Rebeca Orrie

The U. S. Air Force has embarked on a new round of strategic planning under the auspices of its 2015 Strategic Master Plan (SMP). This report represents a general survey of the state of the art in strategy and planning. We found that basic concept and approach of the SMP has promise, but its emphasis on pre-set planning could obstruct, rather than facilitate, its objectives.

This exploratory project examines various continuous evaluation approaches to detecting insider threats that are available to the U. S. government and assesses the relevance of these approaches to the challenges posed by such insider threats. There are potential benefits in effectiveness and cost over the current method of granting security clearances to personnel based on periodic reinvestigation and readjudication.

Acquisition data and information are the foundation for decisionmaking, management, and oversight of weapon-system acquisition programs. The authors review 21 key acquisition data information systems, their origins and uses, and how acquisition data might be improved. They also summarize background on acquisition data; review commercial practices in data management; and offer findings and recommendations to improve quality, access, and use.

This report addresses and recommends potential methods for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to identify, hire, and organize data scientists. The authors examine data science activities in the private sector and university-level data science training and also explore hiring and retention options for creating a data science capability within DIA. They also examine the results of interviews with DIA employees.