Defense Technical Information Center
Abstract
The Defense Technical Information Center’s (DTIC) unique mission is to aggregate and fuse science and technology data to provide rapid, accurate, and reliable knowledge to researchers and developers of the next generation of technologies needed to assure our national security. DTIC, a DoD Field Activity, is the DoD’s singular executive agent and designated source for DoD-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and industry-related information. DTIC also operates DoD Information Analysis Centers (IACs) focused on Defense Systems, Cyber Security and Information Systems, and Homeland Defense and Security. Each year, DoD invests over $13.0 Billion in research, development and procurement of advanced technologies needed to defend our nation. DTIC preserves the fruits of these costly labors for reuse across the enterprise. As an efficient and cost-effective steward of technical information, DTIC collects data and provides answers to researchers seeking state-of-the-art data relevant to their projects. Through this interchange of information DTIC accelerates innovation and prevents duplication of experiments, tests, and prototyping activities because researchers can build on what has been done or choose other paths if prior research resulted in a dead end. Using DTIC-created forums, researchers, Warfighters, and industry partners can also rapidly collaborate and connect across the DoD research and engineering (R&E) enterprise. Finally, DTIC provides a department-level map of R&D activity. This map gives decision-makers insight into current and past research, highlighting where progress is being made and by whom. Through the preservation and sharing of the results of billions of dollars of past DoD investments, DTIC increases the return on past investments and accelerates current efforts, saving the Department precious time and dollars. Through its collaboration tools and outreach to the R&E community, DTIC connects researchers across the lab enterprise, to include researchers and engineers, Warfighters and DoD’s industry partners. DTIC’s strategic themes center on customer focus, innovation, operational excellence, and strategic partnering. In support of these themes, DTIC’s organizational efforts are focused on the following priority areas: 1) Search: Develop new algorithms that enable our users to quickly discover useful information and to ensure we present the most relevant information. Expand and enhance our data collections to improve the quality and completeness of the data. 2) Collaboration: Provide collaboration platforms for the DoD science and technology community to work together on investments that efficiently deliver solutions to the Warfighter. 3) Access Identity: Strengthen methods of user authentication through the use of public key infrastructure (PKI) tokens, biometrics and other methods to grant access to recognized, trusted and authorized users. Protect intellectual property (IP) and industry proprietary data assets entrusted to DTIC’s stewardship (protect information access). 4) Data Fusion/Analysis: Gather information from multiple data sources and provide knowledge products that fuse the disparate data sets into a single view of the life cycle of research. Present an overarching picture of research investment that enables decision-makers to link multiple efforts with integrated capabilities (employ resources to highest priority efforts and coordinate efforts across Services). 5) Cyber Security: Continue to leverage state-of-the art technologies, processes and practices designed to protect DTIC networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access. 6) Data Center Optimization/Cloud: Migrate services to cloud providers to improve availability, redundancy, and mission flexibility; to reduce time to deliver new capabilities; to save costs; and to enhance cyber security. DTIC recognizes the need to accomplish its mission while increasing the value of its services and products. DTIC has reduced its headquarter staffing, physical footprint, civilian personnel and support contractors. DTIC has restructured the IAC program, and continues to consolidate its data center. Recently, DTIC has taken on additional programs, to include its new role in leading the Department in efforts to provide public access to DoD-funded journal articles and research data and increase outreach to industry through DTIC’s Defense Innovation Marketplace. In addition, DTIC is sponsoring the publication of a quarterly DoD R&E Journal. The purpose of the Journal is to share controlled unclassified and classified information throughout the R&E community, reduce exfiltration of information, and to serve as a vehicle to recognize talented individuals in sensitive technology areas. Moreover, DTIC activities promote citizen science. Citizen science mobilizes the public to engage in the scientific process and thereby address real-world problems. Citizen scientists identify research questions, collect and analyze data, interpret results, make new discoveries, develop technologies and applications, and solve complex problems. DTIC continues to ensure its activities are efficient and effective, meet users’ expectations, and employ industry best practices and standards, while protecting its wealth of information from cyber threats. DTIC's restructured Information Analysis Centers (IACs) drive innovation and technological development by anticipating and responding to the information needs of the defense and broader community. The IAC Program Office provides core funding, management and oversight of three IACs, which are chartered by DoD to collect, analyze, and disseminate worldwide scientific and technical information in specialized fields. The IAC multi-award task order contracts ensure that new research, analysis, and development builds on prior investments and puts to work the best practices of government, industry, and academia. The IAC approach was identified as a "best practice" by the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy in a January 2015 memo wherein he promoted maximum use of the IAC contracts across DoD. The IACs are structured into three application areas: Cyber Security and Information Systems, Homeland Defense and Security, and Defense Systems. As part of the Department's acquisition improvement initiatives, the IAC multi-award contracts enhance competition, increase usage of small businesses, and reduce costs. For the last several years, competition inherent in the IAC model has produced savings of 17-25 percent over projected costs, delivering vetted technical expertise to address many of the complex challenges DoD faces. An independent assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that the IACs improve affordability, productivity, and standardization within defense acquisition programs. Providing the acquisition enterprise access to thousands of industry subject matter experts, DTIC's IACs perform over $1.0 Billion of customer-funded research and prototyping annually. The results of the work are a rich source of new material in DTIC's information asset collections and are available to users across the Department (and other federal agencies, e.g., Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security). This Program Element (PE) supports DTIC mission operations. DTIC focuses on three core mission areas (Collection, Dissemination and IACs) and purchases space and shared services (e.g., human resources (HR); financial management; contracting; IT security; communications; and civilian payroll services) from expert and efficient DoD providers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Source ID
- 0605801KA_6_0400_PB_2019
- Change Summary Explanation
- Program Change: The FY 2019 Base program reduction (-$0.794 Million), as compared to the Previous President’s Budget FY 2019 PB Base, reflects a net change resulting from the following: 1) a program adjustment levied by the Department, and 2) economic price adjustments. FY 2019 Service Requirements Review Board (SRRB) Reduction: The FY 2019 program includes a $0.740 Million reduction in accordance with the Department’s recent service contract downsizing effort.
- Service Agency Name
- Defense Technical Information Center
Entities
Organizations
- Defense Technical Information Center
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