The findings underscore the limitations of partnership approaches in addressing complex problems that lack strong leadership and clear policy goals.