Information Analysis Centers
Abstract
DoD Information Analysis Centers (IACs), established under DoD Instruction 3200.14, serve as a vital resource in providing timely, relevant information directly to users when and where it is needed. IACs serve as a bridge between the warfighter and the Acquisition/Research community, providing essential technical analysis and data support to a diverse customer base, to include the Combatant Commands (CCMDs), the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Agencies, and the Military Services. IACs actively partner and collaborate with Defense Research and Engineering (R&E) focus groups and communities of interest in areas of specialized fields or specific technologies. The IACs create and maintain comprehensive knowledge analysis centers that include historical, technical, scientific, and other data and information collected worldwide. They are staffed with scientists, engineers, and information specialists to provide research and analysis to customers with diverse, complex, and challenging requirements. DoD IAC supports development and maintenance of comprehensive scientific knowledge bases, including historical, technical, scientific, and other data collected throughout the world and pertinent to DoD S&T thrust areas and modernization priorities, providing technology developers, warfighters, program managers, and other stakeholders access to tools, research, testing, evaluation, and training methods that can best contribute to fulfilling their mission. DoD IAC currently partners with 761 unique organizations to identify and fill DoD’s technological gaps by (1) creating the missing information through analysis and/or synthesis of available Scientific and Technical Information (STI), or (2) utilizing available STI to support applied and basic research programs, or (3) performing primary research jointly with other agencies where STI sharing is a requirement. The IAC leverages existing bodies of scientific knowledge in DTIC and allow innovative reuse [FY 2021] 2,195 Technical Inquiries and literature searches, 169 technical products and publications, SME training) to capitalize on available STI and maximize their budget by locating and analyzing data, information, and tools that were used in the development of similar solutions throughout the world. Both the research gaps and the potential partnership opportunities are further synthesized into information and produced as a useful input when engineering new requirements for an R&D project owner’s need. Through its research support services and innovative contracting mechanisms, the IAC fosters a design of collaborative and responsible innovation to create building blocks of new research, creating a loop of continuous capability development while adding over 16,000 new research documents to the DTIC repository yearly. In FY 2021, DoD IAC onboarded 89 new DoD research projects to its existing base of 761 active organizations while creating and facilitating reuse of researching findings in the areas of microelectronics, hypersonic, directed energy, cyber, autonomy, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). IAC operations, in concert with National Defense Strategy objectives, directly support the warfighter, and play an ongoing and critical role in solving key CCMD operational issues such as cyber security, unmanned aerial vehicle visual/audible signature reduction, and improvements to the ballistic resistance of body armor. While the appropriated budget has not increased since 2004, DoD IAC has continued to advance its capabilities to meet the evolving needs of the DoD S&T community its capabilities and the demand for its services has grown exponentially, exceeding $2.2B in joint R&D projects in FY 2021. The IAC Program Management Office at DTIC performs contract acquisition, program management, and operational support for IAC contract operations and the technical information that is generated as a result of research and studies. In a time of shrinking budgets and increasing responsibility, IACs are a valuable resource for accessing scientific and technical information culled from efforts to solve new and historic challenges. Direct IAC customer support activities, such as Task Order processing, research operations support, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) activities, contracting/acquisition related activities, etc., are funded in part through partnerships with the Defense R&E community and the annual collection of customer reimbursements for their share of direct costs, in accordance with the IAC Reimbursable Review Board (IRRB) recommendations. This represents the maximum cost-sharing with IAC customers allowable, per guidance from the OSD Office of General Counsel. Annual IAC efforts and accomplishments are dependent on the level of participation and collaboration by the R&E community at large.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2023
- Source ID
- 002_0605801KA_6_0400_PB_2023
Related Documents
- Root: Defense Technical Information Center
- Child Accomplishment: Information Analysis Centers