Suggestions for Evaluating the Quality of the Army's Science and Technology Program: The Portfolio and Its Execution

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology requested that the Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP) suggest approaches to evaluating the quality of the current U.S. Army Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio and the quality of its execution. This paper contains the results of both studies. There are two aspects of the U.S. Army S&T program that are evaluated in this paper: the portfolio and the quality of its execution. This paper poses the questions that should be asked. Emphasis for the analysis of the portfolio is on program content, the distribution of resources over the component parts of the portfolio, and the priorities among the parts. Normally in an assessment of this type it is necessary to identify the principal stakeholders and customers for the research and development program. In the case of Army S&T, the stakeholders are the senior leaders of the Army, DOD, Congress, and, ultimately, the American taxpayer. The customers are the U.S. Army warfighters. The study begins by outlining a clear statement of the vision and mission of the parent organization the U.S. Army. We continue by describing in detail the needs and requirements of the U.S. Army by the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), the Army senior leadership, and from various intermediary customers such as the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command and its components, and the Program Executive Offices and the Program Managers of the acquisition community. The discussion then turns to the mechanisms by which the portfolio is assembled and approved, as well as the limitations posed by the realities of the budget details of resource allocation.