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In 1998, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) established the DoD Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development. Although achieving its mission requires that the chancellor's office influence the education and professional development providers' behavior, its charter grants it very limited formal authority to exercise such influence. A project was therefore undertaken to give the chancellor's office a clear sense of its available options in pursuing its mission. Research and theories from social psychology, organizational behavior, and sociology were drawn upon to develop a framework for strategic assessment and development of power and influence that includes the following stages: (1) power assessment; (2) power development; and (3) development of influence. The newly developed power assessment process involves consideration of the following key factors: (1) the influencer's objective; (2) relevant characteristics of the target organization and its members; (3) the influencer's power bases and capabilities as an organization and as a collection of individuals; (4) features of the relationship between the influencing organization and its target; and (5) the environment in which the organizations interact. After assessing its potential power, the influencer can evaluate whether its current power bases are sufficient and the extent to which it has been capitalizing on them. (A literature review is appended. The bibliography lists 48 references.) (MN)

A study was conducted to develop tools for describing and evaluating external governance in the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD's) multiorganizational system of education, training, and professional development. An exploratory conceptual framework and taxonomy for understanding external governance in the DoD context was developed, and the following criteria were used to assess the effectiveness of DoD's external governance: (1) evidence that system outcomes are being defined, measured, and evaluated relative to goals; (2) evidence that providers, intermediaries, and key stakeholders are communicating frequently and transparently; (3) evidence that providers and intermediaries are responsive to key stakeholder guidance; and (4) evidence that key stakeholders are being satisfied. The following recommendations were made to DoD: (1) advocate and facilitate system-level and demand-side governance on the part of key stakeholders within the system; (2) encourage all key stakeholders to undertake a structural analysis of governance as part of their own strategic planning function; (3) engage in system-specific development and pilot testing before performing an implementation audit of governance; (4) perform implementation audits on a case-by-case basis for major subsystems or key stakeholders that have salient problems with responsiveness and effectiveness; and (5) establish a center for development and retention of governance knowledge and evaluation capacity. (Contains 52 references.) (MN)

Although Qatar has improved its post-secondary educational opportunities, the country's efforts have not undergone a broad strategic review. This study analyzed the extent to which the current offerings can meet the country's future needs and identified priorities for developing further educational options. Researchers found that Qataris' current educational and employment choices do not fully align with labor demand and that the current educational options do not cover all needed skills. They recommend several options to address the gaps in Qatar's post-secondary educational offerings. [This research brief describes work documented in "Post-Secondary Education in Qatar: Employer Demand, Student Choice, and Options for Policy," by Cathleen Stasz, Eric R. Eide, and Francisco Martorell, 2007 (ED501591).]